Annie Johng is a freshman who moved from Texas. 

“We moved because we wanted a change of environment since Cali and Texas are two very different states,” Johng said. “My brother and sister both live in California since they went to college here so we just wanted to be closer to them.”

Coming into the school year, Johng said, “It felt weird since I moved from a different state and corona was like lowkey messing everything up.”

For Johng, her biggest challenge was starting high school without her friends back home. However, she said she still stays connected by “talking and staying in touch with them.”

Additionally, Johng said being part of the GBHS dance team has helped her adjust to the move.

“I got to be part of the GBHS dance team, so that’s super cool that I had that chance to meet people even before school started,” Johng said. “I think it helped me be more confident in meeting new people, since I already knew a little bit of people from the team or just in the neighborhood. I was definitely less intimidated.”

In spite of the challenges, Johng said this quarter has taught her valuable lessons. 

“I learned that it’s okay to have some failures,” she said. “It definitely (helped) me be a better person just in general (…) I’m still learning lots of things about myself, others and the world including (everything from) school work to even political views.”

Johng said the future of this school year has presented her with a new challenge, but she remains optimistic.

“I feel anxious about the next quarter because I definitely lost some motivation to do school online,” Johng said. “But it might be better especially since we have the option to do fully in school.”

Johng rated this quarter a 7/10 for both the academic and social aspect.