Is a school lunch potato worth $5?

$5 — baked potato, the school lunch menu read. 

Beneath the aluminum foil, I expected — at the very least — a fluffy, golden potato topped with sour cream, bacon, butter and cheese. 

As I removed the foil, my high hopes for potato nirvana were crushed. It was just a potato — a plain, unseasoned potato. 

For $5, I could’ve bought a grapefruit green tea with crushed ice, coconut jelly and red bean from TeaTop, or at least 0.083333 grams of gold to help my ego. 

But instead, I’m left feeling like an Irish pirate in the dim basement of a merchant ship eating my last meal. 

So no, definitely not worth it.

@Juniors: STOP PARKING IN SENIOR LOT

Every morning, as I turn into the student parking lot after sitting in 15 excruciating minutes of traffic, I pull up to the front two rows of the lot expecting to find a parking spot. But without fail, cars owned by the Class of 2023 are parked in these coveted rows, preventing seniors from claiming their rightfully owned lot.

You would think all these well-educated juniors would see the word “senior” and realize that maybe, just maybe, this lot isn’t for them. But no. They don’t.

While there is no technical rule preventing the junior class from parking in the senior lot, to me, it’s the principle of the thing. Every class earns the privilege of these coveted spots their senior year.

 News flash to juniors: Wait your turn. 

Waking up for school is the worst part of my day

At 7 on weekdays, my phone alarm screeches. After snoozing it, I promptly fall back asleep. Roughly an hour later, I stagger out of bed, only to realize that I have 10 minutes to get dressed, eat breakfast and walk to school. 

Had this occurred last year, I would have simply logged onto Zoom, turned off my video due to “wifi problems” and enjoyed my breakfast.

Unfortunately, connection issues are no longer a valid excuse, so I would suggest blaming the traffic congestion in the front parking lot — even if you are walking to school.

Just delete the app

Imagine this situation. 

“I’ll start my homework in 10 minutes,” a student says before they open TikTok on their phone and start scrolling through mind-numbingly pointless videos. Hooked by TikTok’s irresistibly fast-paced, personalized algorithms, they stretch their allocated “10 minutes” of free time into an hour or two or three of wasted time.

I used to be this person. 

But all it took was two clicks — deleting the app forced me to stay on task and increased productivity. This one simple action has reduced my stress tremendously.

With TikTok distractions eliminated from my day, gone are the days of staying up for homework past midnight. Save your sanity. Pull the plug and tap “Delete App.”