Think back to when you were mere weeks away from your first day of high school, and you felt as if life as you knew it was going to change completely. The looming stress of an impending staircase-based demise and of not making it to your classes on time was surely at the forefront of your mind.

These concerns and more are all things that students have in common with the widespread school-aged peer population. We were all afraid of high school, regardless of whether or not we want to admit it.

I interviewed Mrs. Robin Plowman’s eighth grade English class in order to hear some of their fears and to determine how we as upperclassman can possibly make their transition to high school a bit less stressful.

“I’m worried about being picked on by the older kids,” said one of the middle school students. This was met with multiple other students who felt the same way.  

While being thrown into chaos isn’t exactly ideal, it’s considered a necessity when navigating the realms of the real world. High school is no different. It’s well known that freshmen are picked on by the upperclassman. This is nothing new. However, lending a helping hand to the struggling underclassman is not something to shy away from simply because of the stigma.

“I’m worried that I won’t make it to my classes on time,” said one middle school student.

“I’m worried about being trampled on the stairs,” said another middle school student.

These fears on top of many other new high school stressors, such as harder coursework, longer class periods, and unfamiliar surroundings, should not be so pressing to the minds of incoming underclassmen.

To upperclassman, being pushed around freshman year almost seems like a tradition. A tradition that undoubtedly won’t change. But think back to how it felt to be in a new place and to not have any help. Whatever struggles you may have faced, wouldn’t it have seemed better if you didn’t have to go through it alone?

We have to remind ourselves that the underclassmen deal with the same challenges we did, and while it’s easy to pass it off as tradition, many of them could use just a bit of help in order to navigate the trials of high school.

Next time you see a freshman in distress, stop and help them out. Past experiences shouldn’t determine how we treat others.