My vocational high school

@sissy15 (12456)
United States
July 17, 2025 3:36am CST
When I was in high school, I decided to go to a vocational high school. This school was an old military base (or so I heard) and it was an interesting school. There are all kinds of stories about that place. They have since rebuilt a nicer building to which I am deeply jealous of, but I am kind of sad these kids won't experience the character of the old building. That building was an experience all on its own. We had what I affectionately (or not so affectionately) called horse stalls in the bathroom. Why did I call them horse stalls? You may ask. The bathroom stall doors were small so when you stood up you could see yourself in the mirrors placed along the sinks. If you wanted to see who was in them all you had to do is kind of glance over to see if there was a head in the stall. Once I stood up and my friend who was in a different program there and who I almost never actually saw at school because our schedules were completely different stood up at the same time and she was in the stall next to me and it was like "Oh, hey, how's it going?" that was the only time I ever saw her was when we happened to use the bathroom at the same time. I always went during my lunch period, and she went during her lab (that's what we called our hands-on learning in our program). Our lunchroom was on the third floor, which I always thought was weird. When I had my related (related was the book work portion of our lab)class once a week my senior year in the library building, I was excited because it was the only building with full size doors on the stalls. I literally heard of students not going due to the bathroom stalls alone (we had explore days where students got to spend the day exploring the building and our different labs when contemplating going there). Another fun thing about the old building is that there were actually four buildings. I had classes in three of them. We had the main building where most of our classes were and then there was the middle building which was mostly the library and maybe one or two classrooms. The third building was where another of my friends had his lab and then we had the trailers they added for a few extra classrooms. They hauled them onto the grounds and you always had to hope you weren't stuck in them during a storm (true story once while at school we had a real tornado warning, because I live in the Midwest so why not?) because if you were you would have to walk in the wind and rain to the closest regular building (thankfully that never happened to me). My class schedule one year had me all over the school. I was up and down stairs and out of the building so much I am surprised I didn't lose any weight. Nothing like a brisk walk in the middle of winter without a coat to get to Math and then walk back into the main building and up three flights of stairs for lunch and then back down three flights of stairs to get to my lab. There was also one singular elevator in the entire building and it was a freight elevator that often got stuck. You'd hear the bell going off whenever it got stuck (which was often) to alert those who took care of that sort of thing that "Hey, Jimmy got stuck again" (side note: I have no clue who Jimmy is, that's a random name) and they'd promptly go figure out how to free Jimmy. No one wanted to be the poor sap who was stuck in the elevator. I hurt my foot my first year there and I was given a pass to be able to use the elevator but I sucked it up and walked without my crutches to school (It wasn't a break, they did x-rays I had a small chip in my bone but mostly my foot was bruised and sore and the only reason for the crutches was for pain not for anything that would permanently ruin my foot) it was painful but worth avoiding getting stuck. I hobbled around the school until my foot healed but was happy to not use the elevator. Once my friend who had to have crutches due to a foot surgery, needed help carrying books, so I had to ride on the elevator with her, and I wasn't a fan, but at least I wasn't alone if we got stuck but thankfully we never did. I would gladly walk the three flights of stairs to lunch if it meant avoiding the elevator like the plague, but sometimes being a good friend meant doing something you hated, like riding the elevators to help carry their books. She was grateful, and I was grateful that she eventually found someone who was eager to ride the elevator and carry her books to avoid the stairs (sometimes laziness wins out over fear, I guess). Not only was the building crazy but a lot of the students were different too. When I was in my senior year we had a group of junior cosmetology girls who were I wouldn't say dumb but definitely lacking some common sense. I remember how confused they were trying to get paper towels out of the dispenser. There were directions written directly on the side of it. You simply pulled the wheel (again written right on it) and out came a new paper towel. I remember watching them for a solid five minutes as I washed my hands and wanted to see if they figured it out, they didn't. I went over and got one out and didn't say anything (I probably should have but I was too amused) and as I walked out I heard one say "How did she do that?!" I got a good laugh. I hope they figured it out eventually. The senior cosmetology girls were not like that so I never knew what was with that particular group. I don't think all of them were like that but I have to say a lot of them were from my experience. My son is contemplating going to the same school and it really isn't the same as when I went. It's a new building with more programs available now but I feel like it's the same in that you have to leave a lot of friends behind you and learn to start again. Growing up is hard but the experiences we have help us build memories we'll never forget and I have to say I'll never forget that place or the people that were part of it.
4 people like this
4 responses
@id_peace (15829)
• Singapore
17 Jul
That is nice to have your son to go to the same school as you had went through. I hope that he will enjoy his study there.
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (12456)
• United States
18 Jul
He hasn't completely decided yet but is leaning towards it. I told him he had to do what was best for him. Hopefully if he does go he enjoys it.
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (12456)
• United States
1h
@id_peace That's part of why I chose to go to the school. I left behind a lot of friends and started over but it was one of the best decisions I could have made for myself.
@id_peace (15829)
• Singapore
21h
@sissy15 The most important thing is to really enjoy the study. My biggest regret is not enjoying it.
1 person likes this
@kareng (77844)
• United States
17 Jul
That sounds like a close-knit school!
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (12456)
• United States
17 Jul
It was because you were with the same kids all day long. The kids in your program had almost all the same classes as you give or take. They divided you up based on your program area. For instance I was in early childhood education which was considered health and human services so you had all of those kids together so it would be ece, cosmetology, culinary, law enforcement, nursing assistants, dental, and we had a few auto tech guys. My two friends from my home school went there too and they were in a different grouping but were together. One friend worked with computers and the other did vet tech.
1 person likes this
@kareng (77844)
• United States
17 Jul
@sissy15 Interesting, but makes sense I suppose.
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (12456)
• United States
18 Jul
@kareng It was a different sort of experience but it gave you a lot of life lessons on cooperating and getting along because I tell you what when you have a lot of teenage girls who are together all day long you tend to have a lot of arguments and you are stuck with them all day so you either learned to live with them or you were miserable.
@celticeagle (177155)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Jul
It takes all kinds to make up this crazy world we live in. Quite an adventure you had. I hope the new school will give your some a good experience.
1 person likes this
@sissy15 (12456)
• United States
18 Jul
It was quite the adventure and I remember it mostly fondly. Best thing I could have done for myself. I didn't know any of the kids I had classes with and it was like starting over completely but it was worth it in the end. I hope if my son does decide to go he enjoys the experience.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (177155)
• Boise, Idaho
13h
@sissy15 .......I hope so too.
@yanzalong (19042)
• Indonesia
17 Jul
It's a long text, my friend. That's good, though.
1 person likes this