After a long weekend of partying (doing homework) I would wake up on Monday, put on my predesignated outfit for the day and drive to school. As soon as the final bell of the day signaled that class was out, I would rip off my tie and unbutton the top button of my shirt that I melodramatically complained had been choking me all day.

Once I got to my car, I would roll my knee socks all the way down, because come on, they're too itchy to keep on for the drive home. Albeit, I only lived a few minutes away. Of course, my blazer was flung across my passenger seat, far away from my body. The problem with this is that I almost always forgot it and well, this is where I kept all of my pens and pencils. All of them.

Of course, this was only a reality in the spring, because in the fall and winter I would be at sporting practices all afternoon. But, I digress. There I would sit in my parked car, always in the second spot away from the building, waiting for my friends to come out to their cars, which were parked next to mine. We would gossip about whatever class we had just had, then laugh and go our separate ways home.

I would blast The Summer Set, Drake or Miley Cyrus the whole way home and sit in front of my house waiting for the song I was playing to end, before going inside to start my homework. Of course, by start homework, I mean play on my phone for three hours with a textbook open in front of me.

Okay, I still do those things now that I'm in college, but you get the point. After I walked through the door, I would change out of my gross uniform that was sweaty and retained the smell of the hamburgers and french fries that were served in the cafeteria that day.

Then the next day I would wake up and start the process over again. And again. And again. The only difference being that when it wasn't Monday I could wear the grey skirt and tie instead of the plaid ones. Wearing the same thing everyday got boring, so sometimes I would try and get away with wearing a sweatshirt or an inside-out T-shirt as a sweater when it was colder outside. That was about as exciting as it would get.

As annoying as my uniform was, that plaid skirt and tie taught me a lot of important lessons that I want to share. Anyone can relate to them, but they especially ring true for those of us who spent the greater part of the first two decades of our lives sporting a shirt and tie five days a week.

Be proud of where you come from. It's totally okay and even kind of cool to walk around town rocking that T-shirt that has "Linsly Volleyball 2014" written across it. Don't be embarrassed to wear your high school gear and look like a Freshman. I promise no one cares. I'm a Senior and I still wear my high school Letterman jacket out when it starts to get cold.

People are always watching you, so watch yourself when you're wearing the uniform in public. Pay attention to what you say and do, because it doesn't take long for stories to circulate around town that start out with, "You won't believe what I saw a Linsly kid doing last night!"

Always invite the new kid to sit with you at lunch. At private school, everyone has been going to school together for the last 10 years and has a specific group of friends. The new boy from Korea who just joined your grade doesn't know anyone yet. Invite him over to your table. You'll never regret being nice to someone.

Take advantages of the opportunities that your high school gives you. In high school, I had to receive a certain number of sports credits to graduate and I couldn't quit a team in the middle of the season. This seems like a ridiculous thing and that they're making kids play more sports than they want to.

This policy is what convinced me to start cheerleading, which pushed me about as far out of my comfort zone as I could possibly get. In the end, this ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made, even though I never became a phenomenal cheerleader. It's important to push yourself to try new things and sometimes, the seemingly ridiculous school policies aim to help you do just that.

Maybe the most important lesson private school can teach you is that it's really hard to dress yourself every morning. Seriously, picking out outfits everyday for college is the worst. High schoolers, appreciate your outfit already being picked out for you while you can. I know that you can't wait to be able to pick out what you wear to class everyday and while it is fun, it's also a giant pain.

Now, that same little plaid skirt sits in my closet, waiting until Halloween rolls around again and someone uses it to complete their "naughty school girl" costume. Every now and then I notice it and can't but smile at all of the memories that come rushing back when I look at it.