Abby Corpuz

Senior Abby Corpuz left Laguna Blanca to go to Dos Pueblos for freshman and sophomore year. She found that it was really difficult to leave the Laguna community and have to find her way around at a much larger school and find new friends. Even though she was able to find a friend group, she really missed the Laguna community as well as her friends from Laguna. DP was a huge change for her because stereotypical things were more prominent at school, such as “Friday Night Lights” and the Homecoming Queen. As she progressed through the school years, she noticed that because of the larger classes, the slower they would go through the academic material. People at DP put a lot of pressure on students to dress and act a certain way to be with the “popular” kids. Finally returning to Laguna for her junior and senior years, she realized that “there [was] nothing [she] learned at DP that [she] couldn’t have learned at Laguna,” and more, that she had some catching up to do as she reentered Laguna’s more difficult curriculum.

Mackenzie Kinsella

During her sophomore and junior years, senior Mackenzie Kinsella had the opportunity to travel the world, going to school in Ireland and France. She found both a language barrier as well as a culture shock in both countries. Mackenzie realized that “even though [in Ireland] they speak English, there is still a distinct barrier in the words used” and that the teen culture in the two countries was different from American teen culture. In France, the language,  the culture were definitely a change as well as the teaching style in the schools. Despite the differences and changes Mackenzie had to go through, she really enjoyed meeting so many people from around the world and thinks that the experience helped develop her character and perspective on the world. Upon returning to the states, Mackenzie had to  get used to American culture again, and reflected “that a life-changing chapter in my life had come to an end.”

Aidan O’Donnell

Leaving the only school you have ever known and then returning to it is never easy. In SEVENTH? grade, senior Aidan O’Donnell left Laguna and went to Santa Barbara Middle School. Even though he went to a new school, he did not find too much of a change besides larger classes and more people in the hallways. Aidan was still able to hang out with his friends from Laguna, as well as meet new ones at Santa Barbara Middle School. Meeting people in the larger school definitely helped him make the large community feel smaller. Aidan then returned to Laguna for high school and realized the huge change to come, becoming a high schooler. Today, Aidan is very happy with the choice to return and is enjoying his classes and captaining the Laguna football team.