I never imagined that two years after graduating from Villa Duchesne I would find myself nostalgically looking back on the teachers, the traditions, and the friendships that I experienced there. Now that I am in college, I often hear people say that they have lost touch with their high school friends. Others simply joke that, “High school sucked.” When I hear this, I think about how blessed I am to have had such a memorable high school experience, and to still have eight best friends that will one day be at my wedding. For this reason, I wanted to write about Villa this week. I have compiled a list of 25 signs that you, my friend, are a child of the Sacred Heart.

1. You eagerly await a conversation to come up with about high school so you can have a reason to brag about going to school in a castle.
2. You have been told to tuck in your shirt or pull out your collar too many times to count.
3. You know exactly what “Wraps with George” refers to, and you understand why it deserved a month’s notice.
4. You dreaded free dress days because your uniform was the most convenient option in addition to simultaneously serving as a napkin and a nail file.
5. You knew you had a great lunch when your uniform skirt was unbuttoned by the end of it.
6. You remember Bosco stick day. Enough said.
7. You remember the awkward power walk from class to the cafeteria because we couldn’t run.
8. You know exactly what Congé, Goûter, and Cache-Cache are.
9. You might know what the Five Goals are.
10. You know how to spell St. Madeleine Sophie the correct way.
11. You know what May Crowning, Prize Day, and the Feast of St. Philippine Duchesne are referring to.
12. You knew what night not to do any homework because Conge was the next day.
13. You regretted not doing any homework because it turned out Conge wasn’t that day.
14. Your social life began back at a Desmet, SLUH, CBC, or Chaminde football game.
15. Your teachers hardly recognized you when you got dressed up for dances because you typically resembled a gremlin at school.
16. You competed with friends during the month of November for who had the longest leg hair. When you didn’t see the male gender for the majority of the week, things got weird.
17. Your worst day could be turned around by pizza and hot cookie day in the cafeteria.
18. You remember the excitement of seeing any boy in the building ever, even if it was a maintenance man.
19. You can hum the entire "Couer de Jesus" song, but when it comes to adding lyrics, you’re hopeless.
20. You anxiously awaited the day when it was socially acceptable for you to enter the Junior and/or Senior Room.
21. You wear your Junior Ring with pride because not only is it beautiful, it reminds you of all your favorite memories.
22. You can list teachers that are practically institutions at Villa. Whether this is Sr. Herbst, Ms. DiRollo, Mr. Littlefield, Brian Welch, or Mr. Spina, we all have that one teacher that made our experience at Villa.
23. You have struggled so hard explaining why your class performed a fertility dance in front of friends and family before leaving for college.
24. You know that the only proper way to graduate is in a wedding dress.

25. Your best friends are high school friends.