“I’ve been here for 5 minutes and I can already feel my soul being drained by this place.”

This quote by my friend and fellow senior, Max Freyermeuth, accurately sums up the feeling of dread nearly every student gets when they return to school. That feeling of “oh my god I have to spend the next 180 weekdays in this horrible place”

You know, that soul sucking sensation that always hits every time you step through that front door. It truly is a horrible experience.

Yes, I realize some people actually quite enjoy the first day of school. You get to see your friends, take all these cool pictures, and just overall have a good time. But without fail, by the end of the first week, you’ll be hard pressed to find a student who is still enjoying their time here.

You get your first homework assignment, you realize that you actually hate every class you have this year, and everyone is telling you how your grade is secretly the hardest one yet. I mean, everyone knows that (circle one) freshman/sophomore/junior/senior year is really the hardest it gets.

“But Stetson,” you’re probably thinking right now, “I love school! I mean, between the bouts of stress induced depression and crippling anxiety I get from classes like Calc and AP Chem, it’s really not all that bad!”

We all have moments in school that we love. Some of my favorite memories in life come from this place: 9th grade football with Mr. Kamer and Mr. Amendola, watching a kid drive down the hallways on a dirt bike (my legal council has informed me to ask you not to try the aforementioned senior prank, as you’ll get us both in trouble), or even just hanging out in Ms. Thompson’s room with her and Mr. Miller.

But wait; who cares about all these fun times we’ve had? How can I board the Knoch Hate Train™ if I don’t constantly bash this place? The reality of everything is simple: whether it be work, school, or anything else that requires effort of any sort, there will always be a desire to whine and complain.

I mean I, like everyone else ever born, personally hate when I’m forced to do something or be somewhere. I would rather spend my whole day at home playing Madden and eating Doritos, but I don’t because that’s called being irresponsible. Responsibility is a part of growing up and everybody here, including those baby-faced freshman (or baby-faced seniors if you’re me) is on their way to being a productive member of society. . .  a real adult.

Thus, we learn school’s true purpose: to instill responsibility into our lazy teenage life. Sure most of us will never use Pre-Calc in our everyday life, but I guarantee when you’re up all night working on a report for work that was due to your boss a week ago, your mind will drift back to these late night homework sessions we’ve all had.

Dreading the responsibilities you’ve been tasked with is a part of life, and school helps us learn to cope with that over a period of 13 years. Everyone hates it, but we’d be nowhere without it. And that, my friends, is the High School conundrum.