When I was stumbling into that awful time in 8th grade where we had to start thinking about the big and scary high school, I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I had my heart set on DHS. My brother had gone there, all of my friends were going. Why wouldn’t I go? Then my mom convinced me to shadow Animas. I was scared for that day. They had a totally different system of how they taught the students. They were more hands on than any school I had gone to, and there was less people. Then I started to see how it was. I learned I like the hands on learning, and the close community. I have so many more friends, and I feel like I have more support in my academics and in my life here. I was stuck in the middle of Animas and DHS. Both were really great, and had their own wins in my heart. After a hard month or two of going back and forth, I decided on Animas. I loved everything about it. The student teacher relationship made me feel like I had an adult to hold me accountable. The way they learned allowed me to feel comfortable in how I was learning, so that I could get the help I need. There are a lot of reasons I chose this school, but I truly found out why when I started. During orientation week, I found new friends, I found my place, and I had so much fun with my new family. I strongly recommend Animas to any student who is thinking about it.