By PRATEEK KHANDELWAL, freshman,
VERONICA MELIKSETIAN, freshman,
and ARJUN GOURISHETTY, junior

You know you go to JPS when…

…finding a dollar in your pocket on the day of a pizza, candy, or pretzel sale is the happiest moment of your week.

…most of the texts you receive are either from your teachers using Remind101 or your friends asking you what you got for “number seven.”

…college acceptances inspire more drama and gossip than do prom proposals.

…you know there is an event taking place after school based on the number of people wearing club t-shirts.

…fundraising is the answer to everything…

…unless you’re speaking with an OMer, in which case the answer is always duct tape.

…sleep is more of a formality than anything else.

…during spirit week, student council representatives will count students who are wearing shirts that bear almost no obvious relation to the day’s theme.

…for some people, pajama day is every day.

…you sometimes catch yourself humming the jingle preceding the sports section of the announcements.

…you’re fairly certain that the number of people on crutches goes up every year…

…and start to think that the leg boot is some sort of new fashion fad.

…the birds chirping during pep rallies seem to have more enthusiasm than many of the spectators…

…until a bee flies by and everybody loses it.

…you’re lucky to find anywhere from 1G to 4G on your phone throughout the school, because you’re usually stuck at “no service.”

…posters advertising for students to join clubs go up in the first month of school…

…and remain up for the rest of the year.

…you can’t decide what’s more important after your classes, getting to the bus on time or buying food in the lobby.

…the temperature change going from the second floor to the first feels as if you went from Hawaii to Alaska in 5 seconds flat…

…and you can’t decide which temperature is worse.

…the only way you “sell” t-shirts is by trading them for other club t-shirts.

…you see half the school while you’re shopping on Black Friday…

…the pool on the roof isn’t the only pool—there are several more in the parking lot.

…people walk all the way to the B wing just to use the full-body mirror.

…you buy Project P.I.E.C.E.S. pretzels more for the dipping sauce than for the pretzels.

…students are wearing their winter jackets to class.

…there are new printers but still no paper.

…you reach to open the door at the top of the staircase but grab a handful of air instead, because there’s no handle.

…you happen to join a club (or ten) during club photoshoots in the auditorium.

…the only time it feels like the holidays is when you’re in the girls locker room. (In case the guys were wondering, there was holiday music playing and a Christmas tree on the wall).

…the morning traffic extends past Inman shopping center in one direction, and halfway until Metuchen High School in the other.