As a senior, I’ve gained a great deal of experience at Sacred Heart. As a freshman, I never would have thought that there would be so much to learn about your high school home. Figuring out which hallway to take or which vending machine never to put your money into sometimes proves to be more useful than something taught to you in class. So, here is a list of the very important knowledge I’ve acquired! Hopefully what I’ve learned will help you, too.

A. The most important thing to remember is to “swim” through classrooms. When the hallways are crowded, duck into the door of one classroom and exit out the door on the other end of the room. Do not wait in frustration behind a fellow student having a conversation about their Friday night plans. You are a very important person and you have places to be and buses to catch.

B. The best bathroom is the third floor bathroom in the new wing. There you can take solace in the handicapped stall. The window has a great view of the library and is perfect for those moments when you just need a little quiet time, or even for those unscheduled mental breakdowns.

C. The vending machines may seem impossible, but they can be managed.

1. The Dasani Machine: this is without a doubt the worst one, but you must remember that when at first you do not succeed, try, try again. It’s going to keep telling you to reselect, and you should do just that. Keep on reselecting until you get what you want. Do not use this machine at the end of the day, I have learned, because if you have a bus to catch or somewhere to be, this will delay your arrival and also force you to find a STUCO advisor to give you your $1.50 back. It’s just not worth it.
2. The Snapple Machine: This is a semi-good machine. You have diet sodas and Snapple and it seems great until you try to have it all and get a big Snapple. Just buy it at break because it will get caught in the machine otherwise. You will have to get a Cafe staff member to help you. Like I said in the previous description of the Dasani machine, it’s just not worth it.
3. Miscellaneous Food/ Water Machines: These deserve nothing more than an honorable mention because they are really not that bad. For the water machine, just press every water button until one comes out.

   

D. If not most important, befriend your teachers. I don’t mean anything too informal, but let them be the Miyagi to your Karate Kid. I think we often forget who teachers are because they’re stereotyped as suits and the authority. They are great resources for recommendations and an outlet for knowledge on loads of things. Start young and take it in while you can. We often feel like we are older than what we actually are and we feel invincible to everything without any advice, but let your teachers be the Robin Williams to complement the Dead Poet Society angst-propelled attitude you are experimenting with at the moment.