There are lots of youngsters out there who really dedicate themselves to their work and spend their time achieving to the fullest degree to be successful in life. Others are commonly known as wild and obnoxious: Freshmen. New school, new environment, old mentality. At this point, everyone around you has grown out of their “immature” stage and have grown into a more mature type of lifestyle. Some are able to make that transition. Others, on the other hand, can’t seem to make an effort to change.

Freshman, Allie Fried, clearly seems to be the exact opposite of the specific comments that lots of students have on freshman.

Freshman, that are just coming out of eighth grade, can still have a bit of a “childish” mindset when adjusting to the more complex high school environment. The main reason why they’re not respected more than half of the time. Change is difficult, but can be accomplished. It’s up to the individual to put it upon themself to create a change that could benefit their lives.

Fried, a freshman with a clear high standard for herself, shows that she is ready for whatever comes her way. Fried shows the type of discipline that resembles one of a college student. Being a part of KAMSC, along with her daily schoolwork, Fried is always busy and almost never has time for herself; however, that doesn’t stop her from getting her work done even without the luxury of having leisure time. That doesn’t matter to her, whether she has the time or not, she’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure that her work is completed and she makes it through high school on time.

For Fried, the workload isn’t that excessive as compared to middle school, so she has no problems in adapting to a high school environment at all. In fact, it doesn’t surprise her one bit.

“There’s a different vibe from middle school to high school,” Fried said. “It seems boring to me, so I don’t like it that much.”

At an early stage, Fried has put the more important things first, regardless of the sacrifices. Besides school and a determined mindset, Fried, indeed, shows some potential outside of the classroom as well. Being a part of the swim team, she has shown a well-developed skill set in something that she’s done since the age of six. As it seems, this is the only form of extracurricular activities that Fried has performed. A life like this significantly requires dedication and a willingness to put specific things to the side for other things that are considered more important in life.

“I don’t have many hobbies to be honest,” Fried said. “I mainly go to school, KAMSC, do my homework and nothing much after that besides swim.”

A normal day for her may not be as exciting as what others would expect it to be, but as long as you’re taking care of business, you may not always have time to enjoy yourself. It’s just a part of life.

“My typical day has a lot of work and not a lot of time for my free time, as I don’t have any room for it at all,” said Fried.

There are major downsides when dealing with not having time to do what you enjoy when you have such a busy lifestyle. According to the article, Being Busy: The Pros and Cons by Zachary Boulanger, being busy all the time can have a major deal of stress. This can lead to frustration and not wanting to stop until your task is completed. A busy life can have both good and bad sides. You’re never bored because you always have something to do; however, you put a tremendous amount of pressure on yourself, which can lower your confidence and, in the future, may make you not want to do excessive work.

Another thing to be mindful of when you’re at a busy point like Fried is to choose your commitments wisely. That’s why Fried has the time to participate in swim along with the excessive work that she has to do each day. Even though you have a lot to do, don’t pile a lot of things up to the point where you don’t have time to participate in extra activities you enjoy.

As you can tell, whenever you hear the word “freshman” most people automatically get a sense of annoyance. However, for some, that’s not the case. Fried shows a discipline that others may not have so early.

She has put it upon herself to make the right decisions and, though she barely has time for herself, she still gets her work done. A multitude of people have told her to play basketball and other activities, however she either doesn’t want to or doesn’t have the time for it. With a life full of work and less freedom, Fried still feels she can live her life the way she wants to and can make time for anything she may want to do in the future to come.