And we’re back. To school. In-person. Great. Because so many of us are extremely happy about actually having to wake up an hour before school starts, and not 5 minutes before like when school was online. Well, maybe this is the case for a few of us, but most of us kind of liked online school (shocker)! But Irvington, however wonderful it is, has its flaws like everything else in the world. Here are a few things you may have forgotten about Irvington High School.

The Seagulls. Sigh. The Seagulls: Being at an FUSD school is kind of like being in the middle of an aerial battle. But instead of bomber planes, it’s seagulls, and they drop poop. They’re at war with each other, and you can often see them perching on opposite sides of the courtyard, shooting death glares at each other. Unfortunately, we’re smack-dab in the middle of their battlefield. Students at Irvington may have fond memories of walking through a courtyard, hearing the caw of a seagull dive-bombing that one Cheeto someone left on the ground, and diving for cover. Because when that caw reaches your ears, the one thing you can do is run and hide. Run. And. Hide. 

The Hallways: Waking up, you get dressed, have a good breakfast, and go to school. Ahhh, another wonderful day. Then you get to Irvington, and the bell rings. You enter the empty courtyard, wondering where everyone is. You get to the hallway, and suffocation hits. You’re in the middle of what feels like 500 people, all talking to each other in extremely loud voices, clawing at your ears. As you walk, no, swim through the ocean of people in front of you, you begin to wonder what made you come in here. Why did you decide to be jostled by lockers and locks and people as you get through the corridor to first period? Forget your bag, you’re trying to get out of the hallway alive. And that is the story of the hallways at our wonderful school.

And Finally, the Work: If you can remember what quarantine was like, you’ll know that not a lot of work was assigned in online school. In that year of students’ lives, there was more time to relax, to stretch out on the sofa and watch TV, or play basketball outside. Then we got back to the wonderful Irvington High, and it started piling up. The first day was fine, but then there was one paper assigned. And then another, and another, and there was an ocean of papers flying around your room. And you’re not ready for any of it. Because the work has tripled since we returned to in-person school, and I don’t think anyone was ready for it. But rejoice! We have a whole year to prepare! Another year….have fun, everyone.