1. People hold the door open for you.
At my high school, it was very common for someone to walk out of a door and slam it directly in your face without looking back. If you were nice and did it for other people, a “thank you” was rare. At Fisher, everyone looks back and will hold it, even if you’re that awkward distance away where no one knows if you should keep it open or close it.
2. You don't see signs on every wall saying "Mr. __ is watching you."
At a public high school, at least at mine, couples lay on the floor anywhere they pleased, making out to the music over the loudspeaker before class. Couples are actually cute here, they hug and occasionally you see at most a little kiss.
3. Diversity isn't much of a thing.
Everyone dresses the same, especially girls: tall boots or high-heel booties, jeans that are cuffed at the bottom, an adorable shirt, a long, puffy winter jacket, and a North Face backpack. Guys are typically categorized as jocks and wear athletic clothes, but occasionally you’ll see guys dressed up or wearing Italian shoes, jeans, and a nice shirt. In a public high school, fishnet stockings are not uncommon and everyone has different colored hair.
4. People are calm.
If you went to a public high school, you definitely understand this one. No one – male or female – could control his or her temper. Fights were not surprising. I mean this could be more specific to my school, considering it has a reputation for being pretty trashy. Regardless, it’s a lot different here. I’ll just say that.
5. Cliques don't really exist.
If you saw the movie Mean Girls (which basically everyone has), then you can picture my high school cafeteria. Everyone had a designated place and if you tried to change it up then you were stared at by at least twenty people. Here, everyone just tries to find a table – besides the sports teams, who usually claim a long table in the middle.
6. It's cool to be smart.
I admit, even I skipped class here and there because I couldn’t wake up in the morning or dreaded running around a disgusting gym with people I didn’t know. That was me though; most people at my high school would leave in the middle of the day or show up in the middle of the day to participate in illegal activities and thought it was funny to fail a class. It wasn’t funny anymore when they couldn’t graduate on time.
7. Trust isn't an issue.
This could be something specific to Fisher, but if you want to save a table in the dining hall, you can leave your lanyard and phone on the table and not think twice about walking away. If you leave your phone anywhere – even for two seconds – in a public high school, then say goodbye to your phone forever.
