The Pros And Cons Of Boarding School

My early years were spent in public, co-ed schools. When high school came around, my parents felt that a public school might not prepare me for college as well as a private one might. The final decision was mine, though. I researched all my choice; public, religious, technical, and even boarding. Each had their pros and cons. All of my friends were going to public schools across the state. My family was vaguely Protestant, but I felt no religious calling. I barely knew what profession I wanted to pursue at 18, much less 14! One friend and I talked about attending a boarding school together, but the price of tuition and the fear of being separated from our families so soon killed that plan. In the end, I decided to attend Mercy High School, …show more content…
Boys were plenty of fun in elementary school, with their own kind of rambunctious games and play styles. Everything changed in middle school, though, because we were all changing ourselves. The boys I had been friends with in elementary school all turned-tail as soon as cooties started catching. They all began posturing and parading their masculinity around for their male peers. Boys would brag nonstop about the imaginary fights, drugs, and girls they got into. I wasn’t able to see it at the time, but now I am able to identify the masculine bravado going down below the …show more content…
We little freshwomen kept our uniforms impeccable and our hair and make-up on point for the first week or so, trying our best to make a good first impression. Then we started to get with the program, though. Sophomores, juniors, seniors… They didn’t bother with make-up at all. It wasn’t usual for the Dean of Students, Mrs. Sullivan, to tsk girls in the hallway for walking around with sweatpants on under their uniform skirts and crumbs all down their shirts from breakfast, lunch, or snacks in between classes. Girls walked around with their hair in messy buns so often that the style was coined, “The Mercy Bun.” There was no need to posture. Our simple being was enough to prove our femininity.
I found the all-girls aspect of Mercy High School to be very freeing. The Catholic aspect… Less so. Regardless of religion, all students were expected to attend Mass on scheduled days. Catholic-centered theology classes were part of the core curriculum necessary to graduate. Mercy was reasonably accepting of non-Catholics, but it never stopped preaching Catholic ideals. For-mentioned theology classes taught very conservative stances on reproductive rights and LGBT