There may have been a moment or two (or three, four, five.. okay, maybe at least once or twice a month) that you wished that you could transfer to another school or just graduate already. However, when you look back at your time roaming the halls of LC, you know that you attended the crowning jewel of the Diocese of Cleveland.
1. Picking out an outfit
Congratulations, you are now trusted with the freedom to wear something besides a catholic school uniform.
2. You automatically don't trust anyone with the last name O'Donnell
Scott O'Donnell, Vice Principle and Football coach, but pretty much everyone's least favorite person from 8:00 am to 3:05 pm.
3. We were super close with teachers and faculty
We have all eaten lunch somewhere besides the cafeteria or the atrium at least once to hang out with our favorite teacher. We all knew that Mrs. Bernot and Mrs. Ellis' offices were the ultimate hiding place. Mrs. Bernot was pretty much everyone's Lake Catholic mother, knows all of your secrets and always knows exactly what to say when you're having a bad day. Someone is always sitting with Mr. Posey laughing hysterically or balling their eyes out (sometimes balling their eyes out then laughing hysterically a few minutes later). Mrs. Ellis has a collection of homecoming pictures in her office which sometimes makes you uncomfortable when you see someone with their ex. Mr. K always had something funny to say and announced snow days in the best ways, he made other schools wish that their principle was as cool as ours. The teachers were almost always our biggest advocates and told us how much they loved us. We looked at each other as family and when we go back to visit it is not to see other students, it is to see our favorite teachers.
4. We couldn't escape feeling like we had to be involved
Odds are you are in a club sport, some sort of school spirit club, greek life (Kappa Kappa Gamma, what's up), or some organization where you are constantly with the same people. At LC we know all too well that even if you had that "too cool for school" vibe you found some way to get involved in something. It was not uncommon to see an athlete be involved in musicals and campus ministry. A track star could also be heavily involved in art, someone in marching band could have a 100 free time under a minute for the swim team, and cheerleaders performed wonderfully in the musicals. Our "activities" list on our college applications was incredibly impressive. Even if we weren't in an organized activity everyone tried their best to be at football games and basketball games. Now we are still going to hockey games at our new homes and our new friends find our extreme amount of school spirit a little unsettling.
5. We are weird as hell
A pumpkin-scarecrow halloween lawn ornament as a mascot, never the less has had a funeral for it. What school has a "think tank" besides LC? We are wonderfully weird in so many ways, and that is what makes us cougars. The ceiling tiles have random works of art on them and there was once random pictures of Steve Irwin put in teacher's mailboxes and decorated the walls. Who else has a pep rally in which the main attraction is an "air dancer" that you see at car dealerships or has a goose that sits right at the same window above main hall and stares at everyone. Lake Catholic has so many weird quirks that seem completely normal to us.
6. Teachers had more nicknames than we did
My personal favorite: skinny Moran and fat Moran.
7. We had a love/hate relationship with parking lots
We hated that it took 15-20 minutes to get out of the parking lot and we got complaints from people that lived near the school for our honking. But we loved when we all got snowed in then helped each other shovel and push our cars out.
9. People wanted to be us
I mean who wouldn't, we are awesome. We all had one friend that always said how much they wished that they went to Lake Catholic, and our response was "yeah, you do."
10. We hated NDCL
In the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps toniiiiiight.
11. We Had the coolest principle
12. When we say that we are from mentor people automatically assume we went to Mentor High School
MHS isn't the only High School in Mentor...
13. We Travel In A Pack
Almost everyone goes to Bowling Green (Talons Up!), Cleveland State, John Carroll, Kent, Ohio State, or Ohio University. Looking at the graduation program was more to see who was not going to one of those schools.
14. Lake Catholic will always be our home
The phrase "faith in family" could not be any more true. The memories that we made with our fellow cougars will last a life time, along with the friendships. We will always remember who helped us when we needed it and who showed us kindness. Our hearts will swell with joy when we see a LC alumni do something great, and we will support when someone needs to be reminded that things will get better. We greet other cougars with love and an open heart when we see them after awhile, even if we did not part on the best of terms. As a community, we have gone through loss, hardships, stress, laughter, tears, friendship, victories, and so many other things. Through thick and thin the cougars stay together, and we will always be family. Our cool new college friends think that we are stuck in high school, but little do they know about the amazing experience we went through. Once a cougar, always a cougar.
P.S. Class of 2015-- Thank you for the amazing four years. I will always love you and I am always here for you. Go Cougs.
