Archie Williams offers a variety of experiences for high school students. However confusing those many elements may seem to outsiders, they culminate to achieve the distinct atmosphere of the school. Here are my top five favorite things about Archie Williams.

The lack of air conditioning
Don’t you just love the California heat? I’ll tell you, on a hot day, there is nothing that I would rather do than absolutely roast in my last class of the day due to the crazy lack of airflow. Many athletes do heat therapy nowadays, and at Archie Williams they don’t have to pay for it! For athletes, the heat recovery is a nice bonus to classes, but some students just aren’t built for the heat. Maybe it is time for schools to start investing in some AC, even though I love spending 45 minutes finding out where the fan in the corner is pointed.

The bathrooms
Take a breath and walk into that putrid, yet for some reason, fruity-smelling bathroom. The Archie Williams bathrooms seem to be designed with the goal of creating a clunky, unventilated space that makes entering as awkward as possible. I just love the cramped floor plan! Some may believe we would benefit from a fan or window, but then again, all that would do is remove the alluring smells of a mosh pit, and nobody wants that.

The turf
Another of my favorite attributes of Archie Williams is the incomplete conversion of the athletic facilities. We changed the name and mascot of our school, purchased brand new uniforms for all the teams, and spent thousands to fix the gym to feature our new school mascot. Of course, it makes sense that the giant Drake “D” on the football field wasn’t replaced, right? They even left “Sir Francis Drake” on the baseball field to stick with the theme! Turf is so expensive these days, and I think the variety of logos gives the place a nice eccentricity. Don’t you?

The schedule
One of my favorite parts of this school: our sensible, unconfusing schedule. On Mondays, we basically get to teach ourselves during the 50-minute periods. Plus, the very little time in class gives us extra homework! To add to the fun, our breaks are so short that we don’t even have to worry about chilling out because we stay so zoned into our lessons. Fridays sadly mark the end of the school week, but thankfully the new later start time allows us an extra 30 minutes on campus!

Lunchtime
It never fails to make me smile when I realize that I can only get lunch at Redhill if I actually want to return to school on time. Some might see the lack of choices as a negative, but I think that having a smaller amount of options makes deciding where to eat much easier. I mean, seriously, how much would 20 more minutes to eat and relax really benefit anybody?

These five components and many others all compile to create the iconic Archie Williams environment, truly an experience unlike any other around.