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50 Things You’ll Only Understand If You Went to Catholic School

Katie Brooks
FSU Contributor
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FSU chapter.
  1. The uniforms ~cringe~ I personally looked like a very young UPS employee.
  2. Praying there wouldn’t be a uniform check the days you rolled up your skirt.
  3. Plaid will never be seen as sexy.
  4. Constantly forgetting your P.E. uniforms at home.
  5. Your dress code was so strict that your socks had to be certain lengths and colors.
  6. You were not allowed to paint your nails or dye your hair.
  7. Thanking God that your high school was not as strict.
  8. Not having any idea how to dress because you never had to pick out clothes every morning.
  9. Going to school with the exact same people for more than half your life.
  10. Most schools were run by those giant Catholic families with 10 kids.
  11. Half your teachers were alumni.
  12. There was always one “hot” teacher that wasn’t actually that hot but Catholic schools had few options.
  13. There were no such things as secrets.
  14. You probably dated the same guys as all your friends.
  15. Purposely sitting next to your crush at mass so you could hold hands during the “Our Father.”
  16. Talking as much as possible during the Sign of Peace.
  17. When there was a new kid, it was a pretty huge deal for about two weeks.
  18. Bringing uniform shorts to change into because you had to wear “uniform pants” to mass.
  19. It was kind of a big deal to be chosen as a reader.
  20. Planning your skip days around mass days.
  21. Daydreaming during mass about the most random things.
  22. But also appreciating those shortened class periods.
  23. You literally prayed at least eight times a day because every class began with a prayer and lunch began and ended with one.
  24. Praying before all of your exams to try and guarantee that A.
  25. Lunch was also so short that you basically had to choke down your food.
  26. None of your friends understood why your lunch was so short or why you had seven classes every day.
  27. All of your public school friends had really cool class options and you had only the basics to choose from.
  28. Except for TV Production, which was basically the only “fun” class.
  29. Being on the morning announcements made you practically famous.
  30. Your locker was the tiniest locker in the entire school system.
  31. Having a brother or sister run your school.
  32. Explaining to all your non-Catholic friends that nuns didn’t hit you with rulers.
  33. But yes, there were nuns there sometimes.
  34. Having to go to confession as a class.
  35. Making up crap to say during confession because you didn’t know what to say.
  36. You basically always said “fighting with my brother or sister.”
  37. Having someone remind you what the Act of Contrition was at least five times before you went to confession.
  38. Basically knowing every Catholic song possible.
  39. As well as all the dances and hand movements that went along with them.
  40. Never having a sex ed class.
  41. But you did have to watch a birth video.
  42. They made the guys go in a different room so they could talk to you about periods in the most awkward way possible.
  43. Getting demerits for things you didn’t even know were possible to get yelled at for.
  44. Senior year was the highlight of your life because you had club trips and the Kairos retreat.
  45. You wore that Kairos cross every day.
  46. Your graduation lasted about an hour.
  47. Most of your friends had graduating classes the size of your entire school.
  48. You didn’t realize how prepared you were for college until you got here and already knew how to handle giant exams and papers.
  49. You made all of your best friends there and you’ll probably be friends for the rest of your life.
  50. Best of all, “Leave room for the holy spirit” is a real thing.

Courtesy of Giphy

Katie is a senior at Florida State University, majoring in Marketing and minoring in Commerical Entrepreneurship. She is one of Her Campus's national collegiate Style Editors but don't worry, you can still find her writing for Style and Career. She's a South Florida girl through and through and loves all things beachy and outdoorsy. When she isn't obsessively online shopping, looking up her daily CoStar, or reading every book in the "Free" section on iTunes, she's trying to convince people that they don't need an Instagram. Feel free to add her on LinkedIn (because networking is the new adulting) and check out her website. 
Her Campus at Florida State University.