Something about the in-between moments at school, the few minutes between classes, the time waiting in the lunch line, or walking out to the parking lot at the end of the day often gets overlooked. But if you stop and listen, you’ll hear something beautiful: laughter.
It’s not just any kind of laughter. It’s the kind that bounces off lockers, echoes through the stairwells, and turns the most ordinary hallway into a stage for inside jokes, ridiculous impressions, and those iconic one-liners that somehow become legendary. It’s what I like to call hallway laughs, and they’re everywhere.
They’re the seniors who can’t help but make any excuse to get out of class to wander the halls. They’re the boys playing hacky sack any chance they get. They’re in the silly nicknames, the over-the-top stories, and the way someone manages to get yelled at by Marilu.
High school is stressful. We’re all balancing a lot, grades, sports, clubs, jobs, college plans, family stuff, and everything in between. But hallway laughs? They’re a break in all of that. They’re the 30-second reminder that it’s okay to breathe, to be ridiculous, to not take everything so seriously.
“I honestly think jokes get me through the day,” said Emma Pinsoneault, a junior. “It’s like… sometimes, everything feels like too much. But then someone says something dumb, and we all crack up, and for a second, I’m okay again.”
There’s no script to the humor at Blanchet. Some kids are all about the dad jokes. Others lean into memes, impressions, or running gags that have lasted since freshman year. And then there are those completely random, chaotic moments that nobody planned, but somehow become legendary.
Even the teachers get in on it. Mr. Hecko’s dry sarcasm. Mrs. McGovern’s dramatic reenactments of literary scenes. Coach Walker’s ability to turn a pep talk into a stand-up set. Their jokes aren’t just funny—they make learning more bearable, more real. They remind us that behind every quiz or rubric is a person who remembers what it’s like to sit where we’re sitting.
But it’s not just about being funny. Humor in the halls isn’t about having the best punchline or being the loudest voice. It’s about connection. About knowing someone well enough to tease them just right, or reading the room enough to know when someone needs a laugh. Sometimes, it’s the way a friend gently roasts you after a bad test grade, and somehow, you feel better. Not because the test doesn’t matter, but because you matter more.
Still, it’s important to say: not every joke is harmless. We’ve all seen when humor crosses a line, when it becomes sarcasm that stings, or a joke that leaves someone out instead of letting them in. That’s where hallway laughs stop being funny. Respect matters, and the best kind of humor is the kind that lifts people instead of tearing them down.
Senior Joie Ciro put it best: “I think jokes are powerful. You can use them to make someone feel seen, or make someone feel small. I try to choose the first one.”
In a school that can feel so focused on achievement and productivity, hallway laughs remind us that being human matters too. That joy matters. That connection matters.
So here’s to the kid who makes a goofy face in every class photo. The friend who always has a joke ready, even if it’s terrible. The teacher who never fails to make the whole class laugh. The laughs that echo off the lockers and stay with us, long after the bell rings.
Because when we look back, we might forget what day that math quiz was. But we’ll remember the day Caden Arms jumped into Green Lake. We’ll remember who made us laugh when we didn’t even feel like smiling. And in a world that can feel heavy and complicated, sometimes a dumb joke in a high school hallway is exactly what we need.
