Hampton Roads Academy

Hampton Roads Academy is utterly unremarkable, but if it had any quality that anyone gave a shit about, that quality would be stuck-up and pretentious. Collared polo shirts are mandatory in case the “Thou Shalt Be Preppy” rule wasn’t obvious enough, and freedom of self expression is just about nonexistent when it comes to the dress code—blue jeans, tee shirts with graphics on them, shorts, and hoodies, are considered “inappropriate” for school. Much of the student population are spoiled rich kids, who all seem to copy each other and only interact with those who behave the exact same way as them. It’s rare for students to go out of their way to get to know people outside of their social circle. I’ve always hated the lack of social diversity and cliquey-ness of the school, how it is just about nearly impossible to branch out of your own friend group—if you’re lucky enough to even have a friend group. The school has extreme rules, enforced by the tyrannical dean of students. Seniors used to be able to have actual freedom, like being able to go off campus for lunch, and this has been permanently taken away since the construction of the dining hall, because they need all students to pay an extra 2000 dollars a year (built into their 20,000 dollar tuition, of course!) for mediocre lunches. It’s all about public image, they don’t actually care about the feelings or happiness of the students. HRA is a business, and money and maintaining its reputation is the top priority there.