As their first semester of high school ends, the class of 2018 looks on to the next three and a half years with a small taste of what is in store for them in high school. From the numerous fundraisers, dances and, of course, tests, this year’s freshmen have taken their first steps into the four year journey of high school. Read below to see three freshmen recap their first semester of high school.

El Estoque: What are some things that you enjoyed from this semester?

Freshman Shiv Ansal: Meeting a lot of new people and making new friends. I enjoyed the rallies and the dances because we didn’t have to study. They helped me get away from the stress.

Freshman Santosh Sivakumar: Anything that doesn’t focus on school or grades is fun. School is always in the back of your mind and rallies and dances don’t affect your grades.

Freshman Juliane Tsai: The rallies and the dances were a lot of fun.

EE: What kind of strides has the Class of 2018 made this semester?

Ansal: We worked together to make our quad decs really great and our improvement at rallies was huge because we were so loud.

Sivakumar: At the beginning of the year, most of your class wasn’t as involved or spirited. Over the course of this semester, more people have started getting involved and doing things.

Tsai: We’ve come together as a class and bonded really well. We weren’t divided as Lawson or Kennedy [students], but we came together as one class.

EE: How would you describe your experience at MVHS in three words or phrases?

Ansal: Stressful, interesting, and exciting. I’m always looking forward to school. Sure, it’s stressful, but it’s fun too.

Sivakumar: Busy, everything matters, independent.

Tsai: Fun, I feel more driven, fun. Yeah, I think it’s fun.

EE: What did you expect MVHS to be like? Was it like you imagined?

Ansal: Based on what my upperclassmen friends told me it is stressful and I [would] have to work hard all the time. It’s exactly like I imagined.

Sivakumar: It is exactly like I expected. Well, I mean, it is a little bit better. My brother went here so I knew that I had to expect a lot of hard work. Some people make you feel like its extremely hard but once you get used to it, it’s not that bad.

Tsai: I feel like, it’s actually been harder than I expected. You have to work harder than you think you have to.

EE: Looking back on your expectations and /observations from the beginning of the semester, how do you feel about high school now?

Ansal: Things have settled a lot more. But I’ve realized that even one mistake can be very costly. One mistake and your grade goes down. I can’t afford to make mistakes.

Sivakumar: We’ve gotten used to it, so now that it’s a lot more normal, we can have fun with it.

Tsai: It’s kind of a routine now. I think it’s okay.

EE: What can MVHS expect from the class of 2018 over the course of the next few years?

Ansal: We want to change our name from the class of 2018 to the family, because we’re always looking out for each other.

Sivakumar: We have [the] potential to be really spirited if we try. We might even get close to beating the seniors.

Tsai: I think we have potential to be a really bonded and close class. We have a lot of hard workers and if we work hard we can be really successful.

EE: Are you excited for the rest of high school?

Ansal: Yeah. What’s the point to going to school if you’re not excited?

Sivakumar: Definitely. Everything’s better when you’re not a freshman.

Tsai: Yep. We’re used to high school now, so things are looking up.