Hot take: AP Lunch is real, but not in the gross AP Bio / Chem way; it’s when your lunch period consists of a solid group of people that you can look forward to (and genuinely enjoy) having lunch with every single day, and fortunately for me, I’ve had the luck of having AP Lunch every single semester in my high school career. With that being said, here’s a review of all of the lunch tables I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of in the past four years.
*I genuinely think I have some form of undiagnosed memory loss, so most of these lunch table commentaries were painstakingly pieced together through old photos and suppressed memories. However, I refuse to take accountability for any misinformation I may be spreading through this blog.
**Yes, this photo could technically be depicting an activity that isn’t necessarily in accordance to the Illinois Rules of the Road. However, rest assured that the vehicle was completely, utterly, 100% stationary. I repeat, this photo was NOT taken in a moving car. Hahah…
Freshman Year, Semester 1: I have absolutely no recollection of this lunch table, save for a few shaky videos that I had to unearth from the very depths of my Google Photos. In all honesty, I only faintly remember two other people that were part of this table, though I’m sure there’s more who just didn’t get any screen time. To be fair, this was a very sporadic semester since we were all gone on varying days to endure the glory of #LinkCrew; also, because I’ve completely repressed any and all notions of my time in the 10th Circle of Hell that is known as freshman year.
Freshman Year, Semester 2: There is only one word (okay, technically two) I can use to describe this table: absolutely iconic. Although we were made up of a seemingly unpredictable combination of people, those 51 minutes we spent together in the Learning Commons every day somehow always consisted of the best times: filming crappy pixelated vlogs on our phones, enjoying potluck picnics out in the courtyard, fostering our early-onset addictions to TikTok (and learning the dances, of course). This table undoubtedly catalyzed an arc of character growth for me, and will always hold a special place in my heart.
To those of you ex-lunch-mates who may be reading this right now, here is my (hundredth) formal apology for skimping on that hangout.
Sophomore Year, Semester 1: To be honest, I have very depthless memories of this table. In general, sophomore year was just such a whirlwind of chaos in which lunch periods easily got lost, but I do remember that this was a super chill lunch table. Also, that one time someone brought an entire 9” blueberry pie from Jewel Osco and we all dug into it with just our forks <33
Sophomore Year, Semester 2: I also can’t remember a single detail of this table, but in my defense, it did only last for a solid 2 months before our lovely “two-week break” hit. I do vividly remember doing lots of online shopping during our lunch period, and duh, the unbridled excitement of Crew 2 that semester though! <33
Junior Year, Semester 1 & 2: This was just my parents, so an obligatory 10/10. Or, in full transparency, I had 6th period lunch both semesters, which was scheduled for a quintessential 7:30am in the morning; so, in reality, I just spent my lunch periods being rudely awakened by the blaring alarm sounds just 2 minutes before my second-period class started.
Senior Year, Semester 1: I would 100% rank this in my Top 3 of my high school lunch tables. There were such exhilarating (but undoubtedly stressful) memories of speeding back to school after our off-campus lunches, when we would make the awful, last-minute decision to go someplace far away: debating on whether we should just leave the restaurant without our food, practically spoon-feeding our getaway driver as we sped back to school, and dashing up the stairs of the Athletic Entrance to make sure we wouldn’t be late for our *actually very important* tests the next period. Oh, and our steadfast efforts to convert every single person we knew into becoming school lunch fanatics. Love you Aramark!!
Senior Year, Semester 2: As another unequivocal Top 3 moment, this table is one that I’ll genuinely miss lunch-ing with after we graduate: the 51-minute periods of brainstorming schemes for Senior Assassins, the trashed lids of 25 cent plastic cups from the Half Caf, and daily trips to the industrial-sized Ken’s ranch dispenser in the Large Cafe… also, when are we doing the lil Sonic Challenge??
4 thoughts on “to all the lunch tables i’ve loved before 🥪”
Bibiane,
What an insightful recount of your high school lunch experiences! lthough we were stuck in the LC or fighting for tables in the courtyard, freshman year semester 2 was THE lunch group of my high school career. My camera roll is crammed with living memories of this blissful time.
Hey Bibiane, it was interesting to see how special of a place in your heart all of your lunch tables hold. Although I do remember some of my lunch tables/groups throughout the years, none of them are particularly special to me or stand out as much as your lunch groups. I think it’s cool that you appreciate the time with these people as much as you do and are able to have enjoyable experiences everyday at lunch. I hope I can look forward to lunch and have as memorable experiences as you during my lunch periods.
1. There’s something so powerful about being in the presence of an enormous ranch dispenser. What secrets might it contain? What stories does it have to tell? All things we may never know.
2. I think each of us should receive a monetary consolation for what we had to go through during Crew + Crew 2. There’s no reason on God’s green earth that sophomores should have been subject to that torture just so the loser Seniors could get some volunteer hours
3. I’m glad you feel the same way towards lunch tables as I do. No matter how they form, you’re always going to find just the weirdest groups of people at your lunch table and going on Canes runs on Fridays is the only thing keeping me going right now.
Bibiane,
What an insightful recount of your high school lunch experiences! lthough we were stuck in the LC or fighting for tables in the courtyard, freshman year semester 2 was THE lunch group of my high school career. My camera roll is crammed with living memories of this blissful time.
Sincerely,
an ex-member of the luncheoners
I FORGOT ABOUT THE LUNCHEONERS
Hey Bibiane, it was interesting to see how special of a place in your heart all of your lunch tables hold. Although I do remember some of my lunch tables/groups throughout the years, none of them are particularly special to me or stand out as much as your lunch groups. I think it’s cool that you appreciate the time with these people as much as you do and are able to have enjoyable experiences everyday at lunch. I hope I can look forward to lunch and have as memorable experiences as you during my lunch periods.
1. There’s something so powerful about being in the presence of an enormous ranch dispenser. What secrets might it contain? What stories does it have to tell? All things we may never know.
2. I think each of us should receive a monetary consolation for what we had to go through during Crew + Crew 2. There’s no reason on God’s green earth that sophomores should have been subject to that torture just so the loser Seniors could get some volunteer hours
3. I’m glad you feel the same way towards lunch tables as I do. No matter how they form, you’re always going to find just the weirdest groups of people at your lunch table and going on Canes runs on Fridays is the only thing keeping me going right now.