It is hard to be the oldest because everyone looks up to you. You are considered the experts in Adventure, and you should be the one to go to when another student needs help. It can be hard at first but I have realized there are ways to survive your final year as seniors of Adventure.
It helps to befriend younger students like fifth or sixth graders because being an eighth grader, you can be pretty intimidating to them. Even if you think that is the last thing you would be, younger students see you as a towering figure that is older than them. Take the time to get to know them, so they can learn to see that you aren't as intimidating as you seem. You can teach them about things that will be coming up for them. I have made friends with a lot of fifth graders, and I have learned a lot from them, like their points of views for surveys or their input on how to solve a problem. They are the future of the program, so it would be good to make sure that they know what to do so that they don't screw up the program that you have made so beautiful.
It also helps to make sure you understand everything. If you are unsure of things, it is good to ask people. A lot of people will rely on the oldest people for help, and you being the oldest person, you will have to be helpful, so knowing everything is good both for you and for others. I am a first clarinet in band, which means that I play the harder parts of the song. Whenever beginners need help, I'm required to help them, which means that I need to know how to sight read and play their part. This is what the eighth and seventh graders did to me back when I was in fifth grade, and I am glad to do the same to the new beginners.
Finally, a good way to survive the year is to get on the teacher's good side. This may be hard as there are six or seven teachers that teach you, but if you make a good impression, then they will probably not push you as hard. They will know you are capable of doing what they wish, and can rely on you to help the younger grades. The teachers keep a good memory of the students since the school is still pretty small, especially for us since we are the last grade to have one class per grade. Since they will have kept notes on who everyone is and their strong and weak points, making sure that you are on their good side is helpful in surviving the year.
So basically to survive your final year of middle school, make sure you know everything that is needed to help others and be a friend everyone, student or teacher. Get that done and you will have a successful senior year, at least until high school starts next year, in which case it is a whole new level of crazy that will take a couple years to get used to.
