Wow, your school year was just taking off, and now it is coming to an end. A wise man named Dr. Seuss once said, “Don’t cry because its over. Smile because it happened.”

Many freshmen had different views on how their first year of high school went. Some had big challenges that they had to overcome while others had goals that they focused on since their first day of school and they finally completed them.

First impressions 

Freshmen’s first impression of 9^th grade differed. Zoe Vales, a 9^th grade student at Miami High, says, “Coming into high school, I think it’s safe to say its nerve-racking to start something new. However, this school has helped me be more confident into my work. I’ve learned a lot of things throughout this year such as improving my communication skills, being open to change, and always challenging myself to be better.”

Jamari Green, a freshman at Miami High, stated, “I have been stressed a little bit because of the amount of work given at one time and also the class locations being so spread apart from each other causing me to do a lot of moving back and forth across the facility.”

The start of my freshman year was very mind-boggling for me. I was once again doing school from home but for some reason this year felt totally different than last year. I had one C in Biology honors for two grading periods and it did not sit well with me. I wasn’t doing so good on the tests although I studied almost every day. I barely talked to my friends, I just felt excluded from the world for a while.

The day when everything started to come back to normal was when I started going to tutoring Monday through Wednesday. After about two weeks of tutoring my grade instantly started to increase and it has been that way ever since. I started to have a higher self-esteem and feel more confident. To this day, it feels like regular school for me, getting A’s and B’s, averaging almost a 4.0 GPA, I am just way more confident now than before.

PHY vs. MSO

Some freshmen preferred physical more than MSO. Zoe Vales stated, “I had to experience both MSO and Physical school. Physical by far was my favorite way of learning and socializing.”

Jamari Green said, “Physical school is pretty good, I totally understand everything better compared to virtual learning and the environment is safe.”

Some freshmen preferred MSO more than physical. Thomas Marconi, a 9^th grade student at Miami High, stated, “It is way easier to work at home since it’s a familiar environment that I can concentrate on the work that I do. Whenever I need something, I can just grab it ASAP.”

Jancent Wallace, a freshman at Belen Jesuit, said, “I have experienced both virtual and physical, but I believe being virtual is better because I haven’t had any sicknesses since I’ve been home most of the time and my grades have improved even with the virtual setting.”

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3 tips on how to survive your 9th grade year 

• Attend tutoring sessions to increase your grade.  

• Study days before a test to increase the chances of passing. 

• No matter what happens, BREATHE. Take a few deep breaths and do what you do best.