Current Issue 
I have so many precious memories at my various lockers. Befriending my now best friend by peer pressuring her to switch assigned lockers in eighth grade so I got the top one.
Politely asking the couple making out against my locker to move so I could get my binder. Slamming my locker in a fit of rage because it wouldn’t close and asking Ms. White to help me. Oh, the memories go on.
As a senior, I am frequently asked why I still have a locker. I drive to school, so why not use my car for storage? Some may say it’s an attachment issue, considering I’ve been using one since sixth grade. However, I believe I use a locker simply because it is the best option.
Have you noticed that if you ask your teacher to let you get something in your car they’ll say no, but if you ask to get something in your locker they’ll say yes? This has saved me the countless times that I’ve forgotten my binder or homework assignment in my locker, while other people haven’t been allowed to get theirs because it meant going all the way out to the parking lot.
Lockers are incredibly convenient for other reasons as well. I mean, why walk further than you need to? I pass my locker on the way to almost every single one of my classes, not the middle of the parking lot. This is so helpful because I am able to exchange books throughout the day, lightening my bag and reducing the strain on my shoulders.
For many, especially underclassmen, having a locker is crucial because they don’t have a car to store their items in. Similarly to going off campus for lunch or eating in the parking lot rather than the CEA, ridding yourself of a locker is a right of passage for many upperclassmen. But why? Lockers are the best!
I’ve found that using my locker as a meeting spot is far less complicated than meeting at someone’s car.
Instead of: “Meet me at my car.” “Where is that?” “Third row.” “Third row from where?” “Ugh!” I can simply say, “Meet me at the lockers” and they’ll know exactly where to go.
Although it has been three years since I was a young, naïve freshman, I still embody my freshman-esque qualities. I pack a lunch every day. I have an oversized bag. I have been known to run to class from time to time. I don’t care that I’m an 18-year-old with a locker. It leads to a less stressful day, and also provides a connection to my school and being a high school student.
Remember when your friends decorated your locker on your birthday?
What about when you passed notes by sliding them through the slits of a friend’s locker, or the excitement of finding one in yours?
If I surpass this opportunity simply because it may not be the “cool” option, I’d be missing out. It feels like we are all in such a rush to grow up—why not embrace this essential aspect of the high school experience?
