The long-awaited return to in-person learning has finally arrived, and some have different feelings about it than others. 

Freshmen were finally given the rite-of-passage tour of Tualatin High School, learning as many have before to avoid stepping foot on the front entrance crest at all costs, as not to curse the next four years of their life. While sophomores are still awaiting a full non-pandemic year of high school, juniors mourn the loss of off-campus lunches. Seniors— only spotted on occasion are experiencing full-fledged senioritis, many deciding that making the switch to in-person learning isn’t worth it with a little less than two months until graduation. 

Something that surprised many as they made the strange transition back into the building was the size of their classes. 

“I expected for classes to be smaller but not as small as they were. In some of my classes, there were very few people,” sophomore Matthew Hines in Cohort A disclosed. “The hardest part for me was probably just getting back in the routine of going from class to class and having my full focus be on the material that we are learning about.” 

Students have been learning solely online for over a year, so it comes as no surprise that staying engaged and getting back into the routine of things is a little challenging. This also plays into how surprisingly exhausting a full day of face-to-face learning is. 

“I thought that being in person was definitely more tiring than what I’m usually used to because I had to make sure that I got to each class on time as well as making sure that I’m listening and participating the whole time, whereas it was kind of easier to be more relaxed with all online classes,” sophomore Karys Gates stated. 

Teachers and students alike found the combination of online and in-person learning/teaching to be a bit of an adjustment, as it’s something many have never experienced before. 

“I wasn’t expecting teachers to spend as much time talking through the Google Meet or to set their desks up behind in-person students and talk from there,” senior Lily Hughes said. 

This switch is definitely something hybrid students and teachers will have to adjust to, but the opportunity to actually see and talk to fellow schoolmates without a screen between each other is something to celebrate and take advantage of. 

“I loved being able to interact and communicate with my teachers and classmates because, online, it was hard to read facial expressions and participate in class. I also loved being able to see people that I hadn’t seen in over a year,” Gates commented.