High school is a turbulent and transformative time, with each year bringing new and defining experiences. Now nearing the end of this journey, I’ve decided to take a look back on my high school career and decide, definitively, which years were prime and which were the toughest.

Overall Ranking

1. Senior

Senior year ranks highest because it brings more freedom, confidence, and eagerness for the next chapter. Although the beginning can be overwhelming with college applications, the ending is very memorable. After you have spent years of effort into figuring out what you want to do with your life, you are at the finish line. The final stretch of your high school career equals no more toxic friend groups, drama stories, or last-minute studying. This year is all about the “lasts”. As a senior myself, I tried to embrace every moment of my last year: last homecoming, last home basketball game, last Nelson presentation, and so on. This year is a reward and a result of all of the hard work we put in over the years. Hopefully all of that pain and suffering will lead to bigger and better things this fall!

 2. Sophomore

Sophomore year ranks next for me because it is a period of growth and adjustment, where students have already developed relationships with the faculty and classmates and learn to become better at time management. Although I started to take more honors classes and my first AP class, I felt more comfortable with the environment I was surrounded by. I was more eager to be a part of traditions like the dodgeball tournament, Cotton with Cotton, Halloween door decorating contest, and social events like Homecoming. I feel like my friend group was the only thing holding me back this year. I was what you would call a “floater friend”, meaning I didn’t stick with one group but instead hung around everyone. This was also the year I found out I didn’t want to be a doctor like Meredith Grey from “Grey’s Anatomy”. Instead, I wanted to pursue a career in law. 

3.  Junior

The most stressful year due to heavy course load, numerous AP classes, standardized tests, and college prep. This was the year colleges cared about my GPA, extracurriculars, APs, honors, and test scores. This was the year where I worked my butt off to do everything I believed was right: get all As, play sports, do acts of service, and continue my legal internship that summer. I had to do the things I enjoyed in order to feel like I was on the right path for my future. The only things keeping me sane when I wasn’t studying were my new stable friend group, playing basketball or soccer, “Dawson’s Creek”, “The OC”, and “Gossip Girl”. 

4.  Freshman

Freshman year ranks last because of the difficult transition from middle to high school with new expectations and environments. This was my overall worst year in school due to the added stress of being able to meet the expectations of these new teachers. I was not in a healthy friend group, yet again, and I had very low self-esteem. I did not know where I fit in socially and it took a very big mental toll on my behavior around everyone. My uncertainty of myself led to gossip and lies being spread around. I tried my hardest to make the new students feel welcomed, but it became very hard when I didn’t feel it myself when I had been at Woods for over nine years. In order for me to ignore the mess of my social life, I had to focus on my schoolwork and extracurriculars to maintain my composure in and outside the classroom.