During my younger, carefree years, I often dreamed about high school. Songs like “We’re All In This Together” and “Bop to the Top” gave me the impression that the four years would be magical.

Well, Burroughs is nothing like “High School Musical.” There is no harmonized singing or dancing on tables or chanting at basketball games. All we have are SATs, homework, extracurricular activities, sports, and did I mention homework? Some would even say that high school is worse than prison.

Adina Cazacu-De Luca ’20 said as she pounded her fist against the table, “It’s the worst year ever. None of us are going to survive.” I could not agree more.

At Burroughs, the ninth graders still have hope that they will survive the next four years of their life. Wrong. The sophomores are actually excited about school events like Blue and Gold and Dance Marathon. Just why?

Enter junior year, and it finally hits you.

A free weekend with no homework? Never heard of her. Maintaining a good GPA while participating in several clubs, sports, and spending time with friends? Not possible.

Scheduling in mental breakdowns throughout the day? Um, yes. Studying for two tests, quizzes, and writing an essay in one night? Sounds accurate.

Becoming a junior is described as the worst choice of our lives.

As our backpacks begin to fill with textbooks, binders, and notebooks, our backs begin to cave. As we tread throughout the campus onto the next torturous class, our spines will begin to warp. Students have even given this new sickness a name: STD (spinal tear disease). A cure has yet to be found.

As some of the oldest members of the student body, you would think that the younger ones would learn to respect us. However, middle schoolers and the occasional courageous sophomore trample the upper-class members at the snack shack between third and fourth period. The only foods that remain are mushy bananas and embittered apples.

So, how is junior year?

Our only supply of food is dwindling as the younger classes grow, overpowering us in number and size. Our teachers assail us with textbooks and homework. Colleges continue to email us about “opportunities.”

There is a chance that we will not make it out of this alive.