From being the oldest in Middle School to being the youngest at PRHS, they walk with fear on high school ground

It’s the first day of school and freshman students step foot on campus. Some are excited but most are scared. They have so many thoughts that go through their mind while they walk through the long halls. Although, the ones who are scared wonder what will come their way the first day. 

Most freshmen fear high school when first coming in. A common theme amongst freshmen fears is that they are afraid to fit in, afraid of upperclassmen, afraid of getting lost, socializing, and even afraid to be able to catch up in their classes. 

“I fear how big the campus is and how many people are here, it’s so crowded now,” Cadance Van Sickle (9) said

“Upperclassmen are kind of terrifying. The people are just a little intimidating. I’ve become friends with quite a few of them. But I still think that they’re kind of intimidating,” freshman, Bella Isham, stated.

I’m terrified of going in through the year and then getting caught up like how I was before.

Cadance Van Sickle, 9

Teachers have also seen freshman fears on display in the classroom. “Freshmen are afraid of a lot of things. They are afraid of each other because they’re still under the impression that other people’s judgments are important. They are afraid of public speaking, at least in my class, from what I’ve seen… some freshmen are afraid of attempting to put effort into projects and working in class and school in general,” Mr. Holtz, freshman science teacher at PRHS, stated. 

Rebecca Good, psychologist from Palo Alto was interviewed by the LA Times on Oct. 25, 2021 spoke about how the pandemic affected many kids socially. “They’ve spent a year and a half in their room, staring at a screen, not talking to a whole lot of people. Now they’re navigating crowded hallways, different classrooms, and picking back up on all the nonverbal language they’re not used to reading anymore,” Good said.

Omar Acevedo, who was once a freshman, and is now a senior came to PRHS as a newcomer from Mexico his freshman year. As a freshman with no knowledge of the English language he was afraid to make friends, because of that language barrier.

“Something I feared was the language. At that point in my life I didn’t know English at all. So almost
four years now, I’m kind of fluent in it. Also making friends, I just didn’t want to be by myself,” Acevedo said. After 4 years Acevedo will have seen his growth in himself by graduating this school year in 2023 with several friends and fluent in English.

 Freshman come in high school fearing several things but hopefully by their senior year they will at least get over one of their fears just like Acevedo did.