When I was a kid, I was lucky enough to only go the three different schools throughout my life. I spent 1st to 3rd grade in a public school, 4th to 12th grade was spent in two different catholic schools. When I first made the transition from public to Catholic school I found a lot of differences between the schools and honestly wanted to transfer out of catholic school as soon as possible. However, throughout this past week I was talking with an old friend of mine and it really got me thinking about how much I really enjoyed going to catholic school and how much of an impact it had on my life.

10. The Education

Getting a Catholic school education is a very unique experiences, the classes are seemingly tougher and the work load seems just a bit heavier. Because of the fantastic education I received throughout my years of Catholic school, I was able to get into one of my top schools and have an amazing college experience

9. The Teachers

One of my favorite things about going to a Catholic school is the student teacher ratio and relationships. In Catholic school there are typically less students than a public school, therefore leading to a better ratio of students to teachers. This makes it easier to feel comfortable in a class and to ask for help if necessary. This helped a lot in college because I’m no longer afraid to ask a professor or someone else for help when I need it.

8. The Arts and Extracurriculars

Both of the Catholic schools I attended there was a large presence of the arts and a huge amount of extracurricular students. This made it so much easier to join clubs or organizations that interest a person, thus making them a more well-rounded student.

7. The Morality

When you go to a Catholic school you learn a lot more than just the basics, you learn a lot about morality. You learn the differences between right and wrong and why things are the way they are. You learn to see the good in people and not just the bad. This helps you to be more comfortable around people and makes making tough decisions a lot easier.

6. The Dress Code

When I say dress code, I mean uniforms, both of the catholic schools I went to had pretty strict uniform policies. Although I hated those darn uniforms at the time, it was more the principle of the matter that I like when looking back. Having such strict uniform policies taught us how to follow certain rules and helped us to know how to properly follow a dress code in the workplace.

5. The Size

Typically, or at least in my case, both of the catholic schools I went to were pretty small compared to the public schools in my area, which made it really easy to get to know other people and to build solid relationships with them.

4. The Structure

Catholic schools are usualy pretty strict, not as strict as they were back in the day, but they were still pretty strict. When reflecting on my four years, specifically in a Catholic high school, I’m glad that they were as structured as they were. I feel like this taught me a lot of responsibility and that even though you could do something, you shouldn’t always do it.

3. Kairos

One thing, to this day, I swear by is Kairos, I can’t say much about this retreat because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but even looking back, as we reach three years since I went on Kairos, I just remember how amazing this retreat made me feel. Never in my life have a felt so close, so comfortable, and so loved by a group of people so fast. Thank you so much for that(LXXX). Thank you all for teaching me how to love and care for others.

2. The Community

Being in such a small school you really tend to develop a sense of community. You know just about everyone's name in your graduating class( and probably know a bit about them), but not only do you know the people, you also typically know their family. To this day I remember being in my small Catholic elementary school and feeling safe, because there was such a sense of community there, even between the parents and families, there is a huge sense of community. This makes it so much easier to grow closer with others and build lifetime bonds.

1. The Love

When it all comes down to it, there is a lot of love in the Catholic school system. I know some of my best friends came from the Catholic schools I went to and some of them will be friends for life. The love in Catholic schools really is like no other. I can remember growing up, when I had issues going on, or there was a death in the family, the love from my Catholic school community made it all so much better. Without this love I wouldn’t know how to properly treat others today.