Returning to PA

What makes Providence a school like no other? Some people would say the academics. Others would say the religious aspect. But for me it was something different.
On October 14th, I came back to Providence, only this time I had a different outlook. I left Providence for many reasons. My main reason was that I thought I would get a better “high school experience” at a public school. I felt like Providence lacked the opportunities I wanted to have and the experience I thought I should have in high school.
At first, I loved Maple Grove. I loved how independent I felt and how diverse everyone around me was.

But eventually, my love for the school began to fade. I grew up only in private schools and wasn’t familiar with anything else. I grew up sheltered from the ‘real world’ which made it harder to transition from Providence to Maple Grove. I thought I would be fine since all my soccer teammates had gone to Maple Grove. They loved it, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to go.
But I also forgot the fact that they grew up in a public school. That was all they knew and they felt comfortable there. My problem was that everything I knew I knew from Providence. I felt comfortable at Providence and I lacked that feeling at Maple Grove.
Providence is a school like no other to me because I feel blessed and happy everyday at school. I like how comfortable I can be around my friends, and I love the freedom that Providence allows me to have. Providence allows me to be both independent and still feel connected with everyone around me.
However, many who have left and returned to Providence have had different reasons for their return. Ninth grader Fran Benson left Providence last year and went to Eden Prairie. She returned for reasons different than mine. She left Providence because of how hard the academics were, but returned because of how easy the academics at Eden Prairie were. Though she loved her friends at her new school, she missed how challenged she was at Providence.
Though many like Fran and I have left and returned, other students have left and not came back. An example of a student who has left and not came back is 10th grader Grace Nickoloff, who now attends Mounds View. Grace Nickoloff said, “Providence was not the right fit for me and I wanted to play at a higher level for sports. The academics were also challenging and I had trouble balancing my sports and the academics at Providence.”
Providence is not the school for everyone. You have to find a place where you feel most comfortable. For some, Providence was not that place. But for the ones who have left and returned, Providence is home.