Chido Murambiwa, Grade 12
UWC Waterford Kamhlaba
If I were to describe my friends, I would use the word healing. Although our friendship at the beginning was awkward at the start, I grew to love them. When I met my friends I was not in a good place, I doubted myself, which bled into my relationships. My strong beliefs against myself were like tubes shoved into my head and continuously pumped propaganda about myself.
However, when I met my friends when I spoke to them each plug began to slowly fall off my head. I did not want to depend on them in a way that I leached of their goodness and they became my free therapists. I was terrified and so many thoughts swarmed in my head about how they viewed me but I let them go. I was not expected to be anyone else and that safety blanket was something that helped me through these times. I wanted to do what I usually did see what type of they were then work around them. But I trusted them and I didn’t want to continue forging relationships that were based on me analyzing people and then working around them.
I began trusting them and myself. I enjoyed learning Siswati through them or them begging me to teach them Shona then they’d butcher it but kept trying. Or me butchering Korean to extreme extents. I appreciated the curiosity that they had regarding my language. I loved how comfortable I grew around them. They are some of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen in my life. They encourage me to really check my boundaries and so many aspects of myself. They made transitioning from a country I grew up all my life to a new country so much better.
The diversity of our friend group means so many perspectives and many opinions. It may seem easier to be your country mate but really exploring and learning about people around me made me expand my opinions and the way I thought so much more. My views on so many topics shifted it isn’t amazing because clashes do happen then can lead to tension but communication was the biggest help in maintaining and being able to explore our differences safely.
Image Courtesy: https://pin.it/7f1ehdY
However, when I met my friends when I spoke to them each plug began to slowly fall off my head. I did not want to depend on them in a way that I leached of their goodness and they became my free therapists. I was terrified and so many thoughts swarmed in my head about how they viewed me but I let them go. I was not expected to be anyone else and that safety blanket was something that helped me through these times. I wanted to do what I usually did see what type of they were then work around them. But I trusted them and I didn’t want to continue forging relationships that were based on me analyzing people and then working around them.
I began trusting them and myself. I enjoyed learning Siswati through them or them begging me to teach them Shona then they’d butcher it but kept trying. Or me butchering Korean to extreme extents. I appreciated the curiosity that they had regarding my language. I loved how comfortable I grew around them. They are some of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen in my life. They encourage me to really check my boundaries and so many aspects of myself. They made transitioning from a country I grew up all my life to a new country so much better.
The diversity of our friend group means so many perspectives and many opinions. It may seem easier to be your country mate but really exploring and learning about people around me made me expand my opinions and the way I thought so much more. My views on so many topics shifted it isn’t amazing because clashes do happen then can lead to tension but communication was the biggest help in maintaining and being able to explore our differences safely.
Image Courtesy: https://pin.it/7f1ehdY
www.unitedworldwide.co