Almost one year after graduating, I finally went back to Tokyo and visited Sacred Heart.
Although I knew that I would definitely visit eventually, to see how teachers were, or to just reminisce, really, I wasn’t aware of how much I would miss this place.
Having moved to Sacred Heart at the end of 9th grade (a very awkward time to change schools), it took me a couple of years to get comfortable at the school. Even when I felt like I belonged, when I knew all the corridors to know in the school, and could easily strike up a conversation with every student and teacher, I was still eager to leave as soon as senior year came around.
In my mind, college life would be a reproduction of “Pitch Perfect”, where all my problems would be solved by a cappella singing. Unfortunately, that is far from truth (and not because I can’t sing). While university is an opportunity for students to reinvent themselves (and, don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely fun), high school is a major developmental stage of people’s lives, and I am fortunate enough to say that my high school life was better than average.
At Sacred Heart, I was able to learn a bunch of new things (because you know, it’s high school) from very approachable teachers all whilst living in, possibly, the coolest city in the world. Weirdly, even though everyone told me college is academically harder than high school, I didn’t really realize what I was missing until it was gone.
“Can’t wait until I don’t have to wear uniforms!” I naively thought until I realized that having to choose your outfit every morning is actually quite stressful, especially mid-finals when you haven’t really done laundry in a couple of weeks. That’s when you appeal to the unofficial university uniform (the hoodie and sweatpants) and realize Sacred Heart skirts are much cuter.
Not to mention when I looked forward to not having teachers always on my back asking to check my work or giving (often unasked for) advice and just generally being a big part of my life.
Now I miss those days of complete shelter when I could just walk in a teacher’s room and they would be eagerly waiting for students to ask questions. I have had to consult with professors whilst they’re having lunch, walking to a meeting, or on a phone call with five other students. Professors have quite literally no time for you, unless you book an appointment three weeks in advance knowing that your final paper is going to be complete garbage and that nothing but tears will save your semester. The best part is, after all that trouble, having to remind your professor of your name at least a couple of times in the same meeting because they have no idea which little head you are out of the 300 that attend (or don’t) his/her lectures. Talk about feeling special.
What about when I used to be so angry at having so few food options? Oh no, wait, the food is much better in college.
While I can’t go back in time and enjoy my time at Sacred Heart more, as opposed to wishing that I were somewhere else, this is definitely a lesson learned. I hope my experience can set an example for Sacred Heart girls to take advantage of their time left in high school.