All my life, Kindergarten through 12th grade, I attended Catholic School. I enjoyed small classes, strange traditions, and a great education. There was good, bad, and everything in between. I didn't realize how different my experience was from my public school friends until we got to talking. So fellow Catholic schoolers, I hope you can relate, and public schoolers, here's a look at a day in the life.

1. State funding? Never heard of it.

My public school friends were astonished when I told them we had to go buy our own novels for reading in English class, or pay for the planner the school provided, or pay to play sports. I thought, for the longest time, that everyone had to. There's a pretty good chance your school didn't have air conditioning because you couldn't afford it. Also, SO MUCH FUNDRAISING.

2. Dress Down Days

Ah, the beloved Dress Down Day. Students looked forward to it weeks in advance. Some students used it to show off their fashion, others used it to wear something comfier than a uniform (yep--sweats). If your school was anything like mine, "DDDs" were used as incentive for students to fundraise. And let's not forget that dress codes still applied. My personal favorite was "no shirts that fall below the collarbone."

3. The Token Nun

Actually, not a nun. They were "sisters" which are religious women who have taken vowels, but are not cloistered, and instead, are active in the community. Personally, my school had two. One is the Vice Principal and a feisty New Yorker who speaks in the third person and says "a-ight" instead of all right, about three times in every sentence.

4. Your teachers probably taught your parents

There were always teachers who had been there for over twenty years, and if your parents also went to Catholic School and had your parents, your teacher made sure to tell you stories about your parents' crazier days. Also, they told you about their own crazier days.

5. You knew everyone in your class, and their siblings, and their parents, and their life story.

And honestly, it was really annoying. Personally, my school had about 100 students per grade, but I actually have a fellow Catholic-school-er who had 30 people in her graduating class. Imagine going to school with the same 30 people for twelve years. You know everything you never wanted to know about them.

6. There was only one option for lunch.

Unless you were lucky and there were yesterday's leftovers or a hot-dog in a lovely green color, or you were really lucky and the salad bar (with no good options) was open that day.

7. The uniforms had unwritten, unspoken connotations and rules.

For instance, as a girl, you could wear pants, but no one did and it was "weird" if you did. Also, if you wore the plaid skirt (actually, it was technically a kilt) on a hot day, it was assumed you were probably on your period; the navy and red plaid was the heaviest skirt but it would conceal any leaks you might have.

8. You get way too excited when you meet a fellow Catholic School kid.

You love comparing your experiences and the random rules and traditions your school had. You reminisce (even if you hated it while you were there) and laugh about your terrible Flynn and O'Hara uniforms and comparing when your schools had monthly mass (first Friday of every month for me, in case you were curious). Regardless of the stories you share, you seem to have an unspoken bond.

9. Your Bible knowledge is a force to be reckoned with.

The religious questions on Jeopardy? You can answer all of them--even probably the non-Christian ones, because we learned about all major religions. You find yourself making religious jokes around your friends that usually fall on deaf ears, because you made an oddly specific reference about something you learned in Sophomore Religion. You also probably laugh at religious memes.

10. You get so many strange comments and questions about your education.

I've been told I'm "pretty normal for having gone to Catholic school." I've also been asked if I even learned about evolution (the answer is yes). People usually say that they feel sorry for me for going to Catholic school, and while it had its downsides, I wouldn't trade my education.