Most of you know that I have been attending a private Christian school for the past three years. I am now a Junior. This will be my last year attending this school. Next year, my senior year, will be spent attending the public school in my town.
Why? Why leave a Christian school, with good teachers and wonderful students, to go to a public school with all those bad influences? Why leave a Christian school where I have Valedictorian in the bag? Where I have some friends? Why make my friends go through next year without me? I have many reasons.
One of my reasons, is that my step-dad doesn't go into the town my school is in every day, and my cousin, the person my mom is a PCA (Personal care assistant) to, has moved out of that town and my mom will be going to her new town. I don't have my license or a car yet and honestly, I'm not sure that I want to drive that far every day, by myself.
Another, is, I no longer feel like I need to stay. Even a week ago, if you had told me I would be 100% okay with going to the public school barely down the street from me, I would have raised my eyebrow, looked at you, and said, "Are you crazy? I have friends here! I gotta go on senior trip with my classmates! Think about Senior pranks! You are off your rocker!" But now, I am okay with it. Honestly, I think I was supposed to be there for a girl who is now also switching schools and going to a different public school.
A third reason is that I have more opportunities at a public school. Volleyball team, track, drama, a big choir, possibly more writing competitions, I could go to state competitions with my singing.... At the school I will be attending: Seniors can leave for an open lunch; students can eat pretty much wherever they want; there's a circle of lockers and benches, that is for Seniors only; they have a gym complete with punching bags and weights, for the students to go to even after school.
Will I miss anything at my current school when I switch schools? Yes. I will miss most of the teachers (the ones I have in classes mostly), Jessica, Angela, and sometimes I might miss Gavyn, but I'm not sure, I will definitely miss my Bible classes and my geography class, although next year, I will be taking government instead of geography. I'll miss traveling with my group and my little choir and hitting all the high notes Mr. Miller gives me. I will miss going to ISAAC Rally, and I'll miss being part of the programs.
But I feel like this is the right thing for me to do right now. My principal was telling me just yesterday, that it's a long time between now and August. My principal doesn't know me. My mind has been made up. My principal was also telling me, today, that he wants me to graduate from the right school. So do I. And I feel like this is the right school for me to graduate from. If it wasn't, I wouldn't just be a bit sad because of all I said I would miss or a little nervous because I know no one, I would be upset. I wouldn't feel good about it. I would feel sick. I don't. I feel like this is right for me. I'm sorry if anyone doesn't agree, but not everyone has to graduate from a Christian school.
Also...as my choir teacher said last year in his PR speech, "If the salt never gets out of the salt shaker, what good is it doing?" It's time for me to get out of the salt shaker.
~Katie :)
