So You're An Upperclassmen in High School...Now What?

By Jody Bell

Have you ever heard of a mid-high-school-crisis?

Well, if not that’s probably because it’s a phrase that I made up, but, I promise it’s real. It’s that feeling of walking into school as an upperclassman for the first time and the freshmen suddenly look so much younger than you remember. And then it hits you just how far away freshman year was ‒ how different you were just two years ago. Suddenly your mind is racing ‒ where are you going to be in 2 years when you graduate? Are you ready?

In my case, my mid-high-school-crisis hit me like an absolute brick. Seeing the younger students excitedly meeting new people and aimlessly looking around for the same classes where I once sat made me envious of the journey they had sitting in front of them. They had so many avenues and paths ahead of them ‒ which just made me think of all the classes, projects, and internships I still hadn’t done. At 16 this crisis made me feel nostalgic and old ‒ which, in retrospect, does sound a bit over-dramatic. 

Nevertheless I promise mid-high-school-crises exist, and that at least one of our Girls With Impact students is experiencing the bundle of emotions that come along with it. While there are no tips or tricks I could possibly give you, there are some reminders I would like to share to help you reflect and work through this period of your life.

Let yourself feel whatever it is you are feeling 

I remember when I entered junior year I went into a slump of feeling utterly defeated.

I suddenly realized that I was halfway through these formative years and had not accomplished many of the goals and objectives I set out to achieve as a freshman. I genuinely felt old, and when I shared this with my friends and family, they couldn’t help but laugh at how overdramatic I sounded -- but to me these feelings were very real. If you’re feeling discouraged, old, and in general, not the “preppy” upperclassmen that many of your peers may be encompassing, just know that this is okay. 

A few weeks into class my feelings of guilt and regret did fade and suddenly it was anxiety that was creeping into the back of my mind. My perspective shifted from feelings of sadness over how far away my freshman year was, to panic that I was almost a college student. 

Truth be told, there was no “logic” in my thought process nor feelings ‒ I was just a young girl going through a very pivotal moment of realization. Keep this in mind if you start to question the onslaught of thoughts and feelings that often accompany the mid-high-school-crisis.

Of course if these thoughts are incredibly intrusive, I would recommend speaking to a trusted friend or family member ‒ letting others know about these struggles is necessary, and talking through them is usually helpful. 

Keep moving and look ahead

Being half-way through a major period of your life sometimes makes you feel stuck in a process of grievance for the time you have lost.

The beginning of junior year can often be a bit of a limbo for many students ‒ you are half way through high school, yet still not heavily involved in the college-application process. This situation left me focusing on the past more than the future, and while reflection is beneficial, being too rooted in this past-focused mentality can cause more harm than good. 

For me personally, it was looking forward and researching colleges that forced me out of my slump. Of course I was excited about college, but I had romanticized high school so much that I couldn’t imagine college being better than the amazing classes, projects, and friendships I had experienced. However, that all changed when I started researching different institutions and finding programs and colleges that truly made me excited to graduate.

Doing the research to find these specific colleges is what allowed me to visualize a life past high school and truly feel excited about it. 

Allow the butterflies to be those of excitement 

Once you have the ability to picture this post high school life, it can be a fine line between excitement and anxiety. 

In my experience, I fell in love with one specific college very early in the process ‒ and while this was great for helping me get out of my mid-high-school-crisis, it also made me incredibly nervous that I would get rejected. In the end, I actually didn’t get accepted, and that’s okay! In fact, I’m grateful I got that rejection letter, because it led to me discovering my current college and I absolutely love where I am studying. 

I know it’s cheesy, but everything happens for a reason.  Once you understand that you can’t have tunnel vision on one specific future for yourself, you will be able to simply remain excited for whatever future lies ahead. 

I just entered my junior year of college, and truth be told I teared up a bit writing this article. Turns out mid-college-crisis exists too. 

While it’s never fun to be in a slump, I think these little midpoint-moments make us stop and reflect on just how far we’ve come. Yes, when you're young and your life is blocked into stages it is absolutely terrifying to think about the future past high school, college, and beyond; that’s exactly why the mid-high-school-crisis can be so crushing and debilitating for some people.

However, sometimes it is these moments of uncomfortable stagnation, where we are forced to reflect on where we were and where we are heading, that allow us to grow. 

Jody Bell, 20 is Girls With Impact’s Chief Editor and a program graduate from Greenwich High School. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, business and leadership program for girls 12-21, turning them into tomorrow’s leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators.