The crowded auditorium echoed with the suspended hum of roughly one thousand two hundred and thirty-four different conversations all occurring at the same moment. The first day of school is when nerves become most obvious; every freshman is identifiable by their panicked faces searching for friends while every senior carries of an air of nonchalance. Hugging their backpacks and searching wildly for their homeroom teacher, freshmen are whisked off on a whirlwind of a first day, all the while getting lost and arriving late to the majority of their classes because they do not have a map. While this sort of anxiety happens whenever one moves to a new school, the beginning of high school marks a major turning point; it is the beginning of the end.

Freshmen year is synonymous with transition, uncertainty, and excitement. Some say that freshmen year is the first year one actually has to face the future and begin thinking about what lies ahead. "Not only do freshmen have to deal with the anxiety of going to a brand new school, sometimes even leaving friends behind, but they now have greater responsibilities as a high school student," said Mrs. Dekenipp, a guidance counselor. "They go from being the top dog on a middle school campus to the underdog all over again. Combined with this, they are going through many emotional and physical changes."

This year’s freshman class is a Briar Woods’ record breaker. Four-hundred and twenty-eight students strong, the freshman class of the 2009-2010 school year is Briar Woods’ biggest class yet. Despite the size of the underclassmen, the upperclassmen are too busy worrying about their own schedules to worry about the freshmen. Junior, Brooke Medeiros said, "I have honestly barely noticed them. The only times I even notice that their class is the largest is when I’m in the halls and see how ridiculously crowded they suddenly are!"

The layout of Briar Woods can be confusing to newcomers, and one major complaint of the freshmen is their inability to easily navigate around the school. "It took me about a week to find my classes without a map, but I’m still just not really used to school in general yet," said Freshman Josh Sackadorf.

Upperclassmen are sympathetic in that respect however because everyone has to endure the same confusion during the first two weeks of freshman year. Felix Grainger, a Junior, agrees with Sackadorf, "Finding my way to classes was so hard. I did not understand that the school was like a big figure eight and thought it just went in random directions for ages."
Many freshmen are beginning to discover the large differences between middle school and high school; the larger workload, the tougher classes, and the bigger school. However, many are also beginning to see the light and are quickly developing a routine. Matthew Borkowski, a freshman, said the thing he has enjoyed least about school so far is "all the homework."

Most freshmen complain about the workload, but, upperclassmen to be specific, maintain that freshman year was still the easiest. "It was so much fun finally being in high school. My freshman year was so much fun. It wasn’t hard at all," said Kayla Hirsch, a Junior.

The 2009-2010 school year promises to be a great one and all the teachers are confident that the freshmen will be able to assimilate into the fast-paced high school lifestyle in no time. Mrs. Dekenipp summed things up best. "So far this year the freshmen have been stepping up early and really seem to be making a name for themselves!"