1. HEIIIIGHHHH HOOO

Now when you hear this song, you might think you have a slight case of PTSD… but you’ve got to admit; this song was the reason you always made it to class on time… It’s just that now every time you hear the song, you get flashbacks of the days where you had to run through the halls to make it to class on time.

2. “Young man"

So basically, when you heard this phrase in the hallway, you probably started to look around frantically in hopes that it wasn’t directed at you… Because we all know that if it were directed towards you, you were about to get reprimanded.

3. No ripped jeans

Most of the time, it felt as if we were the only high school students in South Jersey who were not allowed to wear jeans with rips in them to school. Nobody will EVER understand this rule, but I’m almost positive it’ll be there forever.

4. WaWa being packed before and after school

It felt as if half of the faculty and the entire student body were i there grabbing a cup of coffee every day. The lines were always ridiculous, but the after-school snack was well worth the wait.

5. Forgetting your school ID

Forgetting your lanyard or your ID in the morning was always a great start to a bad day… I’m still not sure if people were mad over the fact that they could possibly serve a detention for this, or because they had to walk ALL THE WAY to the main entrance to sign themselves in.

6. Spirit week was SERIOUS

Spirit week was a dog eat dog world… Your friends in other grades suddenly weren’t your friends anymore, and all you were focused on was obtaining more points than the underclassmen. Your class needed to be the best at everything, and you weren’t settling for anything less.

7. Superfan t-shirts

Deciding what was going to be on the back of your Superfan t-shirt was always a major dilemma for some reason. I never understood why this was so important, but it really felt as if it were a crucial part of our school year at the time.

8. The world’s worst student parking lot

You had to leave your house at least fifteen minutes before school actually started to get a decent parking spot. If you didn’t leave your house early enough, you were probably late getting into the building due to the insane amount of time it took to find a parking spot.

9. Delayed openings

Having a delayed opening every other Wednesday was possibly one of the biggest perks of going to Sterling. That extra hour of sleep was vital to our adolescent lives, and it always made for a much better day.

10. Generations of families going through the school

Most of your teachers had either your parents, siblings, cousins, etc. This wasn't always a great thing, but it did always made for an interesting first impression.

11. The "new gym" and the "old gym"

If it were hot out, you were praying to have gym class in the “new gym,” and if it were cold out you were praying for class to be in the “old gym.” But for whatever reason, no matter how much you prayed, you always were in the opposite gym.

12. Knowing everyone

Our school was very small, so it wasn't weird that you knew the names of almost everyone in your graduating class… Not only did you know their names, but you knew what sports they played and who they hung out with on the weekends.

13. News traveled fast

By Monday morning, you knew what everyone else did over the weekend. The gossip spread through the school like wildfire.

14. You learned a lot about yourself there

No matter how much you complained and said that you were ready to graduate, deep down you know that Sterling High School shaped you into who you are today and it’ll always hold a special place in your heart. C'mon, it's true.

15. "And as always, Go Knights!”

You know I couldn’t have ended this any other way