My graduating class was about 80 students. The same students I went to school with for the past six or so years. So by graduation, you really did know everyone in your class. This is for everyone who also went to a small private school for most of their life.

Going back home over break is stressful. There is a constant fear everywhere you go that you will see someone you know. Especially when you're from a small town, too. Which is generally true if you did go to a small private school.

There are the people that never truly left high school. You know those people. The ones that still go to your high school's football games. Remember, your school wasn't that big. So chances are if you go back to one of your high school's games you are sure to be noticed. Or maybe they are still going to your school's homecomings or proms. Excuse me, you're 21 now man. It's getting creepy.

You think back to all the rules you had in school. Remember when you couldn't use your phone in class? Seems like centuries ago. Remember when you couldn't wear athletic shorts to class? Remember when your dress or skirt had to be 5 inches from your knee? Remember when you couldn't chew gum? Remember when you had only 5 minutes between class? Remember when you had to ask to go to the bathroom? Wild times.

It in no way prepared you for a large, public university. I hear this one a lot. A few of my friends went to state universities, and it was a wake-up call. The rules and requirements that the small private high school instituted actually inhibited you for what the "real world" is actually like. The roof over the small private school somehow shielded our eyes from what actually goes on outside of our school.

"Spirit Week" meant you could actually wear SWEATPANTS to school. Ah yes, Spirit Week. The one week of school you could dress up in theme, or use it as an excuse to wear sweatpants or athletic shorts every day to school. Then the next week comes and it's back to jeans...again.

You grew close with your classmates, only to never hang out with them after high school. This one is relative to every person, but odds are that it does apply to everyone. You go through every grade with the same people you see every single day, only to never see them again. Personally, I talk to maybe a handful of people I went to high school with. That's just the way it is.

"Does dress code still apply to sporting events at the school?" I heard this one a lot at my school. Sporting events were supposed to be the after-school activity that you could wear whatever you wanted. Then there came a time that dress code would still apply to after-school activities. I think a riot could've broken out against that policy.

Did anyone else have senior shirts that your entire class wore on the same day? My school did. (See picture above). Each year, the seniors would create a shirt and everyone in the grade would buy it and wear it on the same day. That shirt was bought for that one day and then never worn again. Good times.

For everyone who went to a small private school, I'm sure you could relate to this. And most importantly: we got through it! I know despite the sometimes odd rules, I wouldn't change a thing. Go Eagles!