May Cause Nightmares: Expostulations on Junior Year at Sequoyah

“Hellish.” “Never-ending.” “The worst year of my life.” “So, so, so bad.” “I want to go home.” The quotes above have been overheard recently on Sequoyah’s campus, and they are not describing the general election, but instead, the third year of students’ high school careers. Yes, eleventh grade: the fabled, fever-dream experience suffered each academic year by a separate batch of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, newly minted upperclassmen. But are things really that bad? Well, according to the three students in the Class of 2026 who provided insights on this seminal and exhausting life phase, yes and no.

 Jason Griffin-Mauff ’26 detailed a shift in his perspective on junior year, transforming from enthusiastic anticipation to realistic acceptance. Griffin-Mauff explained, “I was really excited [for junior year] because when I was at camp this summer, I found that there was just something about it [that] made socializing really easy. I think I just grew as a person.” However, the optimism wore off fairly quickly, as he began to experience frustration with the increased academic workload, which often encroaches on his free time–an experience echoed by other juniors. Additionally, Griffin-Mauff cited the looming professional tension as upperclassmen begin to consider job opportunities, as he wishes to enter an industry (animation) that is currently floundering. As he puts it, “Oh, am I about to blow thousands of dollars on a degree that I'll never be able to use because I can't get a job anywhere?” Yes, he concluded, he was. To phrase it succinctly, the current and future forecasts were not looking good. “I’m busy and I’m tired,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Eira Silva ’26 has a more uplifting take on the supposedly unifying social atmosphere that arrives with one’s junior year. “I feel like as a grade, we're becoming closer together, especially with college stuff, we all kind of feel the same way about it [stressed].” She also emphasized the importance of having a core group of people to rely on during anxiety-inducing times such as junior year, who will provide emotional support and a shoulder to cry on. Additionally, on a more academic note, Silva expressed mixed feelings on the increased privileges afforded to eleventh graders in choosing their classes, noting, “Honestly, having the ability to actually choose classes has made me more stressed out.” However, she clarified, this was a personal experience that worked out pretty well for her; she’s gotten her requested classes and has been enjoying her year so far. 

Finally, Dean Adelman ’26 offered a distinction between the myth and reality of junior year. Adelman cited the frightening rhetoric foisted upon many rising eleventh graders, which suggests that “We really need to be on our A game, especially with grades. Otherwise, what we've been hearing is that if we don't do well, we're not going to get into a good college, and we're going to be deadbeats, and I don't think anybody wants that.” However, in Adelman’s experience, this hasn’t been the case. He described the first semester of junior year as “smooth sailing,” but predicted that the workload would increase drastically by the end of the spring term. But otherwise, things are looking up: Adelman is enjoying choosing his classes, appreciates being able to leave campus, and is looking forward to meeting other high schoolers outside of Sequoyah’s student body. Speaking of increased freedom, this year’s juniors appear to be immensely grateful for their off-campus privileges–and correspondingly, the multitude of Friday lunch options available in Vallarta’s aisles. For Adelman, academic gloom fades away upon ingesting his weekly three-meat and garlic pizza from Blaze Pizza.

So upon investigation, perhaps junior year is not a purgatory of dangerously caffeinated, burned-out seventeen year olds–or maybe it’s not entirely that. All three interviewees agreed that self-care goes a long way towards making an anxious time more bearable, whether that’s through attending a birding group, relying on friends for love and support, or raiding Magic Club’s doughnut supply. Coping with stress is never easy, but it’s a valuable skill to develop.