The transition from middle school to high school can cause a lot of mixed feelings for many teenagers. Some students may be excited to leave their awkward middle school years behind them, while others may be worried about the social and academic standards that come with starting high school. 

There are several stereotypes about high school. These stereotypes come from movies and television shows targeting younger audiences that can make a negative impression on students. Learning about other people’s experiences can be helpful for incoming students to ease anxieties they may have about starting high school. A common misconception is that everyone is judging everything that you do, however some people are just trying to focus on themselves and their school work.

“Freshman year isn’t as hard as you assumed it might be,” senior Tessa Preheim said. “Everyone is trying to deal with their own issues.”

How you appear to others might seem like the most important thing, but in the end no one remembers the embarrassing things that you did in middle school. According to some students, high school is a great time to rebrand yourself, branch out and try new things.

“You’re starting in square one, it’s just like being a kindergartener looking at a class of 4th graders, you have to build your image back up,” senior Eli Redington said. “Almost like someone hit a restart button on your life.

Upperclassmen have lived life as freshmen with experience being the new kids and have gone through many of the same struggles. 

“I was a little scared of seniors at the beginning but after a week I realized that they didn’t really care that I was a freshman, all the ones I interacted with were really kind.” Redington said.

There are numerous ways to alleviate the anxiety that may come with transitioning to a new school. One way to do so is by altering your mindset. Instead of expecting the worst, you can try thinking of high school as an opportunity to become more independent and a chance to become your own person.

“My best advice is to go in not thinking of it as school but as a place where you can start to make your own choices,” Redington said.