With baby blue and navy coursing through our veins, the graduates and current students of Dorman High School have been given a high school experience like no other. From the halls of the freshman campus to the bright lights of Cavalier Stadium, Dorman has become a second home to all who have the privilege of attending. The four years we spend at the university (yes, our school is bigger than most college campuses) shape us into individuals distinct from all the rest. We are forever Cavaliers and would not change that for anything.
To all of the Dorman kids, these are for you.
1. You never have a problem with people not knowing where you go to school.
Yes, that is a high school and no, I do not know how many acres we have. Whether you're in another state or right at home, people know Dorman, and their eyes get wider every time you tell them you're a student there. We are sort of our own celebrities, and that's perfectly fine with us.
2. We forever wish they would build Chick-fil-A or McDonald's off of the exit.
Don't get us wrong. We love our Bojangle's and Waffle House as much as the next hungry high-schooler, but do they not know how many times we get out from school craving waffle fries? And the closest Chick-fil-A is a good 20-minute drive. Even now, as a graduate, I hope they build a Cookout or something on all of the (um) open land. Maybe soon.
3. Farmer's Week was more important than Christmas.
Mudding, overalls and random farm animals in the middle of the cafeteria? Do not mind if I do. The hallowed days before the Spartan High versus Dorman football game came to define our school spirit. And during that week, even the bow-tie-wearing, frat wannabes did not mind wearing camo.
4. The "Redneck Row" occupants revving their engines at 7 a.m.
No. This does not make your Chevy Tahoe any more intimidating than the 30-foot tires and the American flag the size of a bed sheet do.
5. The walk from A-wing to B-wing was never ending.
The eight-minute class changes never seemed to be enough time, and if you had a class from one end of the school to the other, tardiness was accepted in defeat early on. For the students now: may the odds be forever in your favor as you trek from A-wing to C-wing.
6. There are random boulders everywhere and no one knows why.
Our very own Easter Island. No one is sure how or when they got there.
7. We throw up the Dorman "U" in every picture.
Don't deny it. Your go-to pose for any picture is to chuck up the infamous Dorman "U." Look at any of Ed Overstreet's pictures at the football games. It is inevitable.
8. The "Cooper run"
For any sports team at Dorman, the Cooper run was to become your fate at some point during conditioning. The 2.1-mile journey of pure torture separated the weak from the weaker and it broke many of us. Let's not forget the hill that came along side. Cooper Run, thank you for teaching me I am not athletic.
9. You know the Alma Mater by heart.
With our arms intertwined around each other's waists, we would bellow the song of our school after every football game: win or lose. If you were caught not knowing any of the words then you could not be considered a "true Cavalier".
10. We would not want to go to high school anywhere else.
Dorman is where we found ourselves and the people we love. The teachers, peers, events, games, grades — everything — are the reasons we would not trade our days there for anything. Even though we complained the whole way through, Dorman gave us some of the best experiences we will ever have. That is why we will all forever be Cavaliers.
