“I expected the benchmark projects to be difficult, but the ones I’ve done so far (CHANGE and WIP) were quite fun and enlightening. :3” (Teresa Joseph, 11)

“My expectation coming into high school was that upperclassmen were intimidating and exclusive — however, the upperclassmen I’ve met through HS have truly shaped me into who I am today through their generosity and wisdom!” (Faye Wang, 12)

“I thought school would be like how it was in high school musical…turns out it’s nothing alike.” (Hannah Nguyen, 11)

“My expectation was that being in high school would be very challenging but the reality is that it is only challenging if you make it hard on yourself.” ( Emi Yamasaki, 12)

“I didn’t really expect much coming into high school, but it has proven to be fun yet stressful on many levels.” (Vicki Pan, 11)

“I expected to feel alone and struggle, however my link leaders were really helpful and friendly. They always helped me with any questions and concerns I had.” ( Angle Dao 12)

“My expectation was getting very little sleep, which turned out to be reality.” (Jennifer Tso, 12)

“I like to not have expectations. That way I don’t get disappointed by not having them met.” (Richard Yin, 10)

“That I won’t procrastinate on my work and actually go to bed on time this year.” (Sanjana Shinde, 10)

“meeting a lot of new people” (Vionna, 9)

“That I will be able to meet different people and make new friends and join clubs I am interested in” (Christine Song 9)

“I expect there to be much more workload than the workload from 8th grade.” (Wanning Lu, 9)

“having a lot of fun, but still doing a lot of work at the same time” (Mahathi, 9)

“absorbing the environment and getting help from the seniors” (Ahmad Zayan, 9)