Here we go again

Written by Nicollette Alvarez
Thursday, 03 September 2009 00:00

There are three words that no self-respecting student wants to hear: “Summer is over.” Sad, but true. The last week of vacation is filled with anticipation for the upcoming year. I can honestly tell you that preparing for senior year is so much better than preparing for freshman year.

I remember that summer before I entered the world of high school. Scary. I had just gotten out of eighth grade and I was used to my class being the oldest and the wisest. But no more. Suddenly, I was degraded to a freshman, the lowest ring on the social ladder of high school. Many changes were waiting: new people, a different schedule and roughly 2,800 other students in the hall. It’s no wonder that I was in such a hectic state of mind, which makes it hard to know exactly how to prepare.

When I was an incoming freshman, it wasn’t easy. Clothes first. What do high school students wear? I opted to buy a whole new wardrobe. Gone were the frills and laces of middle school or the graphic T-shirts of some juvenile band. Instead, close-fitting blouses or skinny jeans with artificial rips at the knees filled the closet. As for school supplies, I bought everything: new mechanical pencils, a new pencil case, colorful pens, binders, notebooks and, of course, a new backpack. I couldn’t have that ornate bag that everyone said was “cute” when I was 12. The plainer, the better for high school.

Senior year is so much easier and I barely had to do any new shopping. Through the four years, it seems that everyone has developed his or her own style and mastered it. School supplies? Maybe a new pen, but all in all, that’s it. I’ve learned that certain elaborate highlighters and pencils may look cute, but take up unnecessary space in my bag. Personally, while shopping this year, I paid more attention to practicality than appearance, although, I will admit, the metallic blue and pink paperclips did catch my eye.

Apart from the superficial, the entire overall emotions I had when I was a freshman were so vastly different from the emotions of a senior. As a freshman, along with the unwillingness to go back to school, there was also a mixture of dread and anxiety. When I was entering high school, I was terrified at the prospect of being the youngest and newest class. I didn’t even want to go, but now the first day just seems like another school day. Sure, I’ll have different classes, and while I am excited about being close to graduation, I’m coming back to many things that have stayed the same. My friends are one of those constants, and the building is so familiar to me now and so unlike the looming structure I saw when I first started. I’m used to the rumble of feet in the hall, the buzz and chatter in the student center, and the smiles I receive when I walk to a table at lunch. It’s almost like I’m returning to a second home.

Nicollette Alvarez of Old Greenwich is a senior at Greenwich High School.