H.P. Lovecraft once said that “The oldest and strongest emotion in mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is of the unknown.” The unknown is scary, downright terrifying even, and I’m sure that rings true to our freshmen this year; not only are they starting in a whole new campus, but they’re also starting high school for the first time. Additionally, they go to ACP, which has some rigorous AP and Honors classes, and that stress and uncertainty can pile on, so we decided to ask a few of the incoming freshmen how the high school life has been to show that you are not alone in these strange, new, times.

We interviewed four freshmen for this: Tristan Ravelli, Luke LaMew, Joshua Hanes, and Vastancia Garcia.

Q: How have your first few days been as a high schooler?

Tristan: My first few days of high school have been great; I got to meet a few new people and hang out with my friends.

Josh: Good, no real issues, and I have good teachers.

Luke: My first few days as a high schooler have been pretty good; I am meeting a lot of new people.

Vastancia: My first few days of school have been pretty great, and I have enjoyed them.

Q: What are you looking forward to this year?

Tristan: I’m looking forward to sports mostly, like trying out for basketball and joining the track team, but I’m also looking forward to trying new things.

Josh: I’m looking forward to good teachers and fun classes.

Luke: I am looking forward to the dances and all the school events!

Vastancia: What I’m looking forward to this year is Spanish class because I’ve always wanted to know more than one language.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about your schedule? Least Favorite?

Tristan: I have all my easier, less rigorous classes, at the beginning of the day, so I have my energy saved for the end of the day for my more rigorous classes like math.

Josh: The favorite thing about my schedule is probably my history class.

Luke: My favorite thing about my schedule is I have two classes right next to each other and my least favorite thing is I have two classes on opposite ends of the school.

Vastancia: My favorite thing about my schedule is that I have math 5th period, so I don’t have to think about it until the end of the day.

Q: Do you have any fears or worries about starting high school? If so, what are they? And if not, what are you excited about?

Tristan: I’m not worried about anything quite yet, but I’m excited to be with others in a more normal atmosphere after 2020.

Josh: I don’t have any fears about high school, and I’m mostly excited to have fun!

Luke: I do, I’m worried now that my grades matter and I have to make sure they’re on point for college.

Vastacnia: I have fears about not getting good grades and not making a lot of friends.

Q: How has the new campus been? 

Tristan: I love the new campus; the building is easy to understand once you get used to how to navigate it.

Josh: The new campus has been great with no issues getting around; I also like the new design in how it’s built.

Luke: The new campus has been great! It’s so clean, and I haven’t had many issues getting around. I think it’s built very nice and organized.

Vastancia: I really like how the campus is built and haven’t had many problems with getting around.

Q: What will you miss the most about junior high?

Tristan: Nothing.

Josh: I will miss the fact that classes will be a bit later on in the day.

Luke: The thing I will miss the most about junior high is the small school atmosphere where everyone knows each other.

Vastancia: What I will miss most about junior high is my friends because now we are going to different schools.

So to the class of 2025, no need to be afraid, the upperclassmen are here to help and make you feel welcome in your new home.