By: Isabelle Yang, Staff Writer

As the school year begins, Mills welcomes the Class of 2027. The transition from middle school to high school can be a challenging and overwhelming journey. Despite starting their high school experience virtually, a couple of the seniors still have some helpful advice for the freshmen, speaking from several years of experience. 

A common theme among the interviewed seniors was advising the freshmen to have an open mind as they explore this new environment and discover new things about themselves. Senior Amani Rizvi’s first words of advice that came to mind were, “Don’t be afraid to try new things.” She proceeds to talk about not letting the fear of outcomes interfere or limit one’s potential. 

Another senior, Nicholas Woo, also conveys that freshmen should, “…try to seize every opportunity they can.” He mentions that high school will get more demanding and, “the curriculum gets harder and harder,” as the years go on. Therefore, the freshmen class should take advantage of any chances they get, even if it’s out of their comfort zone. Woo further discusses how building strong relationships with teachers is important, as they can help when school becomes more challenging. He explains that they will, “..provide advice to you throughout your high school years.” 

Starting high school can be intimidating at first for anyone, but online learning made beginning this new chapter even more difficult to navigate for many seniors. Reflecting back on their first year, many students wish they had a “normal” freshman year. 

Charlene Luz speaks from her personal experiences when she stresses that everyone should be open to casual conversations, especially ones with their classmates. Transferring from another district, she didn’t know anyone and didn’t get to meet other students until sophomore year when school finally transitioned back to in-person. She expresses how it was difficult to make friends when the majority of the students already knew each other from middle school. Luz shares, “Being friendly can help others feel more comfortable and build your confidence as well.” She claims she was lucky to make many friendships along the way after overcoming the challenge of distance learning.

Multiple in-person experiences were also taken away from the senior class during their freshman year, leaving them feeling as if memories were taken away, too. Two out of three of the interviewees sadly mention that they missed out on a whole year of high school when asked what they wish they had freshman year. 

In addition, being involved at school in various ways is an amazing way to get to know more about your classmates and even students in other grades. As Woo reflects on freshman year, he wishes he had, “joined more clubs and sports.” Even if playing sports doesn’t interest you, going and supporting your peers at games and events can be a fun social experience, too. 

Rizvi and Luz both highlight the importance of friendships and events outside of school hours. Rizvi advises trying to spend time with friends outside of a school environment as it, “helps grow your connections and improve friendships.” Similarly, Luz suggests supporting the school sports teams by attending and cheering at games. She says, “You feel like you belong to a community,” when describing the environment at school games. 

These words of advice and guidance from the seniors at Mills can assist freshmen as they make the new and exciting transition to high school. Hopefully, four years from now, this freshmen class will be in the same position to give their own wisdom to the incoming freshmen after completing their own journeys through high school.