This year, I am most thankful for Liberty’s water bottle filling stations. While there may only be two in the school, they make a huge impact on the small subset of the student population that has become aware of them.

Last year, there was just one water bottle filling station. It was in the 6000 wing, perhaps the furthest corner of the school, but that never stopped me from making a daily journey to enjoy its cold, clean water.

On a normal day, I would fill up my one-liter water bottle at my house. That lasted me for the ride to school and 1st or 5th period. Then, I made the long trek to the lone filling station in the 6000 wing, after which I rushed to my third class of the day with only a minute to spare. Before lunch, I made the trip yet again. Two-thirds of the way through lunch, my water bottle would be empty once again, and I would make my final trip to the filling station, which would last me until the end of the day.

Now that a second water bottle filling station has been installed, I no longer have to walk quite so far just to enjoy good water, and I have time to use the restroom in between classes. While one may say Liberty has dozens of water fountains, thus making water bottle filling stations redundant, water bottle filling stations are in fact necessary because they dispense quality water and do so efficiently.

Water fountains do not compare to water bottle filling stations. First, the water they dispense is usually warm, which makes for a bad taste. Second, they are slow. One has to wait an entire 50 seconds to fill a one-liter bottle at a water fountain. In comparison, filling stations only take 20 seconds. Lastly, water fountains are clumsy to use to fill a bottle. One has to hold the bottle at an angle, and when done, quickly tilt the bottle the right way so that as little water spills out as possible. At a filling station, all one has to do is set the bottle down and press a button.

Unfortunately, the water bottle filling stations remain sadly underappreciated at Liberty; I actually don’t know of anyone else who uses them on a daily basis. As an athlete and hydration enthusiast, water bottle filling stations have been a blessing to me. More students who are involved in sports, or are just thirsty all the time, should use filling stations for their water bottles to ensure this amenity does not go to waster.