Yeah. You. You heard me. Why don’t you love me?

I was built for you: my shelves designed for your books, my hooks itching for your bag or a winter coat to hang on them.

But you’re just like the rest of them. You’re stubborn. You refuse. You follow tradition, and you don’t use your locker.

If we lockers could talk, we would ask you to name one reason other than “because everyone else does” as to why you choose to lug around your brick-filled bag on your brittle, sore shoulders instead of letting us do our jobs. And if we could talk, it would be pretty embarrassing for you, because you would surely lose that argument to a locker.

Sometimes tradition can leave a positive influence  by  creating tighter-knit communities and bringing people together, but it should never be a substitute for rational decision-making.

Glenbrook North’s freshmen quickly learn the litany of unspoken rules near after their arrival: don’t use a lunch tray, never venture into the SAC, don’t use your locker. Because of this culture, GBN’s empty lockers aren’t a product of free will and calculated thought, they’re a product of community pressure and misplaced stubbornness. Tradition is only beneficial insofar as it guides its followers in a positive way, but should fall to the wayside when it pushes them to disregard logic.

Assuming the role of the quiet observer at GBN, I’ve realized that our locker problem is a perfect example of everything wrong with the social nature of high school — it breeds blind followers who can’t think for themselves simply because they’re too lazy or afraid to go against the grain, even if it might be in their best interest to do so.

And sure, it’s true that for some people their lockers are so far removed from their classes that it makes no sense to store materials in there, and you don’t have to use your locker if it’s really an inconvenience to you. But, on the other hand, you certainly shouldn’t ditch your winter coat and kill your back all in the name of stupidity.

It’s time to lock up your old traditions.