I went to a small high school and now I'm attending a small college and I found out that it is what I prefer. The reason small schools work for me is because I am a very introverted person and going to a small school lets me become a little less introverted. I'm able to get out of my comfort zone more because I know I’ll be seeing a lot of these people but in a big school that wouldn’t necessarily be the case. The way my mind works is that if I know I won’t be seeing these people often, I won’t let myself get to know them because I feel it isn’t worth the internal struggle of trying to socialize with them.
High School
I went to Judson Early College Academy, located in San Antonio, where my graduating class was only 102. We had one teacher for every subject and class sizes of about 30 kids. This was perfect for me because it meant that the teachers would be able to know every one of the kids and through all four years we had a great relationship with all of our teachers even when we didn’t have them anymore. If I had gone to a big school that wouldn’t have happened due to all the kids the teachers have, they only notice those who really stand out and that would not have been me.
Having such a small class helped as well because I got to know all of them because we had classes together, especially with our cohorts over at the college campus. This allowed me to get comfortable with socially interacting with any of the people in my class, which was a step up for me. Had I gone to a big school I would have just stayed within my small group of friends because I wouldn’t have all my classes with the same people I wouldn’t have tried to get to know them and get comfortable with them.
University
I'm currently attending Schreiner University where I was already out of my comfort zone during orientation. I was put in a group with strangers for the weekend but I was able to leave with friends. Then when we got to school and got our “families” I was able to be comfortable with them and become friends and I started to get out of my comfort zone a little more. I have really seen myself become more comfortable with going up to new people and striking up a conversation. I recently even joined a sorority which is something I never thought I'd do but within the couple of months I’ve been in it I already feel so comfortable with all my sisters.
Going through those small schools it has helped me become much more comfortable starting conversations with new people, whereas before I'd wait until they started it or just not. At my jobs I’ve noticed that I was able to make friends with all my coworkers, which made work a bit more enjoyable. When I was in similar situations before I would just stay to myself until someone else approached me and even then I was terrible at socializing with them. Going to a small school has helped me become a lot less introverted than before and I'm still working every day to overcome my shyness.
