By Sophia Hysaw, Opinion Editor
After a long hard year of an ongoing pandemic and online learning, it’s September of 2021 and we’re officially back in school.
A lot has changed over this past year and for many students it’s been easy to go back to normal, though for others it’s been challenging. Some are coming back to the same school they were attending before the shutdown, while others are entering a whole new building and a whole new world of education.
With all that has taken place over the past year and a half, it has been overwhelming to attempt to go back to the closest thing we can achieve to normal. It seems that most people are having a hard time finding their way and figuring out where they belong now. Though, it seems that the underclassmen are having a much harder time with this.
It’s not uncommon for underclassmen to get lost easily while searching for their classes, but it seems that this year underclassmen are feeling lost in more than just this way. Going from middle school to high school is normally a pretty scary and nerve wracking transition, but after a whole year of online school, underclassmen may be feeling especially detached and cut off from their fellow classmates. They may feel as if they don’t know where they fit in anymore, and on top of that they may feel extremely unprepared for the new school year.
These feelings, although probably magnified due to our current situation, are not unusual. Many upperclassmen have spoken about how lost they felt as freshmen and how scared they were to start High School. Some have said it took them months to be able to find their classroom without a map, and others mention how long it took for them to make friends.
It’s okay to feel lost and out of place; we’ve all been there before.
Within the next couple weeks, clubs will start again and concerts will take place and school dances will be held. These are all great opportunities to meet more people and make new friends. The more involved you get in the school, the easier it will be to find your place within it.
With the way the world is right now, having feelings and thoughts of hopelessness are not that unusual, but take advantage of any opportunity you can, and understand that although these feelings are normal, they are not permanent.