New classes, a giant school, and upperclassmen on the prowl to eat freshman. Not to mention musical numbers at lunch, in class, and on the last day of school. High school is exactly as scary and exciting as painted in movies.

Well, not quite.

According to senior Eduardo Jacobo, the transition between high school and middle school is more about staying focused and working hard.

“High school is not as scary as all of my teachers and peers said it would be,” Jacobo said. “Though high school means more freedom and more fun, it is still not a time to mess up because it will determine the future.”

The last step before joining the work force or college, high school enables students to find their place, an opportunity many missed in middle school.

“In middle school I was bullied a lot and scared to be myself,” junior Shelby Kay said. “When I got to high school I realized other people’s opinions didn’t matter if people respected themselves and their own opinions. It’s high school, not war.”

Being knocked down from top dog in middle school to the freshman in high school is not as dramatic as it seems, according to sophomore Maddison Albright.

“Being at the top in middle school to being at the bottom in high school never felt different to me,” Albright said. “I mean you notice the way people go from looking up to you in eighth grade to people not really paying attention to you. But I think you’re never truly at the top until your senior year.”

While high school can be an overwhelming experience for some, Senior Atlanta Perry believes a few words of advice she received her freshman year are the key to success for any freshman trying to make the transition.

“When I was a freshman I rode the bus and there was a senior who told me something I won’t ever forget,” Perry said. “She told me to not let high school change me; to not let it harden me and take away how sweet I am. High school may seem tough, and required a bit of maturing, but I never let it take the light out of my eyes.”