Anonymous, Grade 12
UWC-USA
The first time that I met her I did not know where to even go. I remember not completely understanding how to use our school-issued calculators, despite having the first math exam the next morning. I encouraged myself to ask for help from the first person that I saw. While I waited in line at the cafeteria, she walked in. She seemed shy, and yet, her personality slightly reflects this trait. I remember thinking: “She looks like she speaks the same language that I do”. For the first time in my UWC experience so far, I approached her with a confident attitude and asked her in my native tongue: “Do you know how to use a calculator?”. Luckily, she did. And she also knew how to survive the apocalyptic IB boarding school that is UWC.
She caresses people’s souls with her words. Even though exams and college applications buried her time, she always made space for small talks, and for asking the well-known and repeated question: “How are you?”. I never really answered honestly to that line, but soon I started doing so. I discovered my empathy, even though it had always been there. She unburied it, and I displayed it. After learning at my own pace how to open up to other people, I began my true shift at the school.
Missing home turned into an easier situation because she grew into it. I felt safer and more experienced while having her as part of my new family. Slowly, I stopped carrying my timidness around campus and I started to discover new people and places thanks to her patience with my anxiety. Not only did I become more independent with my mental health, but she taught me to embrace both ups and downs - which would later definitely serve in this boarding-school journey.
Leaving small pieces of my heart around the trails shifted into an enjoyable talk when we hiked and enjoyed the wilderness. I not only learned to love myself a little more but to merge into nature; and due to her passions, she protected us both. I never considered myself “green”, but since the idea of finding more people like her, I quickly started to adapt my habits to care for this planet.
Compassion evolved into a new lifestyle: sharing my thoughts felt safer. Her room’s door was always open to talk about our “underdeveloped” countries. Once, I went into her small place on the third floor of her residence. We talked about history. We unwrapped how our cultures were before certain colonizers came. I had never felt so proud about the little facts that I knew, but I watched her fascination increase over my country’s small details. Now, it was her turn. Before starting, she announced she had a gift for me. Mysteriously, she took a small souvenir out of her travel bag. The small object fitted perfectly into her closed hand. Before actually giving the gift to me, she had to recite an advance.
According to her country’s mythology, there are some creatures that will keep the “bad vibes” away. They are meant to protect you and to make good luck stay. These fantastical beings wear vibrant colors on their skin and have confusing parts in their body, and they answer to the name “alebrijes”. After finishing this tale, she opened up her hand. In her palm, she held a tiny alebrije made from an unknown material. Its body was yellow and it had small vivid dots. The alebrije also had a tail that resembled a dragon’s one.
I did not try to read into her intentions, but if you ask me now, I will say that she meant to give me an extra amount of protection and confidence disguised as part of her folklore. Despite living thousands of kilometers away from her country, I truly adopted the way an alebrije can make you feel safe. In the end, these creatures reminded me of her vibrant and caring nature and personality. From there, I started carrying my newly-given alebrije in my bag everywhere. I had always understood that UWC would let you come upon new cultures and traditions, but I never thought it would introduce me to loving one foreign.
I now know how to plug formulas into my calculator. After multiple afternoons practicing math together, what she taught me grew into something more valuable. Thanks to her lessons, my compost is smaller and my showers, shorter - just as the texts we now send each other. My self-esteem turned bigger, and math was less scary. She uncovered the complicated UWC experience and made it into easier steps. She made me forget the tangled classes and carved new values into my personality, letting me slowly increase my confidence and reinforce my personality. She turned into a sister and my appreciation for her into a life-long bond. I like to think that all of our memories and lessons were my actual alebrijes through this first year because, in the end, this beautiful friend did everything to keep me happy and safe.
Image Courtesy: https://elsouvenir.com/alebrijes-suenos-de-papel-y-madera/
She caresses people’s souls with her words. Even though exams and college applications buried her time, she always made space for small talks, and for asking the well-known and repeated question: “How are you?”. I never really answered honestly to that line, but soon I started doing so. I discovered my empathy, even though it had always been there. She unburied it, and I displayed it. After learning at my own pace how to open up to other people, I began my true shift at the school.
Missing home turned into an easier situation because she grew into it. I felt safer and more experienced while having her as part of my new family. Slowly, I stopped carrying my timidness around campus and I started to discover new people and places thanks to her patience with my anxiety. Not only did I become more independent with my mental health, but she taught me to embrace both ups and downs - which would later definitely serve in this boarding-school journey.
Leaving small pieces of my heart around the trails shifted into an enjoyable talk when we hiked and enjoyed the wilderness. I not only learned to love myself a little more but to merge into nature; and due to her passions, she protected us both. I never considered myself “green”, but since the idea of finding more people like her, I quickly started to adapt my habits to care for this planet.
Compassion evolved into a new lifestyle: sharing my thoughts felt safer. Her room’s door was always open to talk about our “underdeveloped” countries. Once, I went into her small place on the third floor of her residence. We talked about history. We unwrapped how our cultures were before certain colonizers came. I had never felt so proud about the little facts that I knew, but I watched her fascination increase over my country’s small details. Now, it was her turn. Before starting, she announced she had a gift for me. Mysteriously, she took a small souvenir out of her travel bag. The small object fitted perfectly into her closed hand. Before actually giving the gift to me, she had to recite an advance.
According to her country’s mythology, there are some creatures that will keep the “bad vibes” away. They are meant to protect you and to make good luck stay. These fantastical beings wear vibrant colors on their skin and have confusing parts in their body, and they answer to the name “alebrijes”. After finishing this tale, she opened up her hand. In her palm, she held a tiny alebrije made from an unknown material. Its body was yellow and it had small vivid dots. The alebrije also had a tail that resembled a dragon’s one.
I did not try to read into her intentions, but if you ask me now, I will say that she meant to give me an extra amount of protection and confidence disguised as part of her folklore. Despite living thousands of kilometers away from her country, I truly adopted the way an alebrije can make you feel safe. In the end, these creatures reminded me of her vibrant and caring nature and personality. From there, I started carrying my newly-given alebrije in my bag everywhere. I had always understood that UWC would let you come upon new cultures and traditions, but I never thought it would introduce me to loving one foreign.
I now know how to plug formulas into my calculator. After multiple afternoons practicing math together, what she taught me grew into something more valuable. Thanks to her lessons, my compost is smaller and my showers, shorter - just as the texts we now send each other. My self-esteem turned bigger, and math was less scary. She uncovered the complicated UWC experience and made it into easier steps. She made me forget the tangled classes and carved new values into my personality, letting me slowly increase my confidence and reinforce my personality. She turned into a sister and my appreciation for her into a life-long bond. I like to think that all of our memories and lessons were my actual alebrijes through this first year because, in the end, this beautiful friend did everything to keep me happy and safe.
Image Courtesy: https://elsouvenir.com/alebrijes-suenos-de-papel-y-madera/
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