The Junior Lot: The place where about twenty lucky students get a place to park their car for the day. A place I spent most of my junior year obsessing about. Waking up, throwing on a sweatshirt, and rushing to the lot without eating breakfast was how I lived life for a year. I would wake up my tired sister every morning super early, force my mom out of bed to make us our lunches, and dash out the door by 6:45 just to get a coveted spot in the lot. All this because I didn’t like the idea of getting detention if I parked in the senior lot. Everyone saw me as “the girl who woke up so early for no reason to get a spot” but because of my anxiety I did not want to risk not having a spot for the day.
As soon as we juniors walked into the new school year, we were told NOT to park in the senior lot, but plenty of us did. Mrs. Moralda and Dr. Hyman took this seriously and sent out emails here and there to stop this crisis, but the seniors’ complaints really sparked the seriousness of Gregory stickering cars everyday. Because why would you want a junior parking in your senior spot? Super understandable, coming from a (now) senior.
Another reason why the main office has started cracking down on juniors is due to the wave of students trying to leave the lot all at once. NVOT has a history of car accidents in the senior lot, whether big or small. Once that bell rings, every student floods the hallways and sprints to their car to escape the lot before ruthless students weave through cars to get home. Therefore, not only are the parking rules because there isn’t enough parking, but because it can be even more hazardous than it is now.
So, knowing all of this last year, I refused to be late. Every single student who has graduated OT remembers the pain of waking up early hoping to have somewhere to park their car. As stupid as it is, it’s something that every person here at NVOT needs to experience. Juniors need to be put in their place, like the rest of us were.
My advice for the class of 2026 is to go through what we all had to go through. It’s soooo much better waking up early every morning than it is getting a sticker stuck on your car and building up detentions. Doing this can also risk your spot for senior year. Parking in the junior lot is all a part of the junior year experience. Save yourself the stress of finding a parking space, and wake up earlier, because in reality, junior year is stressful enough.
