How superstitious is Carrillo?

A graphic on luck and superstition (Dylan Cooper, The Puma Prensa)

Written By: Dylan Cooper, features editor

It’s not everyday that someone goes out and smashes a mirror into a million different pieces. It’s not that breaking mirrors isn’t fun, but there’s a hint of caution about it. On one hand, shards of glass skewed all over the bathroom floor is a recipe for disaster. On the other hand, that’s seven years of bad luck. There’s no sudden phone notification, no letter in the mail telling you how badly you messed up; you just know it.

Maria Carrillo High School students and teachers aren’t immune to this phenomenon, participating in random, seemingly pointless habits, just to influence bizarre superstitious concepts.

“I always put my pinky to the window whenever I drive over railroad tracks, I scratch the roof of my car when I go through a yellow light, and I never open umbrellas indoors,” said Junior Story LaCourse, who has become deeply invested in uplifting their own luck. While most people have forgotten where they may have picked up these odd manners, LaCourse has a different reason to keep these practices going. “I do consider myself a part time witch” said LaCourse, “a lot of what comes with that is being very superstitious.” 

There are quite a lot of witchy customs connected to the topic of luck, but most witches surround themselves with a variety of different superstitions, the most prevalent being fate. Many students at Carrillo have done tarot, believing that fate cards can give preface to the future, or participate in other activities to derive specific meaning in their lives.

All in all, it’s safe to assume that most people have interacted with a few forms of superstition without even realizing it.

Senior Patrick Culley has spent a lot of time in wrestling, and he has integrated his own superstitious ideas into making the best out of himself when preparing for an event. “I’ll do the same set of warmups before a match,” said Culley. “I believe that the routine will give me a little bit of extra luck.” Athletes of all kinds tend to take stock in luck, thinking that it might have an influence over the outcome of a game.

For all this talk of luck and fate, it is important to factor in how much religion influences these superstitions. A lot of religions rely on the ideas of destiny, that things are going to happen because they were fated to be so. Luck might also get undermined by these beliefs, finding it impractical or impossible to work with leading religious concepts. However, there are different religions, like parts of Paganism, that find it is extremely important to watch how your luck fluctuates and shifts with time.

But aside from luck and fate, karma is also deeply ingrained into religion, leading people to pay heavy attention to defining what is right and wrong. Buddhist beliefs suggest that any action someone commits is going to have an impact on that person in the next life. Carrillo students seem less invested in their following lives, but still tend to take karma into account. If someone does good, the Universe will reward them; if someone does bad, it will punish them. Karmic ideals are prevalent in societies around the world, affecting the judgment and morality of a people in a mostly positive light.

No matter the hypothesis on why certain things happen, whether good or bad, they seem to go as quickly as they arrive, so it can be wonderful to recognize them when they hit. “When something good happens to you, you should be verbally grateful” said English teacher Laura Hall-Grodrian in retrospect to superstition. “I always say thank you when something like that comes out of thin air for me. I don’t know who I’m thanking, but I feel that it’s important to demonstrate gratitude.”

Perhaps there is some stock in each of these superstitions, impacting our lives in ways we’ve never truly realized, so what’s the harm in collecting a couple four-leaf clovers? Maybe it’ll bring you that boost of good luck you’ve been waiting for, just try not to break any mirrors while you’re at it.