1. Orange and Black became staple colors in your wardrobe

That’s right. You were the school with the “Halloween Colors”. Whether you liked it or not, you probably ended up with more orange and black clothing than you expected. Remember those orange and black gym uniforms?

2. Four Corners

Ah, four corners: the part of central where you would find yourself getting stuck in a traffic jam while trying to rush to class. For some Freshman, it was their nightmare.

3. Central Crazies

CLC was known for having their very supportive student and staff for sporting events. Did we always win? No, but we did always have fun. Almost every football game was filled with orange and black and devoted fans.

4. The “Skinny Line” and “Fat Line”

Remember when Central brought in a line in the cafeteria for healthy wraps instead of the usual daily special or chicken patty with fries? Everyday was a debate with yourself as to if you would pick the skinny or fat line for your lunch that day.

5. Prairie Ridge was and still is your rival

Whether you wanted to admit it or not, PR was always your ultimate rival when it came to sports. It was the ultimate battle or Orange & Black vs. Maroon & Silver. At the end of the day, we were all still a part of D155.

6. Hauling ass to gym for Choice Day

You were doing everything right if you hauled it to gym class so you could sign up for the top activity of your choice during choice day. Dodgeball was almost always the popular choice.

7. Study Hall vs. Co-Op

Now, this could be applied to all high school’s but at CLC this was sometimes a big deal. You knew that your Freshman and sometimes Sophomore and Junior year you were forced to attend silent study hall which was a complete drag. Then, you got the privilege to attend co-op study hall instead which, if we were being honest, was never really dedicated to studying. Most of the time, you would be too busy trying to win a game of Uno against your friends.

8. Spirit Days

At CLC, spirit days and even spirit weeks were the best because almost everyone participated. You actually looked forward to going to school because you could plan your fun and colorful outfits with your friends.

9. Senior Hallway

Sorry, underclassman. This is our hallway now. All seniors would gather in this hallway and hang out every morning before classes. If you were a senior and didn’t hang out in the senior hallway with your friends, were you even a senior?

10. Music in the hallways

Instead of having the usual busseling and talking of students to fill the school during passing periods, sometimes the school would play some popular hits during the passing periods which made things a lot more fun. Except when “Call Me Maybe” was constantly playing, that was not a good time.

11. You had some pretty awesome teachers

Most of the staff and faculty at CLC were and are the best people ever. Teachers really pushed their students to try their hardest and become their best selves. There was almost always that one teacher that you could always confide in and look up to. CLC really helps you grow as an individual.

12. The struggles of the parking lot

Whether you drove yourself to school or had someone else drive you, you knew of the struggles students would face with the parking lot. Yeah, it looks like a big lot with plenty of parking but if you wanted a good spot, you would have to arrive to school early. At the end of the day if you wanted to leave, you either had to haul ass to your car to leave and beat the traffic or wait it out 10-20 minutes until traffic was all clear. It was a huge pain.

13. Constantly sweating your butt off

No matter what season it was, it always seemed to be too cold out for CLC as the heat was ALWAYS on. During the summer and fall, it was always hot. Winter and spring? Yeah, still hot. It wasn’t a comfortable kind of warm or anything, you would always be sweating during classes. Yuck.

14. Homecoming Olympics

Homecoming Olympics was one of the best times of high school because you and your friends got to form a team and compete against other students in a series of games. Don’t even get me started on trying to get the color T-Shirt that you wanted for your team.. And correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure CLC was the only D155 school to have a homecoming Olympics.

15. You were surrounded by diversity

Being a part of CLCHS whether as a student, teacher or faculty, you were constantly surrounded by diversity. CLC embraced everyone as an individual no matter their skin color, age, gender, or sexuality. CLC aimed to make everyone feel comfortable and happy with who they were and I am forever greatful for that.

Once a tiger, always a tiger.