“I’m pretty excited. I like block scheduling better than the middle school schedule. And I like all the different music ensembles.”

“Honestly, it’s pretty nice. The classes are much better.”

“It’s not terrible. I was kind of scared because everyone’s like ‘high school’s the best years of your life.’ So I went in with kind of high expectations. And also people say the workload is bad, but it’s okay so far.”

“It’s a little scary when upperclassmen don’t like you. But if you have some friends, you’re pretty much okay. It’s lots of fun being around different people that you weren’t in school with before.”

“I mean, it’s fun. The days go by faster because there’s less classes. It’s a little bit overwhelming, but it’s pretty chill.”

“Depressed—just because it’s pretty overwhelming.”

“Just be smart with your time after school. Get your work done.”

“Take every opportunity you get, because the whole point of high school is to figure out what you’re going to do, who you are, and the best way to do that is to put yourself in situations where you don’t feel comfortable.”

“Just get involved with clubs and stuff, and try to build relationships with your teachers and stuff, because it’s always important.”

“Get involved in as many things as you can. It’s so much easier to make new friends that way. But also make sure to save some time for yourself and your own personal activities.”

“The dances are really fun. No one cares at the dances, so just have so much fun. That’s all that matters is just to have fun at high school because it is a lot better than middle school, and less people care.”

“Just really be yourself. High school is a growing place, so it’s important through the classes and making friends to figure out who you are and the kind of person that you want to be and take advice from others because that’s kind of what we’re here for besides learning.”