Maybe it was the tartan skirts, mandatory penance or daily rosary, but there are a few things that each Catholic school kid experiences across the board. May we never forget the lightening-speed grace we all said before lunch or group prayer before each basketball game. They were memorable to say the least, and so are the next few things:

1. Most of your classmates were named after patron saints

2. And if you weren't, you berated your parents into explaining why

3. You remember the large amounts of class time in 2nd grade devoted to getting you used to communion

4. And it was a *BIG* deal when they brought in the actual host to practice with

5. You knew this meant it was close to show time

6. And you practiced your first communion in your living room, with juice and crackers

7. You didn't realize how clothing-deprived you were until you went around your public school friends

8. But you were cool with it, because uniforms made life easy when you got up late

9. Your school had a really strict dress code

10. And you just wanted to be like the other Catholic School across town that allowed nail polish

11. Or, you went to the ~chill~ dress code school, and thanked the Lord your didn't have to tuck in your shirt

12. Sex Ed was an interesting concept at school, and they most likely fast-forwarded through the actual "sex" part of the birth video

13. You probably learned a bunch of terms you had never heard of, and said all of them in front of your parents just to seem them break a sweat

14. Boys and girls also had to be separated, because 12-year-old boys just can't handle tampons

15. And the only contraception you learned about was counting days on a calendar

16. The selection of your confirmation name was a stressor

17. You were torn between picking a "pretty" name and one deep with meaning

18. So you chose "Agnes" and don't regret it one bit. Patron Saint of young girls ALL DAY

19. Wednesdays were Mass Day

20. And sometimes you skipped until the afternoon to get out of it

21. Or you secretly reveled in the fact that it meant shortened classes

22. You had exactly 24 minutes for lunch

23. All to make room for religion class, which was either the hardest or easiest class in your entire schedule

24. Probably everyone at your school wanted to be an engineer, doctor or nurse

25. And the entire school was thrown off kilter when a new student came

26. The Kairos Retreat was the highlight of your senior year

27. And you wish it happened once a month not once a lifetime

28. You wore your Kairos Cross everywhere

29. And in college, you didn't quite know how to incorporate it into everyday wear

30. But it is still in or around your dresser

31. And you still acknowledge it, letting know you're there and you care

32. You public school friends had a graduating class the size of your school's entire enrollment

33. And you just didn't understand how 3,000 people could fit into the same building for eight hours

34. And they probably also had a TON of classes to choose from–while you were taking Bio, they were taking "Crime Scene Forensics"

35. Your graduation ceremony took approximately 45 minutes

36. All in all, you admit that it had it ups and downs

37. But you met your closest friends in homeroom

38. And because of all the homework, essays and exams, you felt more than prepared to start college