People ask me all the time about Padua. I get the standard: “Do you like it? Is it hard? All girls school? That must be,well, interesting?” And my typical response: “Yes, it’s challenging, but I love it.” What I really wish I could tell people: “Padua Academy is a hidden treasure. The journey that girls experience here is transformational. You come in a shy, young, naive girl and you walk out a confident, strong, intelligent young woman ready to take on the world. You will learn new things and you will enjoy learning them. Yes, the work is challenging, but the toughest, most challenging things in life make us stronger, right?
Although Padua will instill in you many wonderful gifts, the most important gift that a Padua Education will give you is yourself. Through all of the “all-nighters” studying, the endless tests, projects, presentations, extracurricular activities, community service, sporting events, and liturgies you find yourself. You find your identity. You find out who that person is that God made you to be. Padua strips down all of the stereotypes of society and you are placed in a thriving environment where it is okay to be you. At Padua there are no such things as jocks, nerds, or weird theatre kids. At Padua, you don’t have to be a particular person; in fact, you are encouraged and challenged to do what you love and do that well. It is hard to describe. It is hard to explain how one day you are too shy to share your opinions and then the next you are not afraid to speak your mind. You don’t realize the changes until you look back and barely notice that girl who wouldn’t speak to anyone on the first day of school. The changes are subtle; they happen when you least expect it. That test you studied really hard for, you get an A, and your confidence starts to grow. Someone smiles at you in the hallway and you start to feel accepted. A teacher notices your hard work and compliments you; you start to understand your worth. It happens, the transformation, “softly but strongly.” It’s hard to describe what happens at Padua, but the only thing that I could tell you is that it’s worth it. Every tear, every smile, all the hard work, all the laughs, all of the memories are worth it because it is through all these experiences that you find yourself.” It is through all of the experiences at Padua that I have found myself.
If I could do it all again…
My very first day at Padua I remember being scared out of my mind. I got to homeroom and took one look at my schedule and I wanted to cry; I could not understand how to read it. I remember thinking; “What have I gotten myself into? I can’t even read the schedule.” I was very shy and quiet. I was intimidated by the smallest things. I had no confidence in myself and I was afraid to do almost everything. I loved being in my own little world because to me that was my comfort zone. I didn’t really talk much and I had the mentality that if I could just pass quietly by these next four years I will be in college and on my own. I didn’t want to change and I didn’t think that I needed to grow. Well, before I even realized it, I was changing; I was growing into the person I was meant to be. My journey from that awkwardly shy freshman to the slightly less awkward but confident senior was filled with surprising twists and turns, but every happy moment, every challenging moment, and even every sad moment that I have experienced at Padua has made me who I am today and if you asked me to do it all again, I would yes.
Experiences: What I would do if I had a second chance….
We all have some regrets, even if we deny it. So, to be honest, there would be somethings that I would do differently. If I could do my Padua experience all over again I would tryout for every sport. I would not be afraid to audition for theatre at Sallies. I would take art and drama classes and I would learn to play an instrument. I wouldn’t be afraid to step out of my comfort zone and I would try new things. I wouldn’t wait until Junior year to start wandering out of my comfort zone. But then again, I would be a different person if I didn’t go down the path that I took. Every experience, the good and the bad, have made me who I am today. I am happy with the things that I did and I don’t want to take anything back.
Things I Learned Turned Out to Be the Greatest Gift I Have Received
Padua gave me a great foundation. In all aspects of my life, I feel that Padua has prepared me to accomplish any challenge that I am faced with. I have learned to be an independent person and not to rely on those around me. I can write a decent essay. I know how to manage my time while doing many things. I am not shy anymore. I am not afraid to speak in front of the class or to answer the phone when I don’t know who’s calling. I have learned to accept who I am and I learned that I do not need to change for anyone; I am perfect the way I am. I have learned that confidence is just having faith and trusting that everything will turn out for the best. I have learned to prioritize, live in the moment, and to not be afraid to challenge myself. As I look back over my years at Padua, I realize the great impact that she has had on me.
All of the people I have met, all of the incredible subjects that I have studied, and all of the girls who have become my sisters have formed me into the person I am today. It is because I failed tests, made mistakes on projects, forgot to hand things in, answered questions wrong, and lost friends, that I started to understand the person I had to be. And it is because I learned to get help when I didn’t understand a topic, I made future projects better and more professional, I learned to keep a schedule and manage my time, and I learned not to lower my standards just to be apart of a crowd. It was in the forgiving Padua environment that I thrived even when I made mistakes. The teachers challenged me to achieve more than I could ever dream of. It was because of Padua that I sit here today, a confident young woman, devote in my beliefs, and strong in my convictions. If I could give you one piece of advice it would be to live every moment. Not every moment will be a happy moment nor will every moment be a sad moment. Sometimes the only thing you will be able to do would be to just breath; and that’s okay. It is all okay. Live every single moment. Every sad moment, every happy moment, live in it and enjoy it. You need the sad moments to understand the happy moments, and learning from each moment that you experience will help you to grow to be greater than you could ever dream.
