Change can be a frightening thing, and for teenagers, one of the most frightening changes is the transition from middle to high school.  When I became a freshman, I was too frightened to ask anyone what I should expect and just struggled through it, figuring out how to handle it as I went along. The first and possibly most important thing is not to be afraid to ask a question of your teachers or other students, no matter how embarrassing it may feel. Your teachers are there to teach and help you, and your peers have likely been in the same situation. The next thing that all freshmen should know is that contrary to popular belief, most upperclassmen don’t really hate freshmen, and there isn’t any reason to be intimidated by us. While this doesn’t mean that the seniors and juniors  might not initially look down on underclassmen, most of us are able remember that we too were once Freshmen and what it was like. If someone older than you is treating you poorly, that isn’t the norm. The final piece of advice that I have is this:  just because a teacher doesn’t call you out on something doesn’t mean he or she didn’t see it happen. This applies to a couple things, but mostly cheating. Most of the teachers here at Horizon are kind enough not to call you out in front of the whole class in the middle of the test, but I can promise you that it’s not something that they’re going to let you get away with. Trust me on this one, it’s easier to set aside the 15 to 30 minutes each night for studying than to risk a zero on the test. I suppose that if there is one thing to take away from this, it’s that you should focus a little more on the learning aspect of school and not put too much thought or stress into the social aspect.