Now, I want to start off by saying that there is absolutely nothing wrong with private schools. They are great, I know some wonderful people who came out of private schools, but I am still glad I went to a pubic school.

Going to a public school meant I got to meet more people. Every school I moved up combined more and more schools meaning I got the opportunity to meet and associate with so many different people. Instead of staying with the same people from K-12, every couple years schools merged to form middle schools and high schools bringing in a lot of different people I wouldn’t have ever gotten to meet if I went to a private school. Granted I still have my best friends from elementary school, but the ones I made in middle school and high school are just as important as the one’s I’ve been friends with since I was seven.

Another reason I’m proud to come from a public school is the fact that I got more freedom to be who I want to be. Having the freedom to dress how I want, express myself in many different ways, and make more decisions for myself has made me a better person. Now also, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of days where I would have loved to have my outfit already picked out for me. I like sweatpants way too much for that though. Walking through the halls you saw so many people wearing every different style of clothes you could imagine and it lets you express yourself way more than wearing a polo and khaki’s or a plaid skirt.

Public school has given me the opportunity to meet people from all backgrounds of life and for that I will forever be thankful. It has taught me that socio-economic status does not have any effect on who you can or can’t be friends with. It has taught me that although you may be different from many people, all these different people from all these different backgrounds can come together and make a great team, whether it be sports or a simple group project.

Going back to the opportunities, going to a public school has also given me so many opportunities to play the sports and be involved in all the clubs I wanted to be in. For example, FCA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, was a huge part of who I was in high school. If I had gone to a private school or religious school, I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to meet with people who believed the same things as I did, as well as be surrounded with people who didn’t believe what I did but that was still okay. I learned how to respect people from every aspect of life and most importantly I learned how to grow because of it.

So thank you public school. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to express myself through my clothes. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to continuously meet new people, some of which the people who became my best friends. Thank you for helping me grow. Thank you for teaching me that everyone is different and that’s okay. Thank you for teaching me to respect those differences. Thank you for giving me the schooling experience of a lifetime. I wouldn’t trade coming from public school for the world.

Thank you Kendall Elementary School, Fox Ridge Elementary School, Wredling Middle School, St. Charles East High School, and Grand Valley State University for giving me the education I have today. I wouldn’t be who I am without you.