Like many other incoming students, freshman Yvonne Ye hit the ground running.

“Cross country is fun in a kind of unexpected way,” Ye said. “Long runs don’t actually drive you over the edge into exhaustion. The trick is to find that good spot on your speedometer, where you feel like you can run like Forrest Gump.”

Ye admits that cross country can sometimes be long and grueling, but she also believes that running is invigorating.

“While running, your feet hurt and you can’t breathe nearly as much as you want to. But afterwards, you get that wonderful feeling of satisfaction that makes you want to do it again.”

What is your impression of high school so far? How is it different from what you expected?

High school isn’t too different from middle school; there’s a general air of camaraderie you find between grades that you don’t really get in middle school—juniors are willing to talk to freshmen if they’re both waiting in the same ridiculously long food line. The whole school seems very lively but still focused; people talk during passing periods, but they talk while walking. Back at Redwood, people would hang around and talk—and get to class late.

I’m not really sure what I expected for high school to be like; I mean, it’s nice to see that not everyone towers over me while I’m walking in the hallways. I also thought there would be more class-segregation—the stereotypical seniors picking on freshmen and the like. But that doesn’t really happen here; Saratoga tends to throw stereotypes out the window.

What have been your favorite and least favorite parts of high school?

I love the fact that since I run cross country, I don’t have a seventh period and can go home early. Additionally, all the teachers seem to know what they’re doing and get down to business—and homework, unfortunately. Block schedule, while different, is something I’m starting to see the advantage of as well. The fact that school starts 25 minutes earlier is hard to cope with.

What are some interesting classes you are taking this year?

We’ve just started the short story unit in English 9, and “The Most Dangerous Game” was a terrific read for me. The story kind of ended on a cliff-hanger, with the last line that tells you the entire end like the punch-line of a joke. The dialogue is well-crafted, the descriptions elegant and the story interesting and fairly fast-paced. Additionally, the title was a double-entendre; I love little puns like that, or witty dialogue.