Attending one of the best, and biggest, public high schools in the country obviously has its perks. But, sometimes it was hard. Here are a few things every Trevian remembers as part of their high school experience.
1. Friday morning bagels
The entire advisery's opinion of you was based off tw dozen Panera bagels. Completely forgetting the bagels is social suicide, and a close second is bringing doughnuts. Even worse, is that one girl who brings something homemade... (sorry, why am I eating a stale blueberry scone when I went to bed last night dreaming about a cinnamon crunch with cream cheese)
2. Green team sweatshirts
There’s nothing quite like rolling up on a Friday morning wearing your name across your back. If you were a true Senior, you bought two and cut the sleeves off one (just to wear a different shirt underneath).
3. The Quad Header
Ah, the Quad. The things that happen at that sacred event: throwing dildos on the ice, chanting Number-47-wears-crocs cheers, sweating profusely in your Christmas sweater because you pre-gamed too hard. Every girl worshipped NTG and every NTG player was a celebrity.
4. Greeners
Hockey was so venerated that their parties had their own name. Hockey was the North Shore's Panther football (cue Friday Night Lights reference). Some of your peak nights of high school involved getting drunk with the players after they took home the W. Watch out for the nights that end in a fist fight or a wall being punched, though.
5. Every team winning state
At New Trier, we breed winners. It was an embarrassment if your sport didn’t go to state.
6. Linda Yonke
No one knows what else she does besides call snow days, but nevertheless, she was the most hated woman in the district.
7. Spelling advisery with an "E"
Because the North Shore is too boujee to do anything the normal way... Remember, we call gym "Kinetic Wellness."
"ruit"
8. Wearing costumes to dances
Your group argued for three weeks trying to come up with an “original costume,” just to be cowboys and aliens again anyway.
9. Being a freshman and not wearing a costume to dances
Because your first Turnabout wasn't awkward enough...
10. Getting spray tans
We live in a cold, Midwestern state that rarely sees the sun from October-May, but yet it is protocol for every pale white girl to be bronze come homecoming szn. New Trier girls and spray tans are a force to be reckoned with... if you weren't going to be borderline orange by pictures, why even go to the dance at all? Also, there’s no better way to bond with your fellow classmates than camping out at Toucan Tan for 2 hours the night before the big day.
11. Going to the dance for 45 minutes
By the time you actually got to the dance, you had not only endured pictures with your parents, but your party bus had already driven all the way to the city during high traffic to eat at Rainforest Café. To say the least, you were beyond eager to get to your friend’s Hawaiian-themed basement. You couldn’t wait another second to ditch the costume and put on that drinking-reference t-shirt you just overnighted from Amazon.
12. No one participating in spirit week except the seniors
It was so uncool to wear a jersey on Monday or tie-dye on Thursday unless you were a senior. In that case, you were rocking a denim vest over a denim shirt with a denim skirt and denim jeans for Denim Wednesday.
13. No one participating in anything except the seniors
In a school of over 4,000, it was hard to be an underclassman; you were perpetually embarrassed to do anything that might upset the "scary" seniors. Especially at football games. Since apparently, only upperclassman deserved bleachers, you were forced to hang out near the porta-potties.
14. Dance Day
One of the most underrated holidays of the year. The goal was to go for as many class periods as you could.
15. Tri-ship and girls club
Tri-ship was the O.G. frat and girl's club was really just prepping you for Panhel.
16. The Tinkle Times
If you remember one thing from your public education, it's that 3 out of 4 students haven’t smoked pot in the last 30 days.
17. Complaining that the freshman campus was nicer
Well, it was.
18. Being told that college is ~a match to be made, not a prize to be won~
At such a competitive school, it can seem like everyone is rowing at an Ivy. So honestly, sometimes it was nice to hear this cliché just to level the college pressure.
But I also wouldn't be surprised if Mrs. Paunan got the infamous phrase tattooed across her forehead some day.
19. Night League
Wednesdays at intramural basketball were truly the biggest social event of the week. Boys assumingly got really into it, but the true mark of night league was when even girls left the court with battle wounds. There’s nothing quite as novel as running into your crush while you’re dripping sweat after an aggressive battle for the Golden Shoe.
20. Forever being a Trevian
Whether you were someone who hated the small-college sized school or were someone who peaked senior year, you wouldn't trade your Trevian experience for anything.
You probably even still catch yourself humming "we don't mess" every once in a while...
