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Confessions of a All-Girls School Graduate
I remember the day my parents took me to an informational meeting. I walked into the building with all these smiling, happy, girls dressed in uniforms.
The halls smelled of cookies, punch, and chlorine; and I wondered how the chlorine got thrown into the mix.
“Yes, we have a pool and sometimes boys teams from other schools come here to practice” I overheard one perky girl say.
Is that supposed to entice me?, I thought.
Then we got down to the nitty gritty. We were handed promos and literature that boasted of how going to an all girls school raised self esteem. Speakers talked about how girls would feel empowered to be leaders, they’d feel as if it’s ok to be smart, and then go off into the world and make a difference.
I rolled my eyes and begged my parents not to send me there. “I’m not going to have fun and I’m going to be a loser”, I said. Then I started crying.
The tears didn’t win that battle for me, and now years later I am so glad.
I’m not saying I appreciated the experience of going to an all-girls school while I was there, because I didn’t. Even in college the only benefit I saw was that I understood concepts that other people didn’t; and I was annoyed that we had to take time and play catch up for the students who didn’t have a well-rounded high school curriculum.
*Sigh* “I’m glad I went to a good high school” I thought, but as for the all-girls part, I could take or leave it.
Then I began to look at myself and compare to other girls my age. Why was everyone so excited about chasing around athletes, did we go to college to become groupies?
Why was everyone content with images that were objectfying and degrading? Why was I the only one who would walk into someones dorm room and say “you should be ashamed of yourself for these magazines and posters you have displayed! What the heck is wrong with you!”
Then in classes when students, and even professors would say something that I found offensive I’d be the first one to say “Wait a minute, what are you talking about!” and I’d have no problem battling it out.
Needless to say, people often shook their heads and laughed at me. The odd thing is that I’m not a very outspoken person; in fact by nature I’m rather reserved yet at times you’d never know it.
I began to think about my life and wonder where did I get these ideas from.
Why did I know what objectification was when others had no idea? Oh yes, in high school we had to take a Women in the Media class and we watched Killing Us Softly.
Why was I so disgusted with the groupie syndrome? Oh yes, where I came from women weren’t groupies, they were strong and classy leaders.
Why did I prefer to stay in my dorm room,order pizza, and work on a small business instead of going out, getting drunk, and partying? Oh yes, because in high school we took a relationships class and learned a great deal about date rape. Besides, I was preparing to be a woman who made a difference.
Why is it that to this day, if you call me sweetie, hon, or darling I’ll correct you in a second and remind you of what my name is? Why do I feel that anyone can accomplish anything if they put their mind to it- regardless of gender? Why do I prefer to be valued for my brain instead of my looks? Why am I quiet about everything, yet so darn outspoken when it comes to women’s issues?
Because… one day my parents took me to an informational meeting.
Disclaimer: The use of the term “everyone” is not to be taken literally. It’s simply a term used to express “a large amount of people”
For example, you know how your teenager says “but everyone is….” and then asks you for something that clearly not everyone is allowed to do.
That’s what I meant by my use of “everyone.” Also, (now I am using the term literally) everyone who went to school with me did not have the same experience that I did. This is my personal experience.




This post is a bit insulting to, well, basically everyone but you. You say “everyone” was drunk guy-chasing, party animals/groupies who are clueless about rape, have no idea how to be in a leadership position and/or make a difference in this world.
I may not have gone to an all girl school and neither has “everyone” else, and there are many, many women out there that are everything that you consider worthy.
I realize that you are trying to make the point that an all-girls school has many benefits, however, I would be not be offended with this post (and would probably have considered it useful) if you had not used the word “everyone” and insinuated that us public school folks were uneducated boy-chasing partiers that offer nothing to society.