I have lived in three different counties of Florida: Hillsborough County in Tampa, Broward County in Miami and St. Johns County in Ponte Vedra. In each of these counties I’ve attended eight different schools. I would say that I am reasonably knowledgeable about the way Florida schools function, and from what I’ve seen, they suck.

Many students in Florida schools are pretty unaccepting of fellow students that fall into a minority group. Students’ intolerance for minorities shines through in a rather vocal subsection of students being openly racist, sexist and spouting LGBTQ hate speech without facing repercussions. The fact that some individuals can be so blatantly offensive is indicative of the consensus many hold in Florida.

Unfair selective enforcement against minority groups, and then turning a blind eye to the rule-breaking of the majority wasn’t anything new to my previous school in Florida. There were a plethora of incidents in which a white student would be caught vaping in the bathrooms and would get off scot-free. Yet, when an Asian or African American student were to do the same, they would face harsher repercussions, such as an in-school suspension, and sometimes even an out-of-school suspension. This lack of equal punishment plagues the Florida school system.

Living in these environments in Florida has enabled me to grow immune towards others’ rude behaviors. I used to be very sensitive towards others if I deemed them to have made wrong decisions, such as stealing candy from the teacher or teasing fellow students. However, having seen “improper behaviors” over the years as I grew up, I have slowly become desensitized to such acts. Now, I don’t let them get under my skin like they did when I was younger.

On the other hand, living in Massachusetts for four months has provided me with new experiences that I may not have experienced if I had stayed in Florida. It has been a genuine culture shock changing from Florida schools to the Wayland Public School system.

Whenever I need help with my homework or have general questions about the material, my current teachers at WHS have been more willing to help than my teachers from Florida. The teachers at WHS have been compassionate with my mental health struggles and my difficulty finding a place in Wayland.

Nevertheless, with every upside comes its downside. The grade system and learning process at WHS have been a nightmare for me. I’m struggling to make ends meet even in college-level courses. I constantly feel like I’m drowning under the sheer amount of coursework. I try to catch up with things Wayland students learned in math last year, while it is my first time even knowing the material existed. Yet, when I finally catch up and understand the last topic, I get slammed with another topic that other students learn but I do not.

I feel like I’m under so much pressure to participate in sports, keep high grades and prepare for the college application process. This stress has led to academic burnout. My old school in Florida never had this level of academic competition and rigor. I understand that it’s all for my future, yet I wonder if this is overkill. People make it seem like I won’t make it in life if I don’t attend an Ivy League college. It feels overwhelming, and I’m about to mentally snap and give up on it all.

It also doesn’t end there; socialization is also a struggle because I lack the connections my peers have. Students at WHS are so interconnected with each other. I feel like an outsider. Everyone knows each other here, so it feels intimidating to reach out to others and become their friend when they already have enough of them.

Florida schools and WHS feel like opposites of each other. While Massachusetts has arduous academics, my experience in Florida was a cakewalk. Both schools have their positives and negatives, but I enjoy my time at WHS far more than when I was attending Florida schools.