Freshman year of high school can be one of the most exciting moments of a teenager’s life. After saying goodbye to their friends from middle school, there is a fresh start just around the corner. The Catalyst interviewed NDB freshmen on their interesting first year of high school that led to an unexpected turn of events of social distancing. 

Freshman Casey Peterson played on NDB’s Junior Varsity Tennis team. She was on the Ambassador and Cooking clubs where she made delicious meals to eat.

Peterson said her thoughts going into her freshman year were all over the place.

“I thought it would be really hard to make friends and that balancing sports with school would be a lot of work, but in the end I made a ton of new friends,” she said.

Peterson said quarantine has impacted her experience as a freshman in only a small way. She hopes for her sophomore year that she is able to pick up where she left off and to spend time with her friends again.

Fellow freshman Carina Carlson was on the Junior Varsity Tennis team where she enjoyed playing with her teammates. She was also a part of the Baking club where she made yummy treats with her friends. 

Carlson said, “I was definitely excited for a brand new start with new people and teachers. Middle school wasn’t the best and I was glad to have moved on.”

She did not feel quarantine has greatly impacted her freshman experience, other than a few events like Aquacades. She is worried about readjusting going back to school because of how long everyone has stayed at home. For her sophomore year, she hopes that everyone returns to school safely, and she is very excited to see her friends again. 

Freshman Desea Bond was on the Junior Varsity Cross Country and Track teams. She was also in the Feminist and French clubs where she made many new upper and lowerclassmen friends. 

“I was sort of intimidated to start freshman year. I mean it seemed surreal that I would actually be in high school, but I was excited,” Bond shared.

Quarantine has affected her freshman year because she really misses going into her classes to see her friends. With her freshman year coming to an end, she expressed, “My hopes for next year are just to have normal school and to be at school with my friends.”