Sneaking out: a late-night venture that could be illegal, condemned by parents or harmless. Whether taking the family car out for a joyride to get a midnight snack, climbing through a window, or simply stepping outside for a few minutes, the first time for each student ranges across the board.

While surveying students on campus about their first experience sneaking out of the house, those whose stories fell on the wild side tended to request anonymity. But some were willing to share their tales and thoughts.

Freshman Mane Mikayel

In retrospect, freshman Mane Mikayel does not consider her personal experience very exciting. The first time she snuck out, her parents eventually found out, but according to Mikayel, the incident was not too serious.

“I was like eight or nine, and I remember I found a lost puppy that day. And I kept thinking about the lost puppy, and my mom wouldn’t go after it, so I was like, ‘I’m going to go after it.’ So I waited until they went to sleep but then it was cold so I went back in.”

Freshman Megha Sheth

While she has not snuck out of the house herself, freshman Megha Sheth has broached the topic with her parents to see their reactions. In Sheth’s opinion, many parents are unfortunately unaware of their children leaving the house at night without permission; she believes the the lack of awareness may stem from preoccupation with younger siblings or a busy job.

“These people [I know] … leave their garage door halfway open and sneak out in the middle of the night, and their parents don’t even know. It’s like, are you oblivious to what your kids do?”

Her friends have done it, and when they do, junior Neesha Bhardwaj admits that she gets a bit worried for them — but Bhardwaj has never gone to through the trouble of sneaking out, and says she probably never will.

“It doesn’t seem worth it, you know? Like if you do get in trouble, I’m sure everything would just suck after that  because your parents would just take your stuff away and they wouldn’t trust you again,” Bhardwaj said. “If I ever snuck out, I would just be scared the whole night like, ‘What’s going on at my house? Are my parents awake? Are they going into my room?’”

Junior Sumi Pidaparthi

At a sleepover over the summer, junior Sumi Pidaparthi snuck out for the first time — and she described the experience as exhilarating, but very cold.

“There were 10 of us and we went to Kennedy [Middle School] at 2 a.m.,” Pidaparthi said. “And there was a cop car on the street and we hid in the bushes. And that’s all I’m gonna say.”

Senior Hubert Hong

Senior Hubert Hong has a second-story bedroom, and remembers jumping out the window when he first snuck in his sophomore year.

“I opened the screen door, I crawled out and I was on the roof. And then I went on the ledge and hung there, and then I jumped down,” Hong said. “Ever since that day, I just snuck out like every day.”

Senior Ryan Barnett

For senior Ryan Barnett, leaving is not the hard part — but getting back in is.

“Every time you make a step it’s like, ‘Oh… did my parents just hear that?’” Barnett said. “Like you’re scared to take another step ‘cause what if your parents come out of the room?”