Borderlands Research Paper

Anzaldua describes borderlands as a war between races and social classes, but for me it’s different than that because for six years of my life, I went to private (Catholic) school. Private school always seemed better than other schools until I left and had to face the real world. At school, all students had to wear the same uniforms, girls wore plaid skirts and boys wore khakis. From kindergarten until third grade, girls had to wear a sailor like shirt with a cardigan sweater while boys were allowed to wear polos. Girls were not allowed to wear jewelry or makeup or have dyed hair. These things were considered unnatural and distractions for others. In other words, everyone looked the same. I could not express myself at all because it was prohibited. The kids at my school could have been soldier's, silent, standing in line wearing matching uniforms waiting for instructions. For six years, I was stuck with the same thirty people for every class. Occasionally, a new kid would come but there was always a solid group of

I no longer was defined by my polo shirt and skirt or the clique that I was in. I could wear anything I wanted and I could finally hear unbiased opinions about the world. Encinal is so different from the prison that I called school for six years. I have met so many great people who do not care about my religious beliefs or who my friends are. My teachers don’t judge me if I do not believe in the same things as them and I can finally be friends with kids who are not the same age as me. I never will be in the same class with the same group of people for eight hours a day and I don’t worry about what others will think about me. At Encinal, one of the greatest things is that I don’t actually know everyone in my class and in the school. I can make new friends everyday and be independent. I upgraded from a cubby to locker and I have become more responsible for my