Transitioning from high school to college is a challenge, but transitioning into college, virtually, is even more difficult. This change is particularly odd, however, when you attended an all-girls high school. Here’s why:
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You spent high school never thinking about what to wear to school. You would wake up five minutes before you had to leave and throw on your uniform. But, now, your trusty knee-length kilts, polo shirts, and boat shoes are no longer acceptable.
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Having boys in class with you again is just so undeniably weird.
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It is no longer normal to yell in front of your entire class, including your teacher, “Does anyone have a pad or a tampon?” (Although, I would argue it should be.)
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People’s reactions when you tell them you went to an all-girls school get repetitive and annoying very quickly. They are shocked, and you usually get bombarded with questions about what it was like. No, I was not sent against my will, and yes, I do have guy friends.
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You realize that your high school experience was not normal. All-girls schools have traditions that you come to learn do not happen at co-ed schools when you are talking about high school with your new college friends, and they just stare at you with a blank face. You end up having to laugh it off and call your school quirky to try and move on with the conversation.
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You see that people wear makeup to class every day? And people don’t just always throw their hair in a messy knot on top of their head? Your appearance in college classes does not matter much (I think), but you are no longer looking out into a sea of girls with messy buns and bare faces.
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You miss your sisters. Yes, I know it sounds cheesy, and everyone misses their high school friends, but there is no way of understanding it unless you went to an all-girls school: the bond you form is unbreakable.
Overall it is just a total culture shock, and although it feels strange, it is so amazing to find a friend in college that also went to an all-girls school. It is so easy to relate to one another and fun to laugh about the differences now that you are in school with boys even if your schools were on opposite sides of the country, making the big scary world of college feel a little more like home.