Speaking from a current freshman point of view, teachers entirely overrate the switch from eighth grade to freshman year. But trust me, it is not that big of a transition.

Last year I was completely stressing out about getting lost in Nashoba, because the school was SO BIG and the upperclassmen were supposedly SO MEAN. When I arrived at Nashoba, it seemed that the middle school teachers had no idea what they were talking about. 1.) The school was actually too small to accommodate the many students, and with the layout being just a square on top of a square, there was no way to get lost. 2.) Of the very few interactions freshmen had with upperclassmen, none were anything to remember. In fact, the upperclassmen often joke around with freshmen and make a boring class quite enjoyable.

Many middle school teachers hype up this change but some freshmen, including Duncan Willgress-Pipe, say they did not really have a lot of fears because “[He] played sports in middle school so he knew lots of people already.” He also said that, “[Middle school] teachers said it would be a lot harder and [high school] teachers would not help you at all.” It also doesn’t matter if you don’t do sports because as Quinn O’Hagan said, “Everyone just mingles in and no one cares for the first few days.” Everyone is in the same place. It’s a new school with new kids but it’s that way for everyone.

According to Josh Mckeen, “It was easier to adapt to the school than expected.” And it’s true. You become friends with people in your classes and soon you’re friends with their friends. Your teachers, frankly, didn’t know what they were talking about. Quinn O’Hagan points out, “The eighth grade teachers made it sound like the [high school] teachers didn’t care less and it was completely on you, if you failed they didn’t care, if you didn’t turn anything in they didn’t care, which is over exaggerated  because teachers still do a good job and make sure things are done.”

Also, don’t be scared of upper classmen. They couldn’t care less about you and won’t go out of their way to be mean to you. Mary Bussiere said, “I thought the upperclassmen would be much more intimidating, but in reality, they don’t really care that you’re there.”

For the incoming freshman, here are some wise words from the kids who did this transition last year: O’Hagan said, “Just keep your head on your shoulders, make sure that you get all of your work done, and keep everything on track.” But also, it is important to do well this year, some days will be bad and stressful but all in all it will be a good year. Bussiere suggested to “Actually try in freshman year because it does affect your GPA.” So don’t be scared eighth graders, it’s just another year of school.