Written By: Jaidan Slowik, Staff Writer
INSIGHT: We asked Poly students how high school life compares to their expectations in elementary school.
“Not Quite High School Musical”
As Poly students finally start to get accustomed to this school year’s routine, there are many aspects of high school, such as Homecoming, to look forward to. There are plenty of portrayals of high school in books, television shows, and movies – plenty of stereotypes and tropes as well. Every depiction of high school seems to say something different, but which of these versions is actually accurate, if any?
“More Opportunities…”
While speaking with Sophomore Austin Pelsh, he talked briefly about what he expected of high school when he was in elementary. “Kind of scary in a way?… Like I guess, more bullies, if that makes sense.” While high school is the setting of many pieces of media, it’s hard to say what is real and what is added for on-screen effect. Austin Pelsh believes that high school is portrayed inaccurately to younger kids. “They say it’s more crazy and thrilling when really it’s not, it’s just not.” While the life of a teenager isn’t exactly what it appeared to be like as a little kid, the life of a student at Poly is never dull. “Frankly I don’t think I’ve changed much, but I guess my interests have,” Austin explains. Even though school has changed over the years, some students, like Austin Pelsh, have remained relatively the same.
“Honestly? Rumors.”
Freshman Lynn Smith still has a fresh memory of what life was like before high school, and can still recall the lingering impressions that media leaves on younger kids. “The closest thing I ever watched was Greece growing up, or Disney channel stuff…So the closest thing I had to high school was High School the Musical.” An unpleasant but common part of growing up is learning how to exist in negative environments. Lynn reminisced over the ups and downs of the past few weeks. “I’m autistic and I realize I got bullied a lot because of it…Some people just don’t like how I keep quiet, but I don’t mind it. I just keep to myself.” Lynn has joined a variety of extracurriculars so far at Poly and remains excited about what is to come.
“I’m a lot more outspoken than before.”
“It’s not friendly, high school is not as friendly as I thought it’d be, and it’s a lot more scary…”. Anaya Anderson is settling into Junior year and spoke about how high school didn’t quite meet her expectations. When asked about any misconceptions she had before she first entered high school, her response was, “Finding friends was also completely different than how I thought it’d be because a lot of people are antisocial and finding friends is a lot more difficult.” One thing should be obvious to all our Poly bears though, Poly is unlike any other high school out there. Anaya spoke proudly, “Our determination is different from other high schools on certain levels. Like our spirit weeks and the amount of student run clubs and fun events we have… people are more open to talk and share their ideas.” Poly may not be exactly what students expected, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Take a look at what the future holds, as the year has only just begun.