Let’s be honest, thanks to movies like “High School Musical”, a lot of us expected our first day of high school to involve spontaneous dance numbers in the cafeteria and dramatic love triangles around every corner. Spoiler alert, I have yet to see anyone break into song on their way to algebra class.
Many incoming freshmen hear warnings from older siblings or friends that high school is overwhelming from day one.
Freshman Mackenzie Gebhart said, My friend, now a sophomore, said it would be very overwhelming for the first few weeks.” Mackenzie agrees that the adjustment can be tough, especially when balancing sports and new classes.
Juggling sports and new classes can feel like trying to learn choreography for a flash mob you didn’t sign up for, as Mackenzie points out “As the first two weeks passed, she was right. Especially with doing sports outside of school.” So maybe there’s a little chaos, but it’s not exactly the kind you see in those over the top movie scenes.
Then there’s sophomore Addy Schenck, who thought she’d get lost in the crowd, just like in those classic teen rom-coms where the main character is invisible until they get a makeover montage. But Addison quickly realized, “Everyone was just as confused as I was. Teachers were actually really helpful.” Turns out, most people are too busy figuring things out themselves to form toxic cliques or plot elaborate pranks.
And let’s talk about TV shows like Victorious with students always performing on stage, getting into wild adventures, dealing with dramatic friendships and rivalries.The characters seemed so mature and confident, and every day felt like something big was happening. In reality though, most high school days are way more ordinary and way less theatrical than what we saw on TV.
Sophomore Christian Moore said “A show that I thought high school was going to be like is Victorious. I thought high school was going to be more serious, and everyone was grown because of how characters are shown. But that’s pretty far from the truth.” Honestly if my high school days had as much drama as those shows, I’d need a commercial break just to recover.
In reality, “school work isn’t shown and just drama is,” which means we’re missing out on all the light night study sessions and group projects gone wrong.
Another common myth is that high school teachers are strict villains plotting your downfall. Mackenzie Gebhart found the opposite to be true. “I was surprised by how free we are,” she said. “Teachers trust us to manage our own time, which is different from middle school.”
Junior Hudsin Nupdal agrees. “In high school, you have more independence, but that means you have to be responsible. Most teachers want you to succeed, they’re not out to get you.” So no evil principal lurking in the hallways, just adults hoping you’ll turn in your homework on time.
In the end, high school does come with more freedom, but as senior Skylar Sigmon puts it, “I definitely felt like I had to grow up a little and learn to be more independent.”
So while there may not be any synchronized singing or dramatic slow motion hallway walks, real high school is about learning, growing, and realizing that life isn’t always like the movies and honestly that’s probably for the best.
