Growing up in a rough neighborhood and going to public schools from elementary through high school paints a certain picture of what life could be like at a private school. My parents were, and still are, hardworking middle-class Americans who were familiar with economic struggle. Now I was not dirt poor, but at times, it had felt like it. Granted, a 13-year-old's view is much different from an adult who is providing for their family.
Keep in mind that public schools are dramatically different from state to state and county to county. My elementary school was amazing, the teachers were dedicated and poured their hearts out into everything they taught the students. On the other hand, things like supplies and classroom materials tended to come second-hand and in short quantities. Projectors broke down often, old TVs had to be thrown out and classroom desks looked like they served in ‘Nam and probably had some stories to tell. It had not been like this at every school I went to, middle school was a bit better as it was in a better area and the high school looked like it was on a retrograde to the stereotype that comes with being located in a poorer area by the time I got there. I can not completely say that theses issues had been the school's fault entirely as much credit is due to the school district’s sub-par performance in fixing them.
When my senior year had come, I had applied to a couple of universities and was accepted into two; Saint John’s University and Saint Leo University, both private. I was stuck in between a rock in a hard place as much of what I knew about college was shoved down our throats at an early age. Spend as little as possible and rack up the least debt. Private schools, for me, had always been a vision of a utopia of what I did not have and something I could never attain. The thought of how much those schools cost was always a looming around in my head, so I assumed that maybe kids who went to those schools were an entirely different breed of person; Someone out of a movie like Clueless or Mean Girls.
With much encouragement from my parents, they told me that money should not stop me from enjoying and pursuing whatever college has to offer. Jumping in, I boldly enrolled in Saint Leo University and was off to a strange land with no friends and a great deal of optimism. Enrolling and attending Saint Leo University has possibly been the wisest and most sensible decision that I have probably made to date. This school has prepared me in so many ways when it comes to classes, the laptops, and even the learning resources that it has on demand. Free tutoring in any area that you need, professors who ask about your weekend and level with you is something I was not really expecting. My image of a private university was so distorted in comparison to the actually of it. Private school is not so much of what it fosters but more about enhancing who you are by being able to provide you with what you need to flourish.
