As first quarter came to an end on Oct. 30, students of all grades adjusted to the new challenges brought on by the progression through high school.

During first quarter, freshmen got a taste of academic and social life at TJ.

“It took a little bit of acclimating to get used to the intensity of the TJ classes, since Longfellow was always kind of easy for me,” freshman Alex Kao-Sowa said.

Students who got by with minimal effort at their middle schools are now adequately challenged at TJ. “The homework is at least four times more than my middle school, but by the end of the quarter, I think I’m slowly adjusting to TJ life,” Kao-Sowa said.

Along with studying academics, freshmen also got to experience their first homecoming.

“TJ’s social life is a lot more fun than I expected it to be,” freshman Bindu Srinivasa said. “The pep rallies this week have been a lot of fun, and I definitely look forward again to doing it next year.”

Sean Le, a sophomore with one year of TJ academic experience, was looking forward to the socializing aspect of school life.

“First quarter is pretty cool because I get to see all my friends and teachers again,” he said. “Every year, I’m happy I get to meet new people.”

However, other sophomores were more focused on academics.

“The last week of the quarter is always stressful. Teachers assign projects to be due this week, and there are many tests I have to take last minute that usually end up bringing down my grade,” sophomore Christine Zhao said.

She felt that her first quarter as a sophomore was challenging, because of the difficulty of her courses. “I feel so overwhelmed by the combined workload from my history class with Yi, chemistry class with Chhabra, AP Bio, and AP BC Calculus,” Zhao said.

Many juniors also struggled with adapting to the course load of their schedules. “First quarter was kind of a struggle because I’m taking a bunch of APs in addition to doing a fall sport plus MEX and other homecoming events,” junior Audrey Huang said. “I’m kind of relieved it’s over. I’m really looking forward to the four-day weekend.”

Meanwhile, some seniors panicked to meet their deadlines for early college applications. “I’m glad that after finishing college apps, I will never have to deal with them again,” senior Ally Scholle said.

Seniors who were not applying early decision were less stressed about first quarter. “I have an online class, so I get to sleep till nine on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I get lots more sleep than I did last year,” said senior Ricky Hage. “I have much less homework than I ever did in the past three years.”

The stress and problems of the beginning of the new school year, along with first quarter, will end with a four day teacher workday weekend. “First quarter was a struggle, dealing with all the stress and homework, but at least it’s over and I have second quarter to look forward to,” Huang said.