By Oscar Wolfe

Now that I’m in seventh grade, I’ve moved from elementary school to junior high school. It’s much busier and there are some pretty enormous changes. Here’s a list that I’ve put together of the biggest changes that I’ve faced in this transition.

1. The time difference is devastating.

I have to wake up two hours earlier now that I’m in junior high. I catch the bus at 7:06 a.m., which gets me to school at around 7:20. I then have a bit of time until school starts at 7:47. I’m trying to move my bedtime earlier, but I can’t seem to go to sleep without reading for about an hour past the time my mom tells me “lights out!” I’m feeling the consequences.

2. I now have to constantly move during the day.

In elementary school, I would spend the majority of the day in one or two classrooms. Now I’m in at least four per day, and I love the variety in subjects and teachers. It’s fun to see different kids throughout the day, too.

3. I have more extracurricular opportunities.

In elementary school, I would get very bored at some points because school didn’t offer a lot of things other than… well… school. Now I have tons of options to do before and after school. Currently, I’m doing cross country.

4. The kids are way bigger.

I’ve never been a big kid. But in my last year at elementary school, I was still in the oldest grade, so I felt relatively big. But now that I’m in the youngest grade again, I’m back to being the tiny one. I’ve learned to be very aggressive in passing time.

5. I have more academic opportunities.

In elementary school, kids aren’t really trusted to make decisions about their own learning. But now I can choose many different courses and how hard I want each course to be.

Change can be hard, but it definitely pays off! What are some of the biggest changes you’ve faced so far this school year?