Ever since I could remember I could look around a room and see girls in the same outfit as me and the boys in similar outfits. These similar outfits were plaid skirts and a maroon polo for the warm weather and grey pants or skirt with a blouse, maroon sweater and a maroon tie thing for cold weather. Basically, ugly. Thats really the only thing I can say about my outfit from preschool to eighth grade. I did however, get an outfit upgrade in high school. My last four years were spent in either a grey skirt or tan pants with a purple polo in the warm weather and a blue or white blouse in the colder weather. This upgrade was not much, it was still ugly.

I don't remember much from my first Catholic school (preschool-eighth grade) but I know we did have one nun at the school. Sister Annette was/possibly is her name. She was our librarian and she was a very nice lady but if she got mad she let Gods wrath rain down on you. We prayed, went to mass and took religion classes but thats all I can really tell you.

High school was another story. We had no nuns, we went to mass every few months in a small gym and nobody truly paid attention and we took strict religion classes. The uniforms made us all the same but I refused to wear a skirt because they just aren't comfortable so I wore a size bigger than my regular size pants. I got made fun of and torn apart. I was called a lesbian and other words I really would not prefer to say just because I wore pants. On dress down days, where we had to pay a dollar to a school that was already taking our money, I wore sweatpants and a t shirt again this brought more ridicule. I didn't want to wear makeup or do my hair because it was too much wrk and I just didn't care.

As we got older I stayed with the same kids who tried too hard on dress down days and who made fun of me for wearing what I wanted. Eventually, they came around and stopped making fun of because they realized nobdy cared what they wore. I still got called a lesbian while I was attending a school that by definition was not allowed to accept that. No, I am not gay but it hurt to be made fun of for that because I know that it is not wrong to be gay.

To expose Catholic School: some of the kids can be extremely stuck up and rude, the teachers don't need a degree to teach there so it is really a hit or miss, it is the most strict environment for no reason and it tears you down if you don't have the same believes as the Old Testament. As much knowledge that I gained from studying and from dealing with the people I was beyond excited to go to a "public school."

I went to college and I went to my first class in regular clothes, that I picked out, which to me was exciting. I didn't get dress coded for my shirt being too low or my jeans too tight, I could finally wear leggings and eventually I ended up wearing sweats or athletic shorts with a t-shirt everyday. Nobody cared, we all had better stuff to worry about.

Also at college I experienced diversity in a school environment. I come from Worcester so I saw diversity and have experienced all different ethnicities and cultures but this was the first time I went to school with so many different kinds of people. College was an escape from my past life. This is how I wish I could've lived from preschool to senior year. Yes, Catholic school gave me a great education and a good environment but it was also hell in its own.

College was the first place where I can express my views without the fear of being told I was a disgrace to the Church or that I shouldn't be a Catholic because I don't believe in all of their views, which I was told utile times my senior year. Everyone here has different views and I love it. I was so sheltered being in Catholic School and now I finally get to see diversity at school.

I love college because I have the freedom to be myself. Girls wear crop tops and skirts to class but some girls wear sweatpants and old t shirts just like me. I have people like me because there are so many people here to choose from. College saved me because I now see that I was losing my individuality being at Catholic school for so long.