Oh, Christ Church, my lovely alma mater. While attending, I had a love-hate relationship with you. Now that I'm in college, I am thankful to be out of high school and away from the cliques and the mean girls, but I am also thankful for the wonderful education I received while I went to school there.
1. You Know MLA Citation Format By Heart
College English classes are boring. There has been many classes that I've sat through where all the professor does was talk about how to cite something in MLA format. From eighth grade in Mr. Shelly's class to 12th grade for our senior thesis, MLA format has been drilled into our heads. You end up in college classes not listening because you already know MLA format by heart.
2. You Are Genuinely Surprised When People Don't Know What The IB Program Is
Chances are not everyone has an IB program at their high school. At CCES, we had two choices -- IB or AP. There's always a select few from each grade that choose the IB route. Although I wasn't one of them, one of my best friends was, and I barely saw her. I never understood why she had to do all that extra work, and I was thankful that I didn't choose that route.
3. You Feel The Need To Dress Up Every Wednesday
On Wednesdays, we dress up. Lily Pulitzer is the common dresses and skirts during the spring. The boys have to wear long khakis and a button down with a tie, and some often get in trouble for not tucking their shirt in. We all look pretty nice, but we all hate getting dressed up. Now that I am in a sorority, we wear "pin attire" on Thursdays, and its pretty much just chapel dress without people yelling at us about what kind of thing I can wear and a sorority pin was added. It has been programmed into my brain to dress up at least once a week.
4. Your Surprised When People Say They Had To Go Through The College Process Alone
Mrs. Schulz and the rest of the college counseling crew have been amazing to every student who has graduated from Christ Church. The percentage of students to graduate from CCES and go to college is 100 percent. At first, you have no idea what to do during the college process, but the team breaks everything down for you in a very organized and helpful pattern. When you meet people who graduated from different schools, its surprising to you when you learn they didn't have help with the college process.
5. Its Not A Surprise When You Seem "Sheltered" In College
It's incredibly surprising to hear that people you know in college have actually done cocaine, acid, and many other drugs. "But you seem so normal?" When I went to my first college party, my eyes were opened to the "real world." I ended up falling down the stairs and getting a concussion. All they want is to end the night in your pants. Oddly enough, I met some pretty great people at that party. Something that I learned quickly was that the party scene is not for me.
6. "What's Primer?"
Primer is the Christ Church equivalent to kindergarten. When I first met one of my friends in first grade, she told me that she was in primer, and I was so confused. It took me forever to understand that "primer" was the same thing as kindergarten. Not many people outside of the Christ Church bubble know this either.
7. The Assumption That Your Parents Are The Most Wealthy In Greenville
Its true, a good amount of people who go to Christ Church are wealthy, but not everyone is. Some people attend CCES on scholarships and others work their butts off to send their children there. Not everyone could afford all the newest Tory Burch shoes, bags, etc. Don't hate on someone for not being as wealthy as you.
8. Your Friend's Parents *Are* The Most Wealthy In Greenville
Although not everyone has money, there are a lot of people who have old and new money at CCES. There are some* incredibly wealthy people at CCES who get special privilege because their mommy and daddy pay a heck of a lot of money to the school (Although CCES tries not to show this). The rich kids are what you see from a movie -- boys wear khakis, polo shirts, and pastel colors coming out the wazoo; the females are sporting leggings, flannels, boots, and a lot of Lily Pulitzer.
9. Trucks and BMW's Cover The Parking Lot
Many kids who attend CCES have parents who work at BMW, or they just own them, so many of the Upper Schoolers drive their brand new or hand me down BMW's. Then there are the boys who are "country" and drive a truck because they think its cool to have the biggest truck on campus.
10. Cliques. German Cliques.
Cliques happen in high school, and they definitely happen at Christ Church. There are also a lot of German people attending school because BMW transfers them from Germany to good ole Greenville, South Carolina. They exclude themselves from everyone else. They practically date around in only that clique, and they're always hugging on your locker. There were many times in high school where I literally pushed a German couple off of my locker. It was rude and highly annoying.
11. Mrs. Lane Abrams Was/Still Is Your Second Mom
I am so thankful for Mrs. Abrams. She helped me so much throughout my four years in the Upper School. From Directed Studies to being my Senior Thesis advisor, her help has not gone unnoticed. She organizes your tests in the Achievement Center, and she listens to all your stories. Mrs. Abrams reminds your ADHD self of the many tasks, papers, and Rosetta Stone that you have to do that day, week, and month. She gives out candy for your birthday. The way to her heart is through food (specifically Christmas Crack and Brownies), so if you are looking for something to give her, bring her food or gift cards. To this day, I still talk to her and ask her for her advice and babysit her kids. Mrs. Abrams is such a wonderful lady, and I am so thankful to have had her track me down during freshman year. If it wasn't for her, I probably would've failed out because of lack of organization.
12. Graduation Looks Like A Wedding
When graduation finally hits, everyone looks like they're getting married. The ladies walk down the isle of the church with a bouquet of flowers. Not to mention the floor length white dresses that the females have been forced to wear since the dark ages make many of these women graduating look like it is our wedding day. It is a day to remember, and you have pictures galore of you in those dresses with the men in their blue blazers and Christ Church Tie.
There are many things about Christ Church that annoyed me, but at the end of the day, I am thankful that I graduated from CCES. The education there was superb, and during my senior year, I received a lot of help from the people in the office along with Mrs. Abrams when I needed it the most.
