When freshmen first walk onto Monta Vista’s red brick campus, they bring with them a host of preconceived ideas. When they stand at the edge of the rally court they stand for their first day in a series of four years. High school is yet to show its nature but regardless of the future they must face it. Pink schedules direct them from class to class as their eyes scour for monsters or worse — upperclassmen on the horizon. In a new world there are new dangers and nobody knows, and nobody knew, what to do with the appearance of hundreds of strangers.

Or maybe grades are more frightening than people. According to the class of 2018, grades and exams for the upper years are more intimidating than the actual people.

“My grades and my SAT’s, I know I’ll have to deal with them,” said freshman Kendall Yu. “My neighbor is a senior, so I know how all this works.”

Two dimensional script has grown in importance but the freshman’s fear does not belong to letters alone. When years become smaller factors others characteristics will compensate. Like genders for instance.

As Monta Vista starts another year so does a host of new worries and only time tested advice can respond. Recorded in the phrase of a question and answer, the freshmen confess their worries for the new year and the seniors judge their claims.

This story was also reported on by Brandon Chin.