I graduated from an all-girls high school. And no, it was not like what you see in the movies. Never once was there hair-pulling in the hallway, we were not all “psycho-feminists” and we did not go to college boy-crazy. I graduated with 103 other girls, whose life stories I could recite almost as easily as the school’s alma mater. We wore plaid skirts, plain, no-logo white socks and various colored polo shirts. That being said, there was a culture of feminism, independence and empowerment that was sparked within me during my time in this all-girls environment.

Going to an all-girls school changed my life for the better. Whenever I say this to people, I get confused looks and comments along the lines of, “Why would you ever want to go to school with no boys?” Single-sex education is not nearly as bad as it sounds. It taught me to be comfortable in my own skin without the pressure to look or act a certain way. It taught me to stand up for what I believe in, to say or think whatever I wanted and not to be afraid of embracing my inner-self.

Because my school was a place where men didn’t have the upper hand, there was never anything I thought I couldn’t do just because I was a girl. Every girl leaves the school with a sense of pride, a need to stand up for her beliefs and a drive to help with the effort in making women equal. I was taught that there was no dream too out of reach.

The environment taught me to be comfortable in my own skin. I can count on one hand the number of times I ever wore makeup to school and I was not afraid to wear the same uniform skirt for a few days in a row; it didn’t matter! I was taught to appreciate the inner beauty in the girls around me. This setting free of male pressures taught me to embrace my inner beauty.

It wasn’t until I came to college that I realized how unique this experience was for me. It came as a shock to me that sometimes I was the only girl in my class willing to speak up during a class discussion; there is no way I was going to let all of the males in the class give the only perspectives! I was not used to the environment of males dominating the conversation, therefore it is no problem for me to raise my hand to answer a question in class. At an all-girls school, the patriarchy was something that existed solely in theory, allowing my classmates and I to achieve anything we put our minds to.

Some of my favorite memories include dancing on the outdoor patio to relieve stress in between classes, laughing with my friends every day during lunch and being challenged in the classroom by every assignment I was given. My classmates served as an incredible support system: each and every one of them were there for me when I laughed and when I cried. While our small number allowed me to know the ins and outs of everyone, this just allowed me to get to know each girl on a personal level. This network of like-minded peers will serve me so well in the future.

I sometimes get questions like, “Do you wish you had gone to a co-ed school?” and, truly, the answer is no. Yes, sometimes I wish that I had had more practice talking to boys, or that I had had a more “classic” high school experience. But, truthfully, the great experiences I had at an all-girls school greatly outweigh the things I “missed out on.”

After spending almost a year at college, I don’t know why I thought I wouldn’t be prepared for this new chapter of my life. While I didn’t talk to boys every day like I have to do in college, I was shaped into a strong, independent person, and I am able to stand on my own. My classmates and I are educated, prepared and confident young women who are ready to tackle any problem life throws at us.

On that warm May day when I walked across the stage in my long, white dress and received that diploma, my love for that school did not end. It has become a part of me. Going to an all-girls school truly shaped me and I could not have asked for a greater high school experience. I can’t imagine having had it any other way.