In many schools, the challenges students face are mostly academic or social, but at one particular school, students face a physical challenge that goes unnoticed. The eleven-story building features numerous stairs that are unavoidable for all students and staff. While the building is impressively tall, it still brings a mild inconvenience throughout the day. It’s a constant uphill battle at North Atlanta that puts the students’ and faculty’s stamina and patience to the test every single day.
The building’s design requires students to climb numerous flights of stairs between classes, which can be physically draining. This issue gets worse as students move up in the rankings; freshmen only have to scale a few floors a day, while seniors are walking the height of the building almost every day. Sophomores start to feel the impact of this vertical maze, with classes getting more spread out and the rush from one floor to another beginning to feel more like an intense cardio workout.
Some say that stairs keep us fit and our endurance up, but if we’re being honest, school isn’t supposed to be a seven-hour fitness test. Students constantly show up to classes panting, sweaty, and too distracted by the physical effort it takes to get to class to even pay attention for the first few minutes. This struggle also doesn’t just affect students; teachers also have to race between floors for lunch duty and meetings they may have throughout the day. Teachers have joked that they don’t need a gym membership when they work at an eleven-story school.
As students climb the academic ladder, little do they know they’re also climbing the literal one. Floor by floor, year after year, freshmen think they have it easy now, but little do they know they have three years of challenges to come. For some, the stairs are good to keep in shape during the off-season of their sport and help with endurance, and keep them awake and energized between classes. Of course, elevators exist, but those are typically reserved for teachers and staff, and even when you need one, they’re unreliable and slow. So for the majority, the path is an uphill climb-literally.
In the end, the eleven story climb of North Atlanta is not just a physical challenge but also a daily reminder of what the students are working for and towards. Though the building height inspires awe, it’s a test of stamina and patience, as well as the ability to navigate anything the day may throw at you. As the students begin to work their way through the uphill battle, maybe it will become a bit easier, and they won’t lose their breath along the way.
