What about those worries?

from LLHS Advantage magazine issue 19 -- 2019 issue 2

This summer, we caught up with a couple of soon-to-be sophomores and juniors at the annual band camp that kicks off parade season. Now that they have been Warriors for a year or two, we asked what they worried about before they started LLHS—and how soon they discovered it wasn’t as hard as they thought. With all the activities Lakeside has to offer, you’ll find your niche. It seems most worry about finding friends and fitting in, but read on to discover that not only do you find friends, but you also find family.

Aaron Fritz, Westside Academy, Middleton

Incoming Freshman Worries: Making friends of his own. Being able to figure out marching.

Aaron had two older siblings come to Lakeside, but they had both graduated by the time he started. He knew a few people who were coming here, but soon found out that he made more friends really quickly. Also, “band camp is so much fun and it’s easy to pick up the marching.” He plays basketball and runs track.

Caleb Koester St. Paul, Fort Atkinson

Incoming Freshman Worries: Homework. Trying to make friends.

Maybe you’re worried about making friends of your own or who you will sit with at lunch. Caleb found that he sat with the few people he did know and soon other people joined in around them. Also, he shares that “homework didn’t turn out to be that big of a deal.” You can do it! He is in football, basketball, and baseball.

Grace Seim, St. Stephen, Beaver Dam Incoming Freshman Worries: Living far away from school. Making friends.

“We live 45 minutes away and others lived closer. I wondered if I would be able to see them on weekends,” she says. “It started out hard, but once I got to know more people, they almost worked harder to make up for the distance.” Now that she can drive, it’s much easier. To meet as many people as possible, Grace reached out to them and talked to as many people as she could. Grace is also in Teens for Christ, track, and NHS.

Ella Butzine, St. Paul, Ixonia

Incoming Freshman Worries: Feeling alone, even though you’re on a team. Enough time for extracurriculars and homework.

Ella was worried that she wouldn’t be able to bond. “I didn’t know that it only takes two days to feel like close friends,” she said. She also appreciated that the coaches understand that homework needs to come first. Even though managing it all can still be stressful, Ella finds time to be in forensics, drama, golf, STEM, SWE-LL, newspaper, Teens for Christ— and she’ll be in Swing Choir next year too.

Anika Stone, Our Redeemer, Madison

Incoming Freshman Worries: Finding people she clicked with. Opening her locker.

“Not many people came from my school, so I didn’t know who I’d hang out with in school.” She quickly got involved in dance, “which is huge,” she says. She also was the wrestling manager. As for her locker, she was pretty sure it wouldn’t open for her, but “I opened it twice and had it down.” Occasionally it still gives her a bit of trouble, but she reassures us that she knows how to handle it now.

Trevor Holzhueter, St. John, Waterloo

Incoming Freshman Worries: Memorizing the school song.

This might seem like a funny answer, but we know you can still worry about the “silly stuff ” anyway. Trevor reassured us that it wasn’t actually too hard to learn the school song. And, the more games you attend, the more you hear it and learn it—and all the fun cheers too! He’s in football as well as pep band.

This article is from:

LLHS Advantage magazine issue 19 -- 2019 issue 2