The scene was like something out of a John Hughes movie. I was running down the hallway, frantically trying to make it to my AP Euro class, when I collided with a six-foot-four football player and realized I had made a wrong turn. Now both my textbooks and I were scattered across the hallway as the final bell rang. However, I wasn’t a freshman trying to figure out her way around high school for the first time. I was a senior at same the high school I’ve been attending since freshman year, just in a completely new building.
My high school was established in 1881 and it’s been through a lot of ups and downs. The building that I was most familiar with used to be army barracks that sat on land used in World War II to create the atomic bomb. From certain classrooms, I was able to see something that looked like a giant pile of rocks. It was really a nuclear containment facility that is keeping tons of radioactive waste from spilling out. Even with all the crumbling sidewalks and falling ceiling tiles, the school had character and tradition.
So, I’ve spent two years listening to construction noises and jackhammers in the middle of finals and AP exams. Now, I get to spend my senior year learning the layout of a brand new school, learning the tricks of it, and listen to them demolish the old one that I’m familiar with. The perks of the new building include being mold-free, asbestos-free, and mostly death trap-free. I do sometimes miss walking down familiar hallways covered with colorful posters advertising clubs and activities.
Now that the year has progressed, I’ve adapted to my environment and the new building is slowly becoming familiar. I now carry earplugs in my purse at all time, since our fire alarms are over 120 decibels and we have frequent fire drills. I’ve discovered I’m always late whenever I take the main hallway and avoid using it like the plague. If worst comes to worst, I also carry a map of the school in my purse. A girl has to have at least one trick up her sleeve!