As a recent graduate of West York, I still carry a lot of things I learned the past four years with me. I wouldn't say high school was the greatest time of my life, but after talking to other people, I realize life at West York wasn't as bad as I thought. I really did learn a lot from my time as a Bulldog.

1. Open lunch is the answer

Not only do you get the opportunity to avoid the "quality" food in the cafeteria, you also learn a little about budgeting and dressing for the weather. I wouldn't know how to walk to class in the rain at college if I hadn't been walking to Crazy Tom's in monsoons for two years.

2. Parking on the street

West York was completely without a student parking lot my junior year and primarily only gave parking spots to seniors my senior year. Unless something has changed (and our parking lot tripled in size) just about everyone that drives before senior year gets a daily course in parking within an acceptable distance of the curb.

3. How to do the least

Don't even lie. We all knew exactly how many laps we had to do on the pacer to get the grade we wanted and we usually never did more than that. If I could tell you how much of my time I wasted doing practically nothing in gym class, I would, but in college and the real world, sometimes a little pretending will get you exactly where you need to be.

4. How to do the most

Some of our honors and AP classes aren’t jokes and the teachers push us to work hard and learn as much as we can. This is so important in college and in life. There are times to slack off, but there are so many more times when hard work is the only answer.

5. Unity still exists

Like every high school, we have our cliques and divisions, but whether it was in tragedy or triumph, we always came together when it mattered.

6. Pizza lunch appreciation

I remember how mad we all were when they raised the price for pizza lunch between my junior and senior year, but I haven’t found a deal that good since. It was always worth climbing that mountain of a hill in the rain. Always.

7. Actual academics

I know it depends upon your major in college, but even just for my gen eds, West York actually gave me a lot of skills other high schools don’t. I was so surprised when I realized I hadn’t just been wasting my time in some of those classes for 80 minutes a day. Some of that stuff really is useful.

8. How to handle and avoid drama

All the crap I put up with socially in high school has its benefits. I know exactly what type of people not to waste my time on.

9. You don't need ceilings to have a good time

We were under construction for the majority of my four years there and contrary to popular belief, seeing the wires and pipes in the halls didn’t affect my education or my experience.

10. Giving back is important

Mini-Thon is such a huge deal at West York and I cannot imagine my high school experience without it. There are so many other schools that don’t take fundraising and charity as seriously as we do. I wish I could do something like this all the time.

11. What my passion is

This doesn’t happen for everyone, but if it weren’t for the teachers in our English department (and some outside of it) I never would have realized just how much I love writing.

12. How to drive on sheets of ice without dying

The West York Shield of Protection never fails, but it's okay. I think just about every college has a shield of protection too. What's a snow day again?

13. How to hate your hometown

If you don’t have a love hate relationship with where you grew up and went to high school, you definitely didn’t have the same experience as the rest of us. York is wonderful… sometimes wonderfully terrible, but wonderful all the same.