High school is a strange time in everyone’s life. You don’t really know who you are, but neither does anyone around you. There are a lot of phases and changes. There are cliques and groups. But everyone who makes it through can feel a sense of accomplishment. High schools across the country are usually fundamentally similar, but each has their own little things that make them unique. My high school experience was fun and mostly positive. These unique things about my school are part of what made it that way.

1. Lake Vanguard

With just a light rain, which happens often in Florida, the courtyard of the school would flood. It would disappear underwater and there was no telling how deep it actually was. It truly looked like a lake in the middle of campus.

2. The Gigolo

If you’ve never heard of the gigolo, it’s a dance, which was performed at every pep rally at least while I attended Vanguard High school. There were several rounds performed. One by each class level (freshman, sophomore, junior and senior). One by the right side of the gym and one by the left. One for each sports team being introduced, and one by the school as a whole.

3. Buying two Otis SpunkMeyer cookies for a dollar

On select days during the week, the ESE classes did a fundraiser for learning materials. You could buy two soft, warm Otis Spunkmeyer cookies for $1. What the ESE program didn’t know is that as we were helping them, they were helping us. Those cookies were what a lot of us looked forward to on those select days and it truly made our day to bite into those delicious cookies.

4. T-birds walking around in costumes or Pink Ladies with an elaborate Pink “P”

If you didn’t go to Vanguard, this might sound like gibberish. The Pink Ladies Service Club is a community service club started by Debra Lipphardt, a faculty member of Vanguard. It was named after the Pink ladies from the movie Grease, Mrs. Lipphardt’s favorite movie. The female members were called Pink Ladies and the male members were called T-Birds. As a sort of initiation into the club, each officer was appointed a new male member to dress up. Each T-Bird was dressed as an animal of some sort and had to wear the costume all day. When prompted, they had to shout, “I love Pink Ladies and I love Mrs. Lipphardt.” The new pink ladies decorated a giant pink “P” that they had to make a necklace out of and wear for a full week during the school days. Reminder, this was all voluntary and very fun.

5. Pool on top of the round building

At Vanguard, the main building on campus is building one, also known as the round building because it was round. One of the things passed down from class to class was the secret of the pool on top of the round building. Of course, there was no pool, but the incoming freshmen didn’t know that. Each incoming class has heard about the pool on top of the round building since the round building was built. It’s a ritual.

6. Elevator passes

The elevator passes were very similar to the pool on top of the round building. The upperclassmen would tell the freshmen that they could use the elevator in the round and square buildings if they had a pass. And of course, the upperclassmen were always willing to sell them their old for a small fee. To clarify, the elevators were only for impaired or injured students. Another ritual passed down from class to class.

7. Fear of getting hit by golf carts

This may have just been me, but there was always a chance of being hit by one of the people who worked in discipline on a golf cart. They would come whizzing past on the way to write a referral, and miss you by only a couple feet. It was startling.

8. 20+ valedictorians in your graduating class

Because of our IB program and the terms of being a valedictorian, there were 25 valedictorians in my graduating class. There have been 20+ valedictorians in each graduating class for multiple years in a row. To be a valedictorian you have to have the highest GPA. But, because of the IB program, there were always several people with a 5.0 GPA. Instead of choosing one based on records or extra-curriculars, they let them all be valedictorians. They deserve it, I think.

9. Vanguard knight in the yearbook

Our mascot is the Vanguard Knights. In our cafeteria, there is a suit of armor standing tall and proud. Every year, the yearbook staff puts him in a random place in a random class in the yearbook. It’s always a fun hunt to find him.

10. Merlin’s magic

A popular part of homecoming week is Merlin’s magic, a lip sync competition between clubs. Each club has to create a skit based around the theme of the homecoming week. Those are the only rules. There can be dancing, singing, acting, or a mixture. Pink ladies won so many years in a row we were not allowed compete again. Instead, we had to host it. I’m sure the one from my senior year is still on YouTube somewhere. That year’s theme was Knights in Wonderland.

My high school was like most high schools, but it did have its small things that made me appreciate it. Without the little things, my high school experience wouldn’t be the same. As you can tell with my use of “we” and “our,” I still think of myself as a part that high school family. It helped make me who I am and helped me find myself. There is no other place like it. Go Knights.