Shaking hands, sweaty palms, stumbling over words, wrong classes, and even worse lunches. Most of us remember going into our freshmen year terrified of the unknown to come. We stayed up late the night before the first day, anxious to start the year at freshmen orientation. So many questions and worries ran through our thoughts, creating even more confusion when one was trying to get to so many places at so any different times.

Looking back, we wonder why we were so afraid to start that first year. We ask ourselves what we would have done differently and hope to make our present underclassmen a little less uneasy.

The typical high school stereotypes are what a lot of

us thought walking these halls would be like.

Clare Sulentic,‘15, said, “After seeing so many intimidating movies with high school settings, I was scared.”

The cliche plot of the awful school bully who picks on the vulnerable underclassman is a story we are all familiar with.

“I thought I was going to get bullied,” says Michael Lynch, ‘15. He wasn’t the only one who gave this answer.

Betsy Till,’17, had been told of upperclassmen harassing the younger students. Many thought it would be “the worst year of their lives,” but it has become a new learning experience.

Even after just a few weeks at Wahlert, the freshmen have already started to feel at ease with these new surroundings.

Jordan Wiedmayer, a current freshman, said that the freshmen orientation made it a lot easier than he thought to get around the school.

A number of other freshmen said they like the new change and different teachers for every class instead of just three. Some have even set goals for themselves for the upcoming year such as, “having straight A’s, good behavior in class, and getting involved,” said freshman Aidan Kelly.

As for the upperclassmen, reflecting back, some of us might wish we had received some advice for the next four years of our lives. Many of us wish we could go back and change things we said or did.

Ryan Seaman, ‘14, said, “Take school seriously.” It’s important to remember that even if your first year of high school may not seem academically essential for you later in life, that everything you do now will affect you later.

Outside of school work, our social lives seem to occupy our thoughts constantly.

Katherin Schroeder, a senior, reminds us all that there are more important things to remember. “Pick your friends carefully, do not get caught up in drama, focus more on class than the people in them,” and answers our worries, “Do not worry about dating. It will happen when it’s supposed to.”

On a less serious note, Schroeder speaks for all the upperclassmen when she says, “And most importantly….walk faster!”