As the end of my last first semester of high school is coming to an end, I’ve had a lot of time to sit back and reflect and compare the past four years of high school. 

Freshman Year

Freshman year is overhyped. You go from being at the top of the totem pole to the bottom of a bigger one. Going into freshman year, you’re all excited for the new changes that are coming and for living out your own coming-of-age movie. All of that is a lie. Within the first two days, I had already gotten lost twice trying to find the same class. But it quickly started getting better, mostly due to the amazing teachers that were so passionate about their topics that it made even the worst classes enjoyable. The stress levels were low and the enjoyment was high, at least until March 2020. My freshman year was cut short due to COVID19, but up until that point, I had thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Sophomore Year

Going from a freshman to sophomore isn’t that big of a change. The workload and homework didn’t change much. However, that was also the year of virtual learning for many of us as we dealt with the aftermath of the pandemic. Due to this, the stress levels were high, and many of us lost motivation. As a nation, we fell behind the curve of where we were supposed to be. Yet, looking back, there are still fond memories of Zoom calls with the teacher and classmates as we tried to work on group projects and figure out the evolving world of technology and placing wagers as to who would be quarantined next. Everyone says this is the most stressful year, but I respectfully disagree with that statement.

Junior Year

By far, junior year was the most stressful. This can likely be attributed to the advanced placement, dual credit, and overall more challenging classes. By this point the pandemic was not as pressing of an issue, and people were able to relax on some of the restrictions (within reason). Once more, the teachers were simply amazing and made even the most stressful of classes enjoyable and did everything within their power to relieve the stress. However, as previously mentioned, this was likely the most stressful grade level. There was hardly a moment of down time, yet everything moved in slow motion. 

Senior Year

For the longest time I had no idea why everyone looked forward to senior year. In all honesty, I still don’t. I’ve hardly had any homework this year, so just on work load, this is the least stressful. However, if you plan on attending college, then you have to take into consideration all the college applications and scholarships. So far, I think it’s safe to say that it is the most eventful, low stress, and busiest year so far. It may be rather obvious, but it is the year filled with lasts. Regardless of where life takes us, I think this is the year we will remember the most. 

If asked to pick a favorite year, I don’t think I could. And while I may not remember every mathematical equation I’ve been told to memorize or know that 1-0.1 is .9 and not .99, I will always remember the amazing individuals that made high school worth going through.