Water is the foundation of life. Humans can survive for up to two weeks without any food, but only a mere three days with a lack of water. 

However, I’d rather die of dehydration than get anywhere near the water fountains at Liberty. 

You’d think that high school students would know how to properly drink from a water fountain at the ripe old age of fourteen, but somehow, many of these individuals still slurp up their water like a thirsty giraffe. I haven’t known peace since, and I’ve learned to avoid these public water sources like the plague. 

Drinking fountains scare me. Like they terrify me. It all stems from my elementary school teacher showing my class a video of germs and viruses in Magic Schoolbus back in 2010, and now, just the thought of those multi-legged organisms crawling all over the handles and spout of water fountains make me panic. 

And most importantly, the water doesn’t even taste good. It doesn’t even taste bad. It tastes downright terrible (of course, I may be a bit biased as this was 6 years ago). Back in 6th grade, my naive self took a sip, not knowing the dangers that I was being exposed to; the distinct taste of dirt hit me in the mouth. It was the most traumatizing experience of my life as a student in the Issaquah School District, with Buchli’s Honors Physics class as a close second. 

School water fountains are nightmare fuel, and I urge you to think before you drink.