Transitioning into anything new can be difficult, confusing, and overwhelming. This is especially true when it comes to school. Many of the current freshmen have found the start of school to be a little hard; the students are worried about homework, tests, studying, and handling sports each day. Some seniors spoke out about how they dealt or still deal with some of these same troubles.
Starting the first few days and weeks of school, many freshmen say the new rotating schedule is difficult to get used to, the homework seems excessive, there are higher expectations and handling after-school activities is tough to handle.
“It was a little overwhelming to get the rotating schedule figured out, and it makes me stressed having sports right after school,” says freshman Kristin Carroll. “On days I have sports I have a lot less time to get homework done, and I have a lot of homework for different subjects.”
Many other freshmen agree that the homework became more difficult and the sports practices ran later in high school than in middle school, leaving less time for studying and homework assignments. Some worries they have consist of dealing with stress and balancing out the homework and sports.
Many seniors gave some good advice for dealing with all of these troubles and worries. A lot of the seniors mentioned taking care of oneself mentally to stay focused and relaxed.
Senior Erin O’Mara, who is part of the Kinnelon Cross Country team, talks about balancing homework and says, “Pretty much take any opportunity you can. Do homework during lunch or any free time in classes and start it as soon as you get home with no distractions around. Get a good night’s sleep every night because it’ll help you focus.”
When asked about dealing with stress she added, “Try and find a hobby you enjoy or hang out with friends. Set aside a certain amount of time for yourself every week. And when studying find a method that works for you and stick to it.”
Other seniors said they find something that makes them feel relaxed when they’re stressed and do that activity to help them.“Keeping up with your mental and emotional health is good, and personally for me, I always just do my homework directly after practice so I have time at night to unwind and meditate,” says Caitlin Chien.
It seems that many of the seniors have a common theme of wanting to take care of their mental and emotional health so they can focus for school. Another big question freshmen were constantly asking was if freshman year will get harder or easier as the year goes on and if the work will get easier or harder.
Emily Kemp says, “Freshman year gets easier, without a doubt, because you get used to it even if they give you more work you learn how to deal with it. It’s less scary I guess.”
