Freshmen probably have gotten the message at this point: they’re way too hyper. At least, that’s what some upperclassmen think. They think that their underclassmen are “too hyper” or “annoying.” As a new sophomore myself, I was often told last year that I was the “most freshman of the freshmen”.
What that was supposed to mean was unknown to me, until I came back from the summer and saw the new ninth graders. My brain instantly started telling me the same things I was told last year, that they were “upbeat,” “too much,” and “hyperactive.” I had a strange sense of deja vu, but now, I was the onlooker, the upperclassmen who would for one reason or another joke about the freshmen being “too much.”
I’m sure other upperclassmen have had such moments as they are entering sophomore year; the sudden realization that they are no longer freshmen, the deja vu of once being told the same thing as they tell the newcomers: “you’re so hyper.”
Freshmen are universally seen as hyper, but it’s no flaw. Freshman Shyla Agrawal herself thinks so. “We can be annoying at times, but we are really creative people who strive for our goals,” she comments.
And indeed, they can be annoying. I once had the experience of being cut in line by a ninth grader who insisted he was a junior. His stature, voice, and way that he carried himself all betrayed his age. Thus, there are those who hold the opinion that freshmen are “losers.” Sophomore Ellen Liu is one such opinion holder. “My freshman friends are fine. Everyone else are losers.” said Liu.
It is no surprise that she should hold these opinions. Freshmen can be “very young and inexperienced,” said Sophomore Evelyn McManus. But so is everyone else. Being annoying isn’t a trait exclusive to freshmen, and not all upperclassmen are mature.
“I was scared of school [as a freshman]. They [the freshmen this year] are probably also intimidated,” said Sophomore Katia Doiron.
High school is said to change people, and it has truly changed me and most people I know, as it will most freshmen. “I don’t think it’s high school [that’s changed me], it’s just more like I’ve grown up and aged as a person and I’ve matured.” said Doiron. And as we all know, it simply takes time to chip away at our freshmen and render them jaded. It doesn’t take long for the ninth graders we see today to look back on their own selves and laugh a bit. And by then, they’ll be telling the new freshmen: “you guys are so annoying.”
