Should I stay or should I go?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>First of all, I've been a long time lurker and I decided to post since I have nowhere else to go. Important parts are italicized.</p>

<p>I went to a local high school freshman year and got decent grades (around 3.5 GPA), but I was absent to the tune of around 18 absences per semester (the maximum). My science teacher even let me stay after school one day as a punishment so I could pass the class with my A+, instead of having to default me to an F like he was supposed to (since I had 18 absences).</p>

<p>Anyways, these absences were due to mysterious stomach pains, which I had been getting checked out for about a year with my doctor, and several specialists, who found nothing. Sophomore year, I hated all of my classes and I had a different lunch period than my close group of friends, which made school that much worse. During the first semester of my sophomore year, I enrolled in an independent study program offered by my school district.</p>

<p>The stomach pains have gone away (I have since found out they are due to anxiety), and I am able to work at a reasonable pace (I can even progress faster than students in my old HS, if I choose to). But, I am left with a large workload that has tested my mental fortitude. Coupled with almost no social interaction, I am left in a predicament.</p>

<p>As a junior, I'm asking you this; should I return to my local high school for senior year? Or should I just tough it out and graduate from independent study?</p>

<p>HS Pros:
-Easier classes
-Friends
-More free time</p>

<p>HS Cons:
-Way behind socially
-Anxiety (which I hope to conquer)</p>

<p>Independent study Pros:
-Will look better on a college app. if I graduate
-Work at my own pace
-Excellent grades</p>

<p>Independent study Cons:
-No social interaction
-Having to help immigrant parents with daily issues</p>

<p>Please help! Any input is appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Is there no way for you to interact with others/have friends while doing independent study? Can you not still join high school clubs, and such?</p>

<p>If there really if no way, I think you ought to go to a regular high school. Being alone with no one your own age for 2 years will make you crazy. Avoiding that is worth the expense of learning a little less than you otherwise would.</p>

3

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<p>No to both. It’s kind of sad, really.</p>

4

<p>I recommend you to stay. It’s not going to be easy to adjust back to your normal HS life. Also, since you are worrying about the anxiety problem right now, when you actually go back to the HS, the anxiety will be probably worse than it was before. Just stay for one more year. Then, enjoy your life at college. Also, try to meet other people in some other ways. There are clubs, sports, and churches. </p>

<p>After reading you post, I actually fear that this is going to happen to me next year. I’m moving to a prestigious private boarding school next year. I know that this new school is where I can be really challenged and meet some very smart people. However, I also know that my current public school is where my true friends/teachers/love lie. I have moved a lot during my life(went to 8 different school even though I’m only a freshman, not counting the new one), but I am confident that my current school is where I really should be. Yes, the classes are really easy and there are bunch of stupid people, but I feel something that I never felt before in current school. It might be friendship, love, superiority, or something else or even combination of all these. Hope my opinion will change.</p>