It’s a bleak, gray morning. Freedom is fading and silence hangs in the air: blatant signs of a typical Monday up ahead. The dizzying wave of doom, however, occupying everyone’s mind not only indicates the first day of the week, but also the first day of the school year.
Freshman Shreya Ingle stands in front of the looming entrance of Saratoga High, fidgeting with her navy blue hoodie and allowing a multitude of nightmare scenarios to run rampant in her mind.
“God, I am going to show up really late to my classes, or even worse, walk into a wrong classroom,” Ingle thinks. “With my luck, that classroom will be filled with seniors, just waiting to laugh me into a dark hole of despair.”
Her eyebrows knit together. She quickly shakes her head, clearing it of all doubts and negativity as squares her shoulders and steps foot into her new home for the next four years.
Now, this might seem like a typical scenario where a typical freshman is entering high school for the first time. However, Ingle isn’t just a freshman from Redwood entering Saratoga High for the first time. She is one of the few incoming freshman this year who is new to the district.
Along with a new school, comes an onslaught of challenges and adjustments.
“I went to Challenger last year,” Ingle said, “and one thing that really stands out about that school is how small it is. For example, there were only about 35 eighth graders in my graduating class.”
As a result, one of the first things that she noticed about SHS was the sheer number of students standing by their lockers on that first day.
“I definitely experienced a slight culture shock when I came here, just because everything here is a lot bigger than I am used to,” Ingle explained. “The buildings have numbers _which makes it a lot easier to find my classes and not get lost on campus.”
Overall, Ingle’s main worry was finding and making friends. Having been in her previous school since age 4 , she hadn’t had to deal with meeting new people in a while.
“I only had a few people from my old school come to Saratoga along with me,” Ingle said. “So starting over with a clean slate was both interesting and intimidating for me.”
Ingle is starting to enjoy her time at Saratoga by involving herself in sports such as tennis.
“I think the more I get involved and try to participate, the more I feel at ease,” Ingle said. “Everyone here is already super kind and friendly, so it’s just about stepping out of my comfort zone at this point.”
In the end, Ingle is no longer the terrified girl contemplating her fate in front of the school’s entrance.
“I am definitely ready to be a freshman,” she said. “Anxious and nervous, definitely, but also really excited. I think it’s going to be a good year.”