When you first think of high school you think of attending the same school for all four years. The same friends, the same hallways and the same experiences throughout those years make high school memories. But in my scenario high school looked a lot different.
In my first two years I spent at Community School of Davidson (CSD) I met some incredible people and formed a lot of good relationships with teachers, staff and other students. Relationships are important.
The classes and structure were unique, too. I enjoyed the short classes and how everybody at school knew each other. I liked how the campus was small and there were no ways to get lost. I liked the flexibility of being able to take any class I wanted to take or if I didn’t like a class I could drop it with no problem. I was able to explore unique classes and opportunities at CSD. CSD’s high school enrollment is a little more than 550.
There was a unique culture that made everyone feel welcome and work together.
Then my life changed. When my mom received a job offer in Florida that offered both more pay and allowed us to be closer to some of my family, my mom accepted the offer even though I would have to leave CSD.
Moving in the summer of 2023 was rough because I was entering my junior year and that is a typical year when already established for two years friend groups grow stronger. I was going to have to start over.
As summer vacation ended and I was just getting settled in Florida, I began my junior year at Western high school in Davie. Western’s total enrollment for grades 9 – 12 is 3,600.
Starting over at any school is rough but starting at a new school full of 3000 kids is even rougher. In my junior year not knowing anybody was a nightmare. It was like the opposite of everything at CSD.
The classes were a lot bigger and it was very likely to have only one class with one friend in each class because of the size and proportion of each class.
Taking two AP classes at a new school is rough especially when most people already have their own friend group. I was so used to knowing everybody in all my classes and in the hallways and then I went to meeting somebody new everyday in the hallways and in my classes.
It was very rare to have somebody you know in multiple different classes.
At Western I didn’t have much free time to study during the day either. In CSD having one to two learning labs is pretty common and being able to pick whatever classes you want and then being able to change a class if you didn’t like it happens at the beginning of the year. At Western if there was a class you didn’t like it was very hard to switch out of it.
There was also a difference in schoolwork between schools with Western requiring each class to give homework every night. Meanwhile CSD for the most part only gives homework if a student does not finish work in class and has to complete it at home.
In the spring of my junior year, I found out we were moving back. The reason to move back to North Carolina and to CSD in general was because of the weather and cost of living in Florida. In North Carolina there are four seasons and in Florida there is only one season for the majority of the time which is only heat with a lot of humidity.
After a year away from CSD I came back for my senior year and was welcomed back with open arms. Getting to see my friends again after not seeing them for over a year was a really cool moment that I didnt take for granted. I still don’t.
CSD “take two” feels great. I am able to be back in an environment that is small and personal and welcoming. I am able to see friends and we picked up like no time had passed.
Now back at CSD, a school where I know how things work, I hang with my friends, walk the halls and have the same experiences for one last time.
I do not take my time in Florida for granted because it showed me what really matters in my life and what a high school experience should be.
