Today’s post is from Janae, who writes…
Nikki, you have to help me! I am SO upset about starting high school next year. I know you’re probably like WHAT??? But, I’m upset because it is an ALL GIRLS SCHOOL!!! And, I like to socialize with GUYS!! My parents say I have no choice. That’s super upsetting because I REALLY don’t want to go there!! I see kids from all girls’ schools depressed and failing at life. I DONT want to be like that. My parents love this school, but I hate it! I went to a try-out day and I was totally isolated from everyone else. How can I get my parents to change their minds?? Because I don’t think I will make it out there alive! 🙁
Hi Janae!!
Wow, you sound really upset, and I can understand why! It’s always a shock to get sent to a new school where you don’t know anyone. I’ve been there! Before I started at WCD, I was sure it was going to be all snooty rich kids I wouldn’t relate to. And okay, there are some of those (whose initials might be M.H.), but I also found Chloe, Zoey, Brandon and more!
I understand why you’re bummed about not getting to socialize with boys. But who says you can’t? How much socializing do you really do AT school anyway? If your school is like mine, hardly any! All our time is spent in class or hurrying to the next one. Socializing mostly happens outside of school.
So, just because you go to an all girls school doesn’t mean you’ll never see boys again! Talk with your parents about signing up for some co-ed activities outside of school. Maybe you can see boys at a youth group or community center, or doing theater or music classes, or volunteering at the library. A lot of all girls schools have partnerships with all boys schools and coordinate co-ed activities.
I’m sorry the try-out day wasn’t an instant success. But honestly, that could have happened at any school you tried out for one day. You didn’t know anyone! And they didn’t know you! When you’re a student there, I promise it will be different!
Your parents must have reasons for loving this school. It probably has great academics—most girls schools do, because the teaching is just right for how girls learn and work together. You might care more about boys than calculus right now (so do I!), but I guess that’s why we have parents looking out for us. 🙂
I’m not sure where you get the idea that people who go to all girls schools are depressed and failing at life. I did a few Internet searches and came up with a kind of amazing list of very successful people who went to all girls schools, either for high school or college. Here are just some of them:
- Kerry Washington (actress)
- Hillary Clinton (could be our first female president!)
- Gloria Steinem (feminist icon)
- Meryl Streep (actress)
- Gwyneth Paltrow (actress)
- Katie Couric (journalist)
- Nancy Pelosi (politician, former Speaker of the House of Representatives)
- Dianne Sawyer (journalist)
- Sally Ride (astronaut, first American woman in space!)
- Condoleeza Rice (politician, former Secretary of State)
So you’re not going to fail at life. You are still going to see boys. And you WILL make new friends! I promise you will survive it! Hopefully, with the right attitude and some good friends, you might even come to LOVE it!
What do you guys think? Do any of you go to an all girls school? Have you ever wished you could? How would school be different with no boys?
