Moving up in the world

Mia Jacobs

More stories from Mia Jacobs

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The bell rings, and students at E.T. Booth rush out of the building to their busses and cars for the start of the summer. In the same week at First Baptist Church, seniors are preparing themselves to walk across the stage to accept their diplomas. As the last day of school is the end of a long journey for seniors, it also leads to a beginning for future freshman.

Along with new classes, buildings, teachers, and schedules, rising freshman also have worries about Freshman Friday and upperclassman.

“In high school I am most nervous about not knowing where to go or not having any of my friends in my classes,” Lana Ficher, rising freshman, said.

Many stereotypes portray upperclassman as mean and unfair to underclassmen. This intimidates rising freshman, but it typically is not a problem. Most upperclassmen can barely tell the difference between freshman and other students. Freshman Friday is a common worry among rising freshman. Freshman Friday is a day where upperclassmen take time to mess with the new freshman. However, it is not as big of a deal as it is perceived.  

“I have heard about Freshman Friday around school, but from what I have been told it is not as bad as it could be,” Kennedy Vinyard, rising freshman, said.

As Etowah teachers and students prepare to welcome the new students with open arms, some rising freshman are staying up late trying to calm their nerves. High school classes are not only farther apart but they are longer. Etowah also offers a larger variety of extracurricular activities. This can be a lot to take in, and it takes some time to get use to.

“I am excited to meet next year’s freshman. I will be someone they will look up too,” Abby Higgs, sophomore, said.

From responsibilities to expectations, the transition from middle to high school is overwhelming to most students, but there are many privileges that are also given with the promotion. Phones are a huge deal when moving to highschool. While in middle school students are expected to keep their phone stored inside their locker, high school gives students the chance to carry their phone with them to listen to music, do research, or even use phones during lunch. High school lunch periods are longer than middle school and give students more options of what to eat and where to eat. Some locations include the library, east and main cafeterias, or a teacher’s classroom.

“My advice for rising freshman is to stay on task. Failing just one class can affect you for the rest of your life now. It is not like middle school anymore,” Jacob Hite, freshman, said.

Rising freshman wave goodbye to their former teachers as they leave the school building in a rush. Though there are only two months to ready themselves before the first day of high school, many of their hearts are filled with summer expectations and stereotypes.