This post was written by Alyssa Wigant, a freshman Graphic Communication student at Cal Poly.
“Hello, I’m Alyssa, and I graduated from an all-girls high school.”
That was how I introduced myself during WOW week, and people looked at me as if I came from another planet.
I cannot emphasize enough how beneficial my high school was for me because it was made up of female students. I’ll admit it’s not something you hear every day, but it bothers me when people, especially girls, act like single-gender schooling is a punishment. So, I would like to share with you my unique high school experience in hopes you will open your mind about single-gender schooling.
Growing Without Limitations
Imagine waking up, brushing your teeth, getting dressed, and leaving for school all in 10 minutes. Seems crazy, right? It was routine for me and other girls in high school because there were no boys at school I wanted to impress.
I got to try new things without feeling limited or pressured by the expectations of males. To name a few, I participated in Student Council for four years, became a co-anchor on the school’s newscast, and played guitar for Liturgical Band. It emphasized that school is not about finding partners to date—it’s for learning and growing as an individual.
Part of a Sisterhood
My school was very community oriented, so I felt sisterhood through the amount of times we came together to raise money for important causes like magazine drive, food drive, penny drive, and toy drive. We also held fundraisers for worldwide events like the earthquake in Haiti and tsunami in Japan.
Though we were a school of just 800 girls, we were able to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars when we came together as sisters to help others. I don’t think I’ll ever experience a bond that strong.
Meeting the Boys
Don’t get me wrong; I have male friends and I have had relationships. The best places to meet boys were school mixers with our brother-school along with school football games. It really taught me and other girls how to network with people to meet boys.
I had to be more outgoing when meeting new people, especially males. I had to put in the effort to say hello and introduce myself because I wouldn’t have the chance to otherwise.
The “high school drama” isn’t as bad as people make it up to be because there are no boys and couples on campus to talk about. However, if there’s big news about anything, it’ll spread like wildfire and most girls will know by the end of the day.
Adjusting in College
Going to college with boys was easy to adjust to. Seeing boys at school didn’t faze me, but I definitely had to get used to seeing couples hold hands and kiss between classes.
A Different Classroom Dynamic
In college I’ve noticed that a lot less discussion happens in class. I can almost feel the awkwardness when no one raises his or her hands to participate. In high school, because there were no boys to distract from the learning environment, girls became more open about their opinions and were not afraid to raise their hands in class.
There was a lot less pressure in high school knowing that I was there to learn and not be considered eye candy for boys. The academic rigor of high school was more intense than college so learning the material depended on discussion. The classroom dynamic is so different in college because people aren’t only learning, but looking for people to date.
Looking Forward
I feel like my background from an all-girls school has made me more outgoing when meeting people, especially boys. It has instilled feminist ideals in me and made me stronger academically and socially. Most importantly, I learned about sisterhood.
I have never been so thankful for my high school experience and I’m hoping it will provide a fresh and inspiring perspective for readers of Her Campus.