Most of the students here at Vandegrift High School consider it their home, and many have never been enrolled outside of LISD or considered what it would be like to go to school somewhere else. As a student who has moved four times, twice of those in the middle of the school year, I have a lot of experience going to new schools in different places.

So, if I could use one word to describe Vandegrift and how it is different from the other schools I’ve been to, I would say bigger. A lot bigger. Coming from a school with about 200 people per grade into a school with around 500 per grade, I felt much smaller at Vandegrift, and everything seemed a lot more complex at first.

Another striking contrast between Vandegrift and the other schools I’ve been to is the

prominence of the sports programs, and how important it seems to almost every student. If they aren’t playing a sport, they’re writing about it or talking about it. It’s interesting to be part of such a spirited sports-oriented environment. It also feels good to be included in a school that has a very successful athletics program and to have an opportunity to be in it. My old school, Towson High School, in Baltimore, had a strong lacrosse program but that was about it.

Most of differences between the places I’ve been weren’t just school oriented, but culture oriented, which affects the school atmosphere. For example, in Maryland, lacrosse is the most important sport, whereas in Texas, football is by far the most prominent, at least in my experience. Another distinction between Austin and Baltimore is the trends in both apparel and music. For instance in Baltimore, something  a lot of people do is tuck their pants into their socks, which is something I haven’t seen once in Austin. Something that is present in Austin is, first of all, country music, which Baltimore has a general distaste for, and secondly, lots of cowboy boots. Boots like that are quite rare in Baltimore, except in certain rural areas.

Though there are many differences between the two places, there are many similarities as well. For example, people seem to act generally the same, and a lot of the same brands are popular that are popular there like Vineyard Vines, Patagonia, Chubbies  and white Converse.

Regardless of fashion trends, music styles, or even the types of people, both places are warm and accepting, and  the experience of immersing myself in Vandegrift High School has been enjoyable and rewarding, due to the great students that comprise the student population.