As many weekends as I can, I leave my stress at home and escape to the enchanting beach town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. I often pass Carmel High School and try to peek through the lush landscape; I’ve wanted to get a close-up view of what life is like inside the scenic campus, cradled between Carmel Valley’s bucolic Santa Lucia Mountains and the rocky shores of the Pacific Ocean. On this special day in March, I did.

My day started a little earlier than I would have liked on my spring break, but I was eager to arrive at the Padres’ campus. From start to finish, I met friendly students and staff who made every effort to ensure that I would have a positive experience.

Walking around campus, I couldn’t help but wonder where everyone was. With a mere 775 students, the school prides itself on its close-knit community. “Everybody knows everybody in Carmel, and it’s the same way at the high school,” sophomore Brita Rustad said.

Unlike Gunn, it seemed as if much of the student population blended together. I didn’t see as many differences in the people as I do here. Most people had the same clothing style, and Carmel is definitely not as diverse as Gunn. With the vast majority of students being Caucasian, beach blonde hair seemed to be everywhere, making my dark hair stick out like a sore thumb. Among the girls, carefully manicured nails complimented freshly-tweezed eyebrows. The boys’ morning routine was clearly not the “just-rolled-out-of-bed” look frequently displayed by boys at Gunn. Although I didn’t notice any boys with French manicures, I did see a few boys decked out in designer jeans.

I was very impressed with Carmel’s landscape and campus, especially in comparison to Gunn’s. According to Carmel Superintendent Marvin Biasotti, many of the classrooms have been renovated because of two recently passed bonds. The school receives about the same amount of money as Gunn from property taxes, but it has only a third of the students to spend it on—thus, nicer facilities. The school, however, did not give off a “snotty” or wealthy vibe, and had the same friendly social atmosphere as I like to think we have at Gunn.

In terms of academic rigor, Carmel is very different from Gunn. Carmel offers a variety of “speciality” classes including sports literature, dance, guitar, fashion design and woodworking. In addition, Carmel offers more AP classes for underclassmen, including history and English.

All of the teachers I met were friendly and seemed to have good relationships with their students. Although the overall academic program is not as highly acclaimed as Gunn’s, I still found that many of the classes I visited seemed to have workloads similar to mine.

Overall, it is very hard for me to choose which school I prefer more. I was missing a lot of the culture and diversity that we are lucky to have here in Palo Alto. However, I would trade in Gunn’s academic style for Carmel’s any day. From the first step I took on Carmel High’s campus, I could feel a difference in mood. The students, teachers, staff members—everyone—seemed a whole lot happier there. Maybe it is the sunshine, or the fact that the students aren’t boxed in by brown wooden walls that makes life there different. However, it is more likely that the low amount of stress at Carmel High (which is also respected academically) makes the ultimate atmospheric difference.

Throughout the day I was treated nicely and I truly felt welcomed in a new place. The only thing I can complain about was having to follow around the 6-foot-4-inch Pauline Farrell for half a day—that truly shed a new light to the meaning of the word “shadow.”