The school year of 2010-2011 (the first year), we had maybe 100-150 students, not even. Today our school — just about — hits 750 students, and I can definitely feel it. I feel it every time I try to go up or down the stairs from any floor and every second in the halls.

I come from the basement on A days and once I hit the second floor I’m usually at a stand still! What is this?! I have five minutes to get to my class, and I can spend a good chunk of my time trying to push my way through the sea of students who have for some reason, decided to stop in the MIDDLE of the stairs. They stop and start yelling at each other from the top of the stairs to the bottom. How crazy is that?! They yell at each other about how busy the stairs are and yet they are the ones who have caused this huge traffic jam. If they aren’t talking about how busy the stairs are, they’re talking about life, or what ever topic you can come up with.

Now, I can’t be too big of a critic, for I have done it myself. Here’s the thing though, it’s not just the fact that people stop in the middle of the staircase, but they walk on the wrong side too! I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this, but when you walk up and down the stairs you should walk on the right side. The middle is somewhat open for an emergency, or really just for space. If you’ve ever heard someone tell you to walk up on the right side and walk down on the left, don’t do that; It just creates disorder. Due to the fact that people were walking down on the wrong side, I was almost pushed down twice! I did not appreciate that at all and was so unhappy that I am now writing an editorial about how annoyed I am. Yes, I know that there are only so many staircases that you can take to get to a specific class, but be respectful and just keep walking.

If you need to talk to someone, talk to them after school, lunch, text, call, or pull them over to the side. By doing so you aren’t stopping the student body from getting to where they need to be. There are some little staircases that not many people know about for you who really can’t stand the wait. They are the stairs that go from the main floors to the secondary floors that are connected to each main floor, but not the rest of the main school– or vice versa. They are located near the bathrooms on the main floors and at the end of the hallway to the right if you’re coming from the R level.

This video shows you my journey on A days from the basement to the fourth floor into Travis Armknecht’s room. It’s crazy how busy things get.

Update: March 8, 2016: This story received an Excellent Rating in the journalismSTL 2016 News & Online Commentary/Staff Editorial Contest.