1. Run the World (Girls)
If you haven’t heard, the future is female. Going to an all-girls school reminds you of this salient lesson every single day; that you are powerful, successful, and unstoppable. The only thing that holds a girl back is the idea that she isn’t good enough. But you’ll never doubt how much of an impact you can make on the world when you’re constantly surrounded by passionate, educated girls.
Grace Morrison reveals her experience at an all-girls school saying, “Attending an all-girls school instilled in me the knowledge that I could be and do anything because I was surrounded by peers and teachers who never doubted it for a second. From my first day of freshman year to my last day of senior year, they gave me limitless room to grow. In fact, I was pushed to reach farther than I thought possible.”
2. This is Me
High school is a time to discover who you are and who you want to be. We’ve all stumbled across the thought that we’re not good enough. That someone else is smarter, that someone else is faster, that someone else is better. People often forget the fact that they’re exactly who they’re supposed to be. Going to a school that encourages you to accept who you are and to thrive as the person you want to be, is life changing. Keala Settle inspires people to accept who they are in her song This is Me: “I am brave, I am bruised/I am who I’m meant to be, this is me.”
Anna Metzger, a teacher at Mercy Academy in Louisville, Kentucky, explains how she motivates girls to be who they are: “I maintain a positive, enthusiastic environment in my classroom so that each time a girl walks through my classroom door, she immediately feels welcome and comfortable to be herself. One thing I always tell my girls is ‘I like mistakes.’ I let them know that it’s okay to make mistakes in my classroom. I want them to strive to be the best they can be […]. Girls should be uplifted and affirmed in who they are, even when they make a bad decision or happen to fall down. By providing a welcoming and encouraging environment, my students are able to blossom where they are and discover how to be the best version of themselves.”
3. You Don’t Own Me
Girl power is amplified at an all-girls institution. Feminist or not, going to an all-girls school helps you discover your worth and how strong of an impact you can leave on the world. We have all heard the saying “boys will be boys,” but frankly, this implies that boys can do whatever the heck they want and get away with it. Lesley Gore highlights that girls should never be treated like a toy: “Don’t tell me what to do/And don’t tell me what to say/Please, when I go out with you/Don’t put me on display.”
Girls are capable and worth so much more than what history belittled them to. You will never, not for one second, question how priceless or how capable you are, after attending an all-girls school. Elizabeth Gardner puts it simply, “I was in an environment of women supporting women. I feel this environment helped me to realize I do not need men to do everything for me. I can rely on myself and other women to get work done.”
4. All About That Bass
One of the most challenging lessons in life is learning to love your body the way it is rather than the way society expects it to be. Meghan Trainor incorporates the importance of a positive body image through her lyrics: “We know that sh*t ain’t real/We know it’s photoshopped.” Going to an all-girls school teaches you that you don’t need to fit the mold that society forces women into. All-girl schools instill the mindset that your body is perfect the way it is, no matter your shape, size, or weight.
Time and time again girls worry that they’re not skinny enough, strong enough, or pretty enough. But going to a school that surrounds you with girls will lead to a more confident you. Anna Wood reveals that “Being surrounded by girls every day helped me to grow confident in who I am, who I wanted to be, and who I was made to be. Having an environment where you are surrounded by girls who love you for who you truly make a young girl feel very empowered.”
5. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
We’ve all been told that college is where we make our forever friends; the friends that will be there on our wedding day and the friends we will have wheelchair races in nursing homes with. However, going to an all-girls school leads to the development of a sisterhood unlike any other. It’s basically like going to school with your closest friends all day, every day. When trying to explain that, yes, there weren’t any boys in high school, people always look at you like you’ve got three heads. Honestly, though, it introduces you to friends that become more like family. Julie Baverman explains that, “Going to an all-girls school provided me a tight-knit community where my classmates became like sisters to me.”