This school year marks the beginning of a new chapter in some students’ lives and marks the end of one for others. For both freshman and seniors, this year will be an important one. However, like many students, they may be starting this year with certain ideas or beliefs that may not be exactly true.

The first day of freshman year will definitely be nerve-wracking for most. Freshmen come into high school believing that they are going to be at the bottom of the “food-chain”, and so they anticipate the worst possible outcomes for themselves. Because of movies like ”Mean Girls”, “Prom”, or even “The Breakfast Club”, a freshman’s idea of high school is very far off from the reality of it.

All of the expectations of high school, like the belief that not going to major sports games will either break or make your social life or that the people that you hang out with freshmen year are the people you’ll be stuck with for the rest of your high school career, aren’t really true.

Friends come and go, and you may or may not have the same group of friends every year, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. 

Most upperclassmen really don’t care that much about the freshmen. They most likely have their own realities to face, like how senior year isn’t going to be some party year during which everything will go their way. Most seniors have high expectations in regards to their last year of high school, but they might not realize that senior year is actually pretty important.

Being a senior doesn’t mean that you get privileges over the other students. Senior year isn’t a year that you can just breeze through. College applications will be due, exams still have to be taken and passed, and slacking off may ruin your chances of getting into your dream school. 

All in all, the beginning and end of your high school career won’t go exactly as you may have imagined it. Making sure that there is a balance between studying and fun is the most effective way to have a successful and enjoyable four years.