If you are reading this article, you probably fit into one of three categories:
- A fellow all-girls school graduate: loved it or hated it, you know what I’m talking about
- One of the clueless people who asked their single-sex school friends this question
- Or a horny guy looking for a story about some girl on girl action
If you find yourself part of the third category, I’m going to have to say, “Sorry to disappoint guys, but this is not that kind of story”.
I am, if you haven’t already guessed, a proud graduate of an all-girls school. An all-girls, private, Catholic school in Potomac, MD, the Connelly School of the Holy Child. And no, if you were hanging onto that glimmer of hope I gave you from the title, I am not a lesbian. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being gay, in fact, I have friends who are openly gay and I’m all for that. But I went to an all-girls school, where contrary to popular belief, most of the population is straight.
There are many things that come to mind when you hear the term “single-sex education” and for some reason, the connotation almost always seems to be negative, that is, if you did not have the privilege of experiencing such an education. As a graduate of an all-girls school, I am constantly being asked stupid questions.
“So, are you lesbian?”
Yes, I tell my best friends I love them every time we leave each other’s presence for more than a few hours. Yes, we can be seen holding hands and giggling over secrets and inside jokes. And yes, there might be that occasional, “act like you’re my girlfriend so I can get away from him”. But no, I am not a lesbian.
“Do you know how to talk to boys?”
Nope. I have never in my life, EVER, talked to a single boy. Come on guys, really? Yes, I’ve talked to the occasional boy before. In fact, most of my friends are guys. *GASP* I know. Just because we don’t spend our free periods in the hallway flirting with our crushes, does not mean that they don’t exist. If you went to an all-girls school you would know that most have brother schools. Although my brother school could hardly be considered one, we made due with what we could find.
“Do you know any boys?”
Well I have three little brothers and a dad, does that count?
No, but really, see the question above.
“Is there a lot of unnecessary drama?”
Despite what you may think, there really is not a ton of unnecessary drama at an all-girls school, at least, not the kind you find in the movies. Sure everyone knows everyone else’s business and it is hard to fly under the radar, but there were 47 girls in my class, what do you expect?
“Is the lunch table filled with an array of salads?”
This one just makes me laugh. The girls at Holy Child like to think they are known for how much food we eat. We can consistently be found saying “Well, I go to Holy Child” as we shove that third cupcake into our mouths. You might think that this sounds bizarre, why would GIRLS want to be known for what they eat. But the truth is, we really could care less what people think.
“Does everyone wear make up and look pretty all of the time?”
HA. You are joking, right? No? Oh, well if you wear makeup, let’s just say people aren’t looking at you because you look pretty. The typical look of a Holy Child girl is a yellow or plaid kilt (depending on the season), a white polo (unless of course you were a senior and allowed to wear different colors, a real privilege, I know), Holy Child socks (usually one new and one old, who has time for matching socks anyways), Sperry’s, and a bun on the top of your head to mask the fact that you haven’t washed your hair in four days.
You may read my responses to these questions and find yourself thinking, “Why would anyone want to go to an all-girls school?” But for me, when I think of going to an all-girls school, I think of some of the best years of my life.
