For months I couldn't decide between the two. In elementary school I went to a private school across the street from McNicholas. To start the day I took a math class at McNicholas and then walked to school. From the beginning I was exposed to what my high school experience would entail at McNicholas and in my opinion it was anything but pleasant. The students were all the same, the same beliefs, the same clothes and the same attitudes. The main thing that brought me to McNicholas was the group of friends I had grown up with. By not attending McNicholas I would have left the social life I had enjoyed for the past nine years. Turpino, however, was something different; it was a new beginning. By going to Turpino I would force myself to leave my previous inner circle to undertake new experiences. I knew very few people who attended Turpin and really had no idea what life in Turpin would be like. About halfway through my eighth grade year I took a day off from school to shadow Turpin and what I experienced was something I will never forget. The environment was second to none, the students were lively and the teachers appreciated having an unfamiliar face in the classroom – it just felt right. In the end it was the environment, the freedom and the change of scenery that drew me to Turpin and it's a choice I've never accepted.