by Ashanti Freitas

The first day of school feels different for every class. For the incoming eighth graders, the initial excitement can be overshadowed by not knowing what to expect and not feeling like they fit in.

Because of these fears, that first day requires extra preparation.

“I got up early Thursday morning, nervous as ever. I made sure I looked nice since every grade was going to be at school today,” Toni Resendes explains. She had her hair straightened, new clothes on and her makeup was perfect. Toni had stopped at Dunkin Donuts on her way to school with her cousins, but refused to eat anything because she had the biggest knot in her stomach.

For Toni the first week of school was rough. She was adjusting to a new environment; a bigger school, the older kids and the longer schedules.

She claims lunch was the worst. “I felt like an outsider.”

To Toni the older kids are intimidating. She does not know most of the older kids and doesn’t really see them outside of school. These are complete strangers, and Toni does not know where she stands compared to all the other kids. She only sees the older kids at lunch, and that’s when she feels uncomfortable.

Although the big kids make lunch horrible for her, that isn’t the only thing. It is the timing too. “I have lunch at 10:30 every day. It’s like I eat breakfast twice,” says Resendes.

During her first week she just tried to stay out of everyone’s way and minded her own business. She had stomachaches the first few days, but once she got used to her schedule and her surroundings, she started to open up.

But Makayla Freitas wasn’t nervous; in fact she was excited.

“I couldn’t sleep the night before. I was just so excited to finally be at Hudson High School,” she says. She had her outfit planned out the night before, pancakes for breakfast and her hair was just right.

Freitas felt comfortable at the high school because she knew her sister was going to be there, and her aunt was a teacher. She is not the type to get worked up and worried. She’s outgoing and always has a positive attitude.

She used to spend her half days with her aunt, math teacher Michelle Freitas, correcting papers and wandering around Hudson High. She was already familiar with her surroundings and knew what to expect.

Her first days were the easiest. She was friendly with everyone in her classes, and lunch was a breeze.

She ignored all the negative comments that she heard; like homecoming rally. That was the only thing that made Makayla worried. “I just don’t want to be known as the little kids who get grapes and oranges thrown at them,” she explains.

Marissa Ogar though had mixed emotions. She wasn’t really nervous because her sister was at the high school, but she didn’t quite know what to expect. She went back-to-school shopping and had everything she needed.

“I think the thing that freaked me out was being on a different team, away from all my friends,” Marissa stated.

But she knew she still had soccer to keep in touch with her old friends.

Although Ogar was alone for the first week in her classes, she still went to school on the first day with a positive attitude. Good things did come out of being on a separate team; like good grades, more focus in class, and even new friends. She met Olivia Holverson, who has some classes with her, and they are both on the same soccer team.

Holverson was a nervous wreck for the first week. She couldn’t eat or sleep, and her mind was always on school during the end of summer.

“I’m so small; I just didn’t want to get trampled in the hallways,” she says.

Going from JFK to HHS was a huge step for Olivia. “I was on Amber at JFK and they didn’t give us as much work as we get now. We were so not ready,” she explains.

Everyone is always nervous for the first day of school, but the eighth graders have a particularly tough time. They go from being the rulers at JFK to being the youngest students at Hudson High.