My Underground Enterprise at Boarding School

I went to a boarding school that was very cool. It was the best, most important school I've ever attended. It helped shape many of the values I hold dearest today, even if these values were not appreciated or internalized at the time. This was a very communal school that emphasized togetherness and had a holistic perspective on the education process.

This school was one that assigned all the students chores to do daily. These were little tasks designed to give each student the responsibility of a small portion of what was required to maintain the school. These jobs were to be performed in the morning right after wake-up. They would be simple tasks like emptying out a particular garbage can, cleaning sinks in the bathroom, or making sure the barn classroom was presentable.

The school had Quaker meetings and very socialist values. One of the teachers was first responsible for my hearing the term "property theft." Of course, the teacher was very wealthy and would not have thought this if I’d borrowed his car. I do not fault him for this and thought he was a very cool man. I learned tons of concepts that I’d never been exposed to.

I came to this school from a very materialistic town that my family had just moved to. This led me to have certain perspectives and behaviors that did not mesh well with the school.

Boys Store

Boys Store was a utility closet in the boys' dormitory that had snacks students could purchase. Students were able to buy snacks using their allowance waging was handed out twice a week 7 dollars on Tuesdays 8 on Fridays. The only thing about Boys Store was that it was very poorly run, intermittently stocked, and was not reliable. When you needed snacks, it was rarely open. Later, the store would open at bed check, which was at 10 PM. This was ridiculous because the only stuff Boys Store sold was soda, chips, candy, and ramen, all of which should not be consumed late at night.

Anyway, I noticed a huge gap between the food desires of the boys' dormitory and the services rendered by Boys Store. This led me to start my own entrepreneurial venture that I ran out of my closet. I stocked the inventory when my parents came to visit; I’d go to the supermarket and stock up on stereotypically boys' dorm-esque snack foods. My store had better selection, was more creative and in a very predatory fashion, sold items on credit. it was always easier to spend money you didn’t have.

I began selling items, and capitalistic tendencies began to corrupt my business practices. I learned that the menus I initially printed out prevented me from being able to charge different students different rates for the same product. When I took down the menu, I was able to charge whoever whatever, depending on what I thought they could afford and their level of desire, desperation, or hunger.

Eventually, the store began to have a corrosive effect on dorm life, and word of my store got to a faculty meeting—a meeting where faculty discussed and gossiped about the goings-on at the school. These meetings were often mundane; other times, they were riddled with crises.

Anyway, one day, my favorite teacher at the school parked his van in front of the school. In he came, carrying two grocery bags filled to the brim. He was followed by other students who were also carrying bags of groceries; they’d clearly just been to the supermarket. “We’re going to beat your little store,” the teacher said to me.

Later, the headmaster of the school had a meeting with my parents where he voiced his distaste for my entrepreneurial ventures at the school. They were incredibly disappointed, and the store was shut down quite suddenly.

I regret this kind of behavior and the plethora of ways in which I did not adhere to the spirit of the school. This was a lesson this was a lesson i learned in retrospect but i also think there are other lessons i learned by not adhering to the philosophy. i wish i had, those are important regrets, regrets that inform the future.    

I love this school and i wish to share many stories from the school. sharing stories about this school is one of my biggest goals.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more boarding school stories . Next story, is about starting a little casino.