What going to an all girl's secondary school taught me...

Older people will tell you to savor high school, as it will be the best time of your life. Young adults will tell you that high school is like hell.

It is safe to say that I agree with both of the statements. Whilst some of my best memories did occur during my time at secondary school, and whilst I met a couple of special people, it was also absolute hell. This was mainly down to the fact that the secondary school I attended was an all girl's school. As if growing up and going through the hardships a teenager does wasn't bad enough, doing it surrounded by 1000 other teenage girls equally as hormonal and emotional as you makes it doubly bad. However, I can't deny that the whole experience was a complete learning curve that has shaped the person I am today entirely, and I wouldn't redo my secondary school experience elsewhere for that reason. So, what did growing up with about 1000 other teenage girls for seven years teach me? Read on to find out...

1. Your best friends will probably be your worst enemies at least once or twice- friends are not forever.

I can not count the amount of times groups of friends fell apart and got back together, my own group of friends included, whilst at school. Whilst this sounds fairly normal within a school environment, when it's an all girl situation, the hormones fly, the drama increases and the bitchiness is on another level. It was like a real life version of mean girls. Whilst there are some girls from my school that I know have been friends all the way through, and still are, I see so many who were once inseparable and now can't stand to be within one meter of each other. 

2. Boys make better friends than girls.

Opposite my all girls school was an all boys school- home to about 90% of my friends. There's no drama, no bitchiness, no stress. Boys are laid back and up front about everything. They don't stab you in the back or do malicious things to upset you. If there's one thing I learnt, it's that whilst you do need your "gal pals" to moan about your girly problems to, boys are definitely better for more stable, secure relationships. 

3. Despite everyone wearing the same uniform, you will be judged on how you wear your uniform- girls ALWAYS care about what you're wearing. 

There was always a 'wrong' way to wear your uniform. At my school, we discovered what we called "stretchy" skirts- elasticated, body con skirts that looked far more attractive and were far more figure hugging (to the boys across the road's delight!) compared to our own A-Line, baggy and shapeless skirts. When we were younger, it was all about having a Hollister vest hanging out the edge of your school shirt. As we got older, it was about having a shirt, opposed to a polo shirt, with the cuffs rolled back over the sleeves of your sweater. Why did we care? Essentially, we were all wearing the same thing!! You're always going to be judged at the end of the day, even if you feel the same as everyone else. It's best to just ignore everyone and carry on doing our thing.

4. Drama happens every day, and the next day it's gone- no problem lasts forever. Keep smiling and move on. 

Every. Single. Day. A new drama occurred. Usually about boys, usually not important at all and usually gone by the next day. It's important not to forget about the hormones that are flying all over the place, especially at school surrounded by your friends. Usually the problems you face as a teenager are not the end of the world- if I had told myself that more often, I'm sure many of my days at school would have been a lot happier. 

5. Independence is SO important. 

At school, I relied on my girl friend's all the time- I wouldn't go anywhere alone, not even the toilet. I wouldn't walk to classes alone. I always wanted to be surrounded by my little group of friends. This is common with a lot of girls, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's due to films such as Mean Girls and Clueless, but girls seem incapable of doing things alone! We even see this behavior transferred to life outside of school, with girls going to public toilets in groups and changing rooms, all clustered around one small cubicle. This behavior really damaged me, and it wasn't until I enrolled at my local college completely alone that I gained my lost independence back! 

Being at an all girls school was interesting to say the least! I have a feeling that this post may be a work in progress, as sometimes I realise that something happening in my life now is down to something I learnt at school. Like I said, it was a real learning curve, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It made me who I am today- and lead me to where I am today. 

Love from, 

Florence Grace

Did you go to a single sex secondary school? What did you learn? Let me know in the comments below!