*Several names might be changed to protect the identities of our members.
'From the age of eight to several weeks ago, I was educated at home by my parents for seven years, and have just started at a new school.
During my time as a 'home-schooler', I developed a sense of freedom in which I was able to form my own opinions and, above all, be myself. By this, I mean that I could hold frank discussions about latest happenings - after all, why would I have downloaded the Sky News app onto my smartphone? - with my family and receive an education enriched with life lessons which are not necessarily taught on the national curriculum.
Although I cherished my education whilst I was home-schooled, it wasn't until I started at secondary school over a month ago that I realized how lucky and privileged I was to have been taught in the comfort of my own home for almost half of my life.
Until the beginning of June, I had never set foot in a secondary school, let alone ever attended one, so I was pretty nervous about what lied ahead of me. In the past year, my life had been acquainted with a now-familiar face: change. Not only did we move over one hundred and fifty miles away to an unfamiliar village where nobody we knew lived, but I was faced with the prospect of leaving my home-schooled days behind in the past.
The thought of this saddened me to a certain extent, yet my excitement over returning to school - and getting my first taste of secondary school, too - pushed my sadness aside as thoughts of starting afresh grabbed my attention. Having been home-schooled because schools were absolutely terrible in my former location, surely it would be a different story altogether in my new residence? A happy ending was all that I could foresee, and it was what blinded me from recognizing the truth of school life at the beginning.
My first day was and has, so far, been the best day at the school. The reasons why?
- Pupils are expected to behave accordingly when a new kid starts, so all eyes are on them until the excitement of somebody new to play with 'seemingly' wears off. As of today, it still has not worn off.
- My mind was caught up in a blur over lessons and what I was actually learning, instead of focusing on my fellow pupils who would later show their true colours (albeit the same doesn't apply to hair dye, a supposed 'banned' product at the school).
- No drama or upset had occurred at that stage, the first dilemma of which took place the following day.
And, as the weeks have passed, my eyes have become more open to what is happening around me - or rather what is going on towards me. Comments relating to my 'posh' accent (for I was born and spent most of my life in a southern county) and so-called 'high' heels have been persistent from almost the beginning, and continue to be thrust in my direction on a constant basis.
Not only have I started in the final term of the year - therefore prone to standing out of the crowd - but my mannerisms and attitude are noticeably different to literally everybody else's. And you know what? They don't like it - or myself, for that matter - one bit.
Pupils assume that, by making immature remarks about me, I will break down and alter myself in order to be accepted, but they couldn't be more wrong; who would I be if I couldn't be myself? Their tricks might have worked on other students in the past, yet I'm not easily won over by petty words and thoughtless actions. In fact, I will never be persuaded to adopt a 'different persona', as my 'buddy' - a pupil who the school has paired me with - told me several weeks ago. I'm who I am and, as long as I don't harm anybody else, there is no way that I'm changing.
In the past few days alone, I've just realized who I truly am at heart: an anti-conformist. This means that I'm against conforming to one's ways or values in order to be accepted, and is a message which needs to be spread among our generation. Conformism has a lot to blame for bullying, peer pressure and all the terrible things associated with it. And it is about time that it is tackled effectively, resulting in the expulsion of an unfortunate trend.
People of all ages - including teenagers, whose lack of life experience makes them vulnerable to being led astray by persuasive crowds - should be aware of how to deal with conformism, and win the battle against it. I might have gained the strength to immunize myself from its grip long ago, but many others are at a loss as to winning the right to be themselves.'
- Lily
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