Freshman fright, sophomore slump, junior jitters, senior slumber. These are all the stereotypes that students have to face each year of high school. Are they real? Or mere myths meant to taunt one’s brain each year before the start of a new grade.
All over social media, there is constant relatable content posted about various topics. Clothes. Food. Relationships. School. Social media displays each year in high school with its own distinct specification. Freshman year is labeled as the frightening shift from middle school to high school that will open a new chapter of unyielding stress, piles of homework, scary teachers, and malicious upperclassmen.
Tenth graders are warned about the “Sophomore Slump” where students reach the treacherous mountain they are too drained to climb and stay at an abiding plateau.
But then comes the abominable Junior year…the so-called worst year you will face in your high school career.
Eventually though, you will reach the summit in your Senior year, where everything is sunshine, rainbows, and snoozes through the year. Or so that’s what they say.
To some people though, these “labels” are nothing but just worrisome speculation that gets spread around social media with no truth behind it. Freshman Leah Campbell shares, “I’d say I was way more nervous going into freshman year from the stereotypes, but when I started, I realized oh it’s not bad.”
When students have to undergo new changes each year, it’s hard enough, but the addition of unnecessary anxiety from these stereotypes can be damaging to one’s mental health.
“I have always heard a bunch of stories of people saying that junior year is the worst, or that it’s very stressful and that there’s a lot to do which always frightened me and just had me really stressed out at the beginning of my junior year” explains junior Yarely Rios. Not only can this create anxiety for students, but it can also turn high school into a fearful, unenjoyable experience when it’s one of the biggest parts of your life! “I’m just taking things very slow and actually processing this year and enjoying it while I can because I want to enjoy my years in high school,” continues Rios.
While some students can escape the stereotype’s mythology, other students get pulled into their reality. When these labels get into people’s heads, many different outcomes can follow. Some students see things through the lens of the stereotype, while others go out of their way to create to create a school year that suits these categories. Leah further explains that “With the stereotypes being there, I feel like it can make students maybe even want to fit into those stereotypes.”
So are these labels you fit into…or create yourself? High school can have many different paths for every student and maybe it doesn’t depend on the stereotype of the grade you’re in, maybe it’s truly all in your hands.
Junior Cesar De La Rosa believes that “it really depends on who you are and what classes you take and if you choose to do your work,” and disagrees with the idea that these stereotypes are what high school will be for everyone.