What's in Your Locker

Going back to junior high (middle school) and then on to high school ad what did you pack your lockers with day to day. To be honest the only things I actually put in my locker was my coat and books. If I close my eyes and try to remember when walking down the hallway and yes sometimes, I did peek into other's lockers.

You could almost discern who were the athletes and cheerleaders to the super smart students to the ones who just did not care what anybody thought. The athletes and cheerleaders usually had pictures and even at times mirrors boys and girls for you could see them combing or brushing their hair in the little mirrors they installed in their lockers. Hey, this was the late 70's and early 80's with big hair for men and women. There were the smart kids who loaded them with books of all types. There were the artists, band and choir members filled with music or even instruments if small enough, and for the artists various art and craft things that varied.

Lockers were personal spaces that could be decorated by each student owner as long as what was put on or in can be cleaned out at the end of the year. I remember seeing locker size posters, makeup for girls mainly lip gloss and combs and brushes. Some were organized and some were just rat traps filled with dirty gym clothes and whatever else a particular student could muster to fit in. In this case I remember a few students that would need a shovel to clean their smelly locker it would get sometimes when others complained to the teacher, and you would see them with a garbage can with an open locker door. There were only a few that was ever like that but come Junior and Senior year those people were either dropped out or just disappeared somewhere or finally decided to clean up their acts in all ways.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this journal essay my locker was primarily just books I needed for classes and my coat and maybe a lunch from home when I did not like what the cafeteria offered, and there was no salad bar offered that day. Now, every once in a while, when in my freshman year I took an art course, and we needed to keep some supplies I did keep some supplies in my art locker and my regular locker, but still not very much was kept there either.

Lockers were personal, but not really private even though some thought they were, and I guess they are right in a sense for some for I went to a somewhat rich school and a few students had things that really should have stayed at home. Things like jewelry and various kinds of tools like knives that some boys (men or even some women) girls kept in their lockers. Hate to say this but at the time I was in high school there were drugs, alcohol and yes cigarettes of various kinds if you know catch my drift.

Hard to believe that some of the things that I remember that others kept in their lockers and only a few ever got caught. At this time in history, we did have sporadic locker searches like they do now in schools, and maybe we should have had them back then for maybe some who did get caught could have received help with whatever was going on for them at school or home that they needed to use drugs, alcohol or even weapons to feel safe to show how strong and mean they could be.

What did you keep in your school lockers if you care to share? Thanks for reading.