Freshman year is really the year to get out there and start a whole new chapter of your life. It’s something that is exciting and a big step in the future. But, this year was different for the new high school freshman. Covid took away a lot of the key parts that most freshmen were excited for starting while starting their first year of high school. As a freshman, this year is definitely not what I was expecting when coming into high school it was different and almost disappointing because of all the things that we were unable to do and unable to experience. The hardest part about starting high school this way was how some freshmen didn’t know what to expect when things eventually go back to normal.

Last year when I knew I was going to be in high school I was very eager. I knew it was going to be a year to remember but I didn’t know this is how I would remember it. When I look back on freshman year as it’s coming to an end it was definitely not what the me I knew a year ago expected. The start of the year fully online, then hybrid, then back and forth, to now fully in person it was a messy year. Covid really took a lot of experiences and chances away from the freshman.

The biggest aspect for freshman year that I was really looking forward to was getting the chance at meeting new people and making new friends. However, with the constant change, it made it hard for sure to be able to socialize with people you’ve never met. Starting this year off online made it even harder to make new relationships because nobody really knew what people were like or even what most people looked like. Online also made it harder to become friends with upperclassmen because the majority of classes are with all freshmen except the couple that has upperclassmen but even then it made it hard because of the lack of face-to-face socialization.

Another thing that made this year almost disappointing was missing out on events and experiences. For example homecoming. I know a lot of my friends were really looking forward to going to their first real school dance and this year that chance of going got taken away from them. Homecoming is something for everyone to enjoy and I think missing out on that really bummed a lot of the freshmen out because it was their first time to be able to go to a real school dance.

In my upcoming year as a sophomore, I will definitely struggle a bit if everything does go back to normal. I won’t know everything about high school that I was supposed to know this year because of all the things I missed out on and everything I didn’t get the chance to experience certain things and learn the way of the school. What bummed me out the most was knowing that sports will be different for sure. I didn’t get to experience the rowdy crowd or Friday night lights this year like I wish I was able to. And not getting to experience a full season of my first high school sport also is really something that affects me.

I think that what I got most out of this year was that not everything goes the way you were expecting it to. But making the best out of it is what truly matters. All I’m hoping for is next year for everything to get back to normal so that all of us new freshmen and the incoming freshman can get a full high school experience that was able to enjoy.