Anxieties and Realities about Transitioning to High School

by Vera Lin & Elliott Chang ( Grade 8 ) 

Starting high school is a major move up for the eighth graders. For many students, this transition feels very exciting, but also scary.  Most of the students are looking forward to new opportunities such as sports teams, theater, clubs, and the variety of classes that they can choose from, but also at the same time having anxieties about grades, heavier workloads, fitting in, and every decision they make in high school starts building up for college. 

But what do these anxieties look like in real life? How do students actually experience the shift from familiar routines to high school?

To better understand the move up and the realities about this transition, we spoke with some of our classmates about what they think high school might be like for them, and our middle & high school faculties who had worked closely with students throughout the years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_m2dmUgrTE

We also asked some current High School Students for their perspective.

Q: What’s your high school experience like so far?

Holland, Freshmen: “Well, currently I've been doing a lot of after-school activities, so I'm very busy. Um, otherwise, it's pretty relaxing. You don't have as much homework as you do otherwise. You just have harder homework.”

Elena, Junior: “My high school experience has been really fun. I really enjoyed my freshman and sophomore years. Um, right now I'm in my junior year, and it's really stressful, so you know, prepare for that.”

Noah, Senior: “Well, since it's almost done, I would have to say it had been ups and downs. Very hard, but it's also very rewarding, and it was very fun getting to meet new people and build new connections.”

Spencer, Senior: “It's going to be my last year here, so like everything’s emotional. Everything is going to be a memory for me, and I feel like we should all live to your fullest.”

Q: How do you manage to balance your schoolwork and other extracurricular activities?

Holland, Freshmen: “Well, you wanna get all of your other stuff out of the way first. Get your homework done as quickly as you can, but still do it right. So don't procrastinate for your math homework till the next day. That's bad. Um, for the extracurriculars, you wanna not take too many, but you also wanna take the right ones, so that you're able to socialize and not burn out.”

Elena, Junior: “I don't really do well, but, um, it's something that I'm working on. I'm trying to balance, like, how much school I need to do, especially, like, over weekends, but also prioritizing, like, hanging out with my friends, going to the gym, and stuff like that, that helps, like, calm me, like, focus.”

Spencer, Senior: “Um, I feel like you just gotta find time management. I think that's the most important, and also to be organized.”

Q: What advice would you give current middle school students transitioning to high school?

Holland, Freshmen: “Just get your work done as soon as you can, and try to be nice to your teachers. They're not gonna be nice to you if you're not nice to them.”

Elena, Junior: “Lock in, do your work. Like, actually, like, don't procrastinate. It's, like, really hard, but, like, try and do work. Like, for me, I try to work on Saturday just so I can have the, like, peace of mind that I did work over the weekend, and I didn't procrastinate too much. And then, um, also try to balance. So, like, also make sure you hang out with your friends and, like, put a lot of importance on friendship and connection, too.”

Noah, Senior: “Don't worry, because you'll figure it out when you're there.”

Spencer, Senior: “Um, don't procrastinate, but, like, procrastinate. If you know, you know.”