The year 2017 brought many new things with it. New president. New technology. And for schools all around the world: New students.

For a new freshman, life can be hard. New friends, new school, and new classes.

For 14-year-old Jamie Grant, Pattonville seemed scary, but she thought that the people seemed nice.

“Yes, I am excited about freshman year because I want to make nice long-lasting, trustworthy friends.”

Pattonville has tons of things to do and Grant finds it’s hard to keep up with them all, but is exciting about so much.

“I’m going to go to football games, I’m striving for good grades, and I’m excited about homecoming,” she said. “It’s a good experience to go to a public school.”

It was a big transition for Grant.

“I guess because I came from a private school,” Grant said, who attended Grace Christian Academy last year.

Everyone knows that the first day of school can be rough for anyone new. Especially if you came from a small school like Grant did.

“My first day of school sucked,” she said. “I ate alone and people took chairs from my table.”

Pattonville is a big school, and she said it’s no surprise that lots of new freshmen got – and still continue – to get lost.

“I definitely got lost on my first day.”

The school has tons of cool clubs for all different types of people and she said the Christian Club is something she is interested in joining.