A typical first day of school consists of brand new sneakers shuffling down the hallways, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, and restless freshmen waiting to get through the metal detectors—but not this year. Having to adapt to a new school can be hard enough, but this year’s freshmen have an unprecedented challenge: adapting to high school through a screen.

Wilson freshman Solinda Jacobson wishes that she could have a normal freshman year because of how little interaction she currently has with other students. “With online school, I don’t get to meet any of the upperclassmen,” she said. Jacobson also finds it hard when not understanding the material taught in an online class because, “you don’t know any of your classmates well enough to ask them for help.” Giacamo Ban-Goodrich agrees and believes, “you’re not going to make any new friends until you go to school in person.” 

Another Wilson freshman, Charles Bertsch, agrees that online school does not offer the full academic experience because of technological issues. Some teachers have had problems uploading assignments on Canvas. He also noted that the WiFi connections of both students and teachers on Microsoft Teams calls can lag to a point where he cannot hear them.

Other freshmen, like Ellie Paty, do not mind online school. She feels that the age gap between the upperclassmen would be awkward in person. Also, without the social aspect of school, she finds it easier to, “focus on school and start high school off right.”

Regardless of the various pros and cons of starting high school off online, at least there was no need to spend hours choosing a first day of school outfit this year.