An all–girls school sounds dreadful especially in your teenage years when your hormones are raging. All girls want to look at are boys and the imprint of their penis in their basketball shorts. When my mom told me that I was going to attend an all girl high school, I was immediately convinced that she wanted me to be a lesbian. The stereotype of all- girls schools were that eventually you get turned out. How will I survive without being able to see any boy for four entire school years? Despite my prejudice, I ended up having some of the best years at my all-girls high school. It taught me things about myself and about how females operate as a species. I must say, we are wonderful. Here are some things that going to an all-girls school taught me:
- To be punctual– In my school everyone had to be in homeroom by the 8:05 a.m. bell and if you weren’t you knew you were going to end up in detention. After my first experience with detention, I knew what time I had to wake up and leave my house to be on time. If any girl were late to class that was a demerit for you! Three demerits equal a detention.
- To work with what you have– My school had the usual plaid skirt (that I of course hemmed) and the white collared button up. Although my uniform seemed bland, I definitely had the best knee-highs, shoes, and accessories to play up my outfit.
- NOT to be jealous of other females winning– It’s bad enough that women compete with men, so I found no interest in competing with other women. There were some smart girls in my school who answered almost every question. I’m proud to say they went on to go to Ivy League schools and they came from my school!
- It prepared me for the texting Olympics– We weren’t allowed to be on our phones during class, and I believe I never got my phone taken away. I knew when I only had a limited amount of time to respond back, so my thumbs moved as fast as Usain Bolt.
- To be organized– My school gave us a planner every year, to help us keep track of what is due and to write little notes to ourselves. Even after I graduated I continued to buy planners to guide me through my semester and remember important things. I think I might use a planner forever!
- That boys aren’t everything– I had a boyfriend all throughout high school and even though I had one, I never let that deter me from my books. Since I didn’t attend a co-ed school, I didn’t see him until after school. I was constantly focused in class rather than passing love notes.
- That women can actually get along– There is this common misconception that when there’s too much estrogen in the room you expect conflict. There were moments of conflict between girls in my graduating class BUT majority of us got along and spoke to one another. Everyone knew each other’s name, shared pads & tampons, laughed with each other and shared lunch tickets if they weren’t eating that day. When graduation came I was happy that I graduated with all these women aspiring to be something.
Attending an all-girls school sounds like hell to a teenage girl, but after you actually matriculate in an all-girls school you realize it isn’t so bad after all. You learn to value other women, I think that’s a lesson all women should learn.
