All Girls’ Boarding Schools: The Unadulterated Truth about Life in No Man’s Land

I was educated in a boarding school for girls and therefore, consider myself quite an authority on the subject. Having established my credentials, the next step would be to dispel the average reader’s somewhat erroneous notions about the said establishment. It is commonly believed that life in a no man’s land is singularly boring, unnaturally ordered, and the residents are not unlike Carmelite nuns. Most men reminiscent of their Neanderthal ancestors assert that it is the stuff their wildest fantasies are made of. Others of a less perverted and more pseudo – intellectual bent of mind claim that girls belonging to such schools are deprived of love, affection and other trappings of non – residential institutes and are therefore traumatized individuals who develop into raving nymphomaniacs or frigid, neurotic women. I beg to differ on all counts.
There have been times when I felt that my life was too sheltered and lacking in exposure to the outer world thanks to the nuns who ran the school with clock – like precision. There were strict rules and stricter restrictions about fraternization with members of the opposite sex. But this did not make for a boring existence. After all, a little enforced spirituality and abstinence never hurt anyone. Moreover, we got to enjoy a delightful interlude before being thrust headlong into a world where women are forced to share living space with their beer – swilling, sports channel – watching, lingerie model – ogling, gross – smelling male counterparts. And we certainly did not live like nuns. The days were chock – full of activities that were designed to help us grow as individuals. From trekking into the neighboring hills, singing songs around the campfire, organizing midnight parties (that usually consisted of a few loaves of bread stolen from the kitchen), putting up shows to raise money for charity… we did it all. So much adventure, so much fun! Thus cloistered or otherwise boarding school was the cocoon that nourished us and prepared us for our eventual foray into the big bad world that waited outside with its jaws wide open.
This blogger has nothing to say to the testosterone fuelled individuals whose puerile views pertaining to girls’ hostels truly boggle the mind, for fear of offending the delicate sensibilities of some of my more sensitive readers. Save one thing: Throw away your “Girls Gone Wild” DVDs now! And an IQ test would not go amiss either.
Finally, for those who state that boarding schools weaken familial ties leading to disastrous consequences like priming the girls for future appearances on “Notorious Women” lists, let me say that parents shape and mould their children, long distances notwithstanding. I am very close to my parents and they have been the foundation on which my life is built. The same cannot be said however for all my day – student buddies. Dysfunctional families exist and parents from such families do not necessarily send their children to boarding schools. So it is unfair to blame boarding schools for all the ills of a deeply troubled world.
The defense rests.