Daniela Sofia Galeana Gaspar, Grade 11
UWC ISAK Japan
Being away from home is never easy. What makes it even harder is that while being at boarding school you’ll lack the separation between school and home, which can sometimes make it overwhelming. Just imagine having to live at school and spending most of your time there, it is draining. If I’m honest that’s not 100% true, yes maybe you will have to improve your work-life balance and you might struggle with it sometimes, but thankfully there’s something that makes it a thousand times easier.
One of the most exciting parts of coming into UWC is getting to know your housemates. For me, it was also one of the things that gave me the most anxiety. It turned out that the thing that made me feel so worried was actually the most helpful when it came to finding a place on campus where I feel completely comfortable and at home. Having a group of people to share was the work-life balance I needed, despite being at school, at R3-12 you didn't have that pressure from teachers, classmates, friends, or academics.
I’m a naturally closed-minded person and I’m usually really shy, so before meeting them I was really scared of the impression I would have on them, thinking they would just ignore me and label me as boring. Especially arriving late to campus, it was scary to think that I had to deal with everything alone but at R3-13 I found an amazing group of people who cared about me. It genuinely is like getting a family, putting a bunch of people in a house, and telling them to leave with one another for at least a year.
Now consider that these are not any type of people, they’re teenagers. That really sounds like the perfect formula for disaster but it’s the best thing to ever happen. A group of kids, passionate, worried, and excited, caring for one another and finding the most wonderful ways to make themselves a home out of a house, some letters, and a couple of numbers. R3-13 was by far the most important group of people I could ever have the pleasure of meeting.
Image Courtesy: https://www.teacherhorizons.com/schools/asia-japan-nagano-uwc-isak-japan
One of the most exciting parts of coming into UWC is getting to know your housemates. For me, it was also one of the things that gave me the most anxiety. It turned out that the thing that made me feel so worried was actually the most helpful when it came to finding a place on campus where I feel completely comfortable and at home. Having a group of people to share was the work-life balance I needed, despite being at school, at R3-12 you didn't have that pressure from teachers, classmates, friends, or academics.
I’m a naturally closed-minded person and I’m usually really shy, so before meeting them I was really scared of the impression I would have on them, thinking they would just ignore me and label me as boring. Especially arriving late to campus, it was scary to think that I had to deal with everything alone but at R3-13 I found an amazing group of people who cared about me. It genuinely is like getting a family, putting a bunch of people in a house, and telling them to leave with one another for at least a year.
Now consider that these are not any type of people, they’re teenagers. That really sounds like the perfect formula for disaster but it’s the best thing to ever happen. A group of kids, passionate, worried, and excited, caring for one another and finding the most wonderful ways to make themselves a home out of a house, some letters, and a couple of numbers. R3-13 was by far the most important group of people I could ever have the pleasure of meeting.
Image Courtesy: https://www.teacherhorizons.com/schools/asia-japan-nagano-uwc-isak-japan
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