On the first day of school, Del Mar High School welcomed its newest class of freshmen, each student stepping onto campus with a mix of nerves and anticipation. High school can feel intimidating at first, but it also marks the beginning of a new chapter filled with opportunities, friendships, and exciting experiences.
Before school started, Ryan Avery was worried about going to Del Mar after hearing rumors about the school. “My first expectations of Del Mar was that it wasn’t the nicest school,” Ryan said.
While Del Mar had its share of occasional fights last year, Avery’s suspicions were proven wrong. “From what I heard, people were getting into fights, but now that I’ve been here for a few weeks, I’ve realized that it’s not really true,” he said.
After a few weeks, Ryan started to settle into Del Mar. He hangs out with his old friends from Rolling Hills and makes new friends in his classes.
Ryan is looking forward to meeting new people and is excited to join the Meat Club. He is training to join the basketball team for the winter, but is excited to join the baseball team in the spring.
His main goal in high school is to pass all his classes with good grades, and he wants to make sure he understands the topics in his classes.
While his first expectations of high school were intimidating at first, Avery feels comfortable going to Del Mar now and is looking forward to what high school has to offer.
Brianna Hillman walked into her first days of high school expecting theatrics, bright lights, and dramatic hallways, “like High School Musical”, only to confront a more grounded reality: outdoor passages and a bigger crowd.
Hillman said she originally thought high school would mirror what she saw in movies, “really nice, and like a million billion majors”, but discovered instead that much of it happens outdoors.
Still, she’s embracing it: “There are so many more people, and it’s like more freedom.”
Now settling in, the freshman says she’s already made friends and joined varsity volleyball, all while confronting academic doubts head-on.
She’s already formed friendships with girls on the volleyball team like Niarah Aimonetti, Lauren Uppal, Mailey Japlit, and Zienelle Guevara, “I’m in volleyball right now,” she said, “and I’m not really looking forward for anything else.”
Academically, Hillman sets a clear goal: “good grades… for all my classes.”
But she admits math worries her. When asked why, she says she doubts herself, and she simply replied with, “Because I’m not very smart.”
That insecurity may bode for a tougher path ahead, but for now, she’s focusing on making connections and immersing herself in the high school experience.
Maddy Miner entered high school expecting stress and challenge, and so far, she’s not been disappointed. But she’s also found room for excitement: she’s aiming for a 4.0 GPA, plans to try out for multiple sports and is looking forward to upcoming school events.
Miner had braced herself for high school, “Being stressful, and… grades being hard,” yet held on to hope that school events would be fun. “I did expect all the events to be really good,” she said, adding that she plans to go to the Homecoming football game this week.
Despite her academic anxiety, she set a bold target: “keep a 4.0 GPA. and… try out for a sport. I want to make the team.”
She’s already active in volleyball and intends to try out for soccer as well.
New friends are emerging from unexpected places: juniors and seniors in her cooking class, and other girls on the varsity volleyball squad. “They’re really cool,” she said.
Her food class has become a bright spot; she called it “really productive,” and she said she’s excited to make pancakes soon. Of past projects, focaccia bread stood out: “It was nice, it was pretty good.”
Her favorite classes so far are: P.E., where they’re learning to play badminton, and foods class because “we get to make food.”
Miner sees a clear shift from middle school life. In middle school, lunch phones weren’t allowed; now, she says, “during lunch … it’s more freedom.”
Hallways are more crowded, but she views that as a positive: “You can make more friends.”
