High school. The hallways are loud and chaotic, the bell rings and lockers slam shut. The eighth grade graduates are now facing the next four years of their life.

Ninth grade is the year everything counts, students even start talking about college and planning for their future. The transition from junior high to high school is a little uneasy with pressures of homework and new classes for some, but for others the transition is easy and remains the same as last year.

Freshmen Kathryn Blankenship moved from Michigan, attending school for the first time after being homeschooled all her life. High school is a big change, but she is getting through it and excited to learn.

“I was home schooled my entire life up in till now,” Blankenship said. “The hardest transition from home school to going into high school was the time commitment because your at school for eight hours then you have two hours of homework rather then having the entire day. The best thing about school is all the other kids, they’re just great people and I met a lot of awesome kids, and I really like them all.”

High school is different for everybody. Everyone has their own struggle and successes. Senior Natalie Ruiz remembers being a freshman and has a few encouraging words for the underclassmen.

“You need to be on top of college,” Ruiz said. “You have to have goals; be goal oriented this year. Start thinking about what you want to do. it’s never too early to start planning and thinking about the future.”

Some people like Phillip Christopher, ’17, does not see the difference in the transfer from junior high to high school and believes freshmen work is easy.

“I don’t see the difference, it’s the same,” Christopher said. “I think we have more homework, but it’s easy.”

Freshmen Summer McGrew enjoys the social aspects of high school. She appreciates being with all the other high school students and hanging out with her friends.

“There’s way more people, and I have way more friends,” McGrew said. “My favorite class is Bible because it’s pretty cool. The teachers expect a lot more from you than they did last year.”

FC lifer Matthew Tanaka, ’17, enjoys high school and believes it is more fun then junior high. He likes the freedom of being in high school.

“The best thing about high school is having to be more responsible and you have a little more freedom,” Tanaka said. “The homework is a lot harder and you get a lot more so you have to work a lot every night. The teachers expect you to do your homework on time and get it right, and put your hardest effort into it.”

For more features, read the Sept. 10 article, Choir adapts to size change.