POPULARITY

EXPECTATION:

“I think that popularity will be like people looking up to you as a person, having a lot of friends and being involved in school activities and clubs. I am not too worried about popularity, because I have a lot of friends. I don’t think I need to be popular to have a good high school experience.” – freshman Sofia Ellison

REALITY:

“Popularity is kind of a non-factor at Northwest. There are definitely individuals that are more well known than others but there’s not a hierarchy so to say. Everyone has their foot in multiple friend groups which creates a great sense of community where the ‘jock’ and ‘mean girl’ stereotypes just don’t really exist.” – senior Brody Carlson

TEACHERS

EXPECTATION:

“I think movies and social media represent teachers as very strict and inconsiderate of students’ struggles. At Trailridge, however, the teachers were amazing. I don’t see why it would be any different. I think there are definitely going to be teachers that I don’t get along with, but I think the vast majority are going to be phenomenal.”— freshman Calla Harrison

REALITY:

“I think everyone has their own experience with a teacher. All of our teachers are very understanding. You just have to talk to them. It’s not like middle school or elementary where they’ll reach out to you if you need help. It helped me mature and realize I have to take things into my own hands if I want to be a successful student. But also there’s cons. You have to be on top of stuff and that’s hard sometimes.” – senior Lilly Harris

ASSEMBLIES

EXPECTATION:

“They’ll probably be loud and kind of crazy, but also super fun and full of energy. I’m very excited for the assemblies!” – freshman Lilly Peters

REALITY:

“They are loud and highly competitive. They really do feel like a special occasion, so the stakes are high to make each assembly count. Everybody is supportive, too.” – senior Ian O’Neil

WORKLOAD

EXPECTATION:

“I’m expecting the workload to be a little more time-consuming than middle school. My goal is to not procrastinate so I can stay ahead!” – freshman Colin Salzsieder

“I think we’ll have a lot more time to get our work done and we’ll have a lot of support from teachers.” – freshman Aedan Hirsch

REALITY:

“It definitely depends on what type of classes you’re taking. If you’re taking a more rigorous course, then you might have a heavier load. Or certain classes, depending on the teacher, have a heavier workload than normal. But it’s always nice that teachers are willing to work with you if you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to balance various classes and clubs/sports.” – senior Annaliese Nguyen