 After being at an all-girls high school for the past four years, making the switch back to a co-ed environment felt daunting. My high school experience was like living in the Barbie Land from Greta Gerwig’s film, “Barbie,” which depicts a utopia for women where they can do whatever they want and be supported. I would not trade that experience for anything. However, the shift from an all-girls school to co-ed has had its ups and downs, some of which I was not necessarily expecting.Â
I attended a Catholic all-girls high school in Kansas City and the benefits of attending a same-sex high school were immense. Throughout school, I never felt the pressure to look perfect every day or worried about getting an answer wrong in class. I was able to watch my friends thrive in their STEM-related activities as there was never the worry that they would be the only girl going for their certificate or fear they would be made fun of because they were interested in robotics. In fact, our E-Sports team is highly ranked in the state of Missouri.Â
Women supported women, everywhere I looked. All this and so much more made it feel like I was living in Barbie Land. This goes for the leadership roles I saw as well; all the people of power at my school were women. Our President of the school and the President’s of Academic and Student Affairs were women, and our student council was, of course, all girls as well. This allowed us the opportunity to see ourselves in leadership positions. So, I never had the impression that I could not do what I wanted and I could be in a leadership role.
While I still carry these views, I did have to adjust to a co-ed environment here at Saint Louis University. For the first week or two it was weird suddenly seeing guys sitting next to me in class, and I felt myself going back to my old habits of not speaking in class or being too shy to answer a question I knew the answer to.Â
Without realizing it, the habits and stigmas I was able to break in high school were slowly trying to creep their way back into my life. However, I did not let that stop me from trying new things or breaking out of my shell. As the weeks continued, I joined new clubs and started speaking up more in class.
Another change I saw was in how people treat sporting events, specifically women’s events. The biggest sport at my high school was volleyball, and our biggest rival was the other all-girls high school in Kansas City. It was a bit of a culture shock going to sporting events for the first time and seeing the bleachers filled for the men’s teams, but not for the women’s. I believe my time in high school gave me a much bigger appreciation for women’s sports and the now coined phrase, “Everyone watches women’s sports” has taken on a deeper meaning for me.
This phrase became popularized at the end of last year’s Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) season and started as a campaign by Togethxr, a women’s sports apparel and media company founded in 2021 by a group of female athletes including Sue Bird, Alex Morgan, Simone Manuel and Chloe Kim, all of whom are Olympic athletes. Celebrities spotted at the final WNBA game, featuring Caitlin Clarke and Angel Reese, were seen wearing this phrase on t-shirts.Â
My school’s basketball team purchased these t-shirts to wear during warm-ups at the semi-final game. Even though we ended up losing, we had a good student section (that was slightly bigger than the opposing teams) and it was such a fun experience getting to watch my classmates play during the height of the WNBA spotlight on women’s basketball. As the basketball season continues here at Saint Louis University, my goal is to support the women’s teams here and cheer on the amazing female athletes representing our school.
Overall, I would not trade my high school experience for anything. It taught me many things and gave me the confidence to be myself and not worry about what others thought of me. Now I’m not afraid to say I like something that isn’t considered feminine, while simultaneously not being ashamed of my Taylor Swift obsession.Â
Coming to college and going co-ed again has been a challenging transition, but I believe my values and sense of self have not changed. So, while I do miss the sisterhood I came from, I am grateful for the lessons it taught me and excited to be a part of the real world.