Christine Ruth Mahoutin Dossa, Grade 12
UWC Maastricht
Her willingness to move forward, the smile of a stranger, sunny grey weather, and this was her paradise on earth.
This sentence sums up all a young Beninese girl, moving for the third time outside her country. This time alone, felt when she landed on the cosiest and nicest island, which will be her home for the next two years. She kept wandering around, questioning why this was that while getting to know the world around her. Have you ever heard of the evolution of butterflies? How do they move from caterpillar to butterfly? Let’s then say she was a caterpillar. She was a caterpillar in a world of butterflies, trees, grass, bridges, river, fields, and other caterpillars.
The first day at UWC Maastricht was like a whirlwind. It was the first time for her to see so many nationalities gathered all together in the same space for a journey. She remembered having seen a certain amount of DP2s waving and smiling at her, being helpful to her by lifting her baggage to the third floor of a building she will later call her house. ‘’I am Christine from Benin’’ were the sentences she would repeatedly tell when she met somebody. And indeed, these were the first words she pronounced as she entered this school. For a second, she had come to ignore the fact that she has been nostalgic as ever for 12 hours during her flight, in the bus on the way to UWC Maastricht, and upon arrival when the grey building perfectly pictured her mood. That’s probably the reason why she loved these grey buildings of her school: it always reminded her of her first feelings and somehow provoked a sense of laughter she never gets over with.
Do you know about the feeling of accomplishing something although you judged yourself as incapable of doing so? Just like when you bike 15 kilometres, but actually thought you would never be able to do it? Well, this was the case with that little girl (and she indeed biked 15 kilometers). As she thought she would not survive the nostalgia and homesickness, she had come to build a friendship with the world around her. As she felt she could not defend a cause and talk publicly about it, she and her mates raised awareness about climate change and environmental justice. As she thought she would not make her way until the end, she is now in her final year of the IB diploma program. It is incredible how a place on earth can shift your whole perspective, make you look at things through different lenses, and be able to understand others. And most importantly, it is incredible to see that we almost all encounter this shift of mindset at the same moment, when our eyes are wide open and our minds ready and able to fully embrace the UWC mission and values. ‘’UWC makes education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future’’, thanks to the saying of these words during the community gatherings, which made me memorize it.
Today and tomorrow, I am confident that this place is like no other on earth. It provided me with an academic and lifetime education, the souvenir of the several Student-Led-Initiatives she and her friends would be incredibly excited about, the multiple AfroDance rehearsals with her fellow dance mates, and the long-lasting common room talks which end up in laughter and procrastination. However, our little girl is convinced that her nostalgia and homesickness will come back. Yes, these feelings will make their way back again. And this time, on her way out of UWC, on the day she will have to say goodbye to that place, that place which made her become a better person for the world, that place which is her home! And that day, she will vow to herself to give back to this movement, as this was for two years (and beyond), her paradise on earth.
This sentence sums up all a young Beninese girl, moving for the third time outside her country. This time alone, felt when she landed on the cosiest and nicest island, which will be her home for the next two years. She kept wandering around, questioning why this was that while getting to know the world around her. Have you ever heard of the evolution of butterflies? How do they move from caterpillar to butterfly? Let’s then say she was a caterpillar. She was a caterpillar in a world of butterflies, trees, grass, bridges, river, fields, and other caterpillars.
The first day at UWC Maastricht was like a whirlwind. It was the first time for her to see so many nationalities gathered all together in the same space for a journey. She remembered having seen a certain amount of DP2s waving and smiling at her, being helpful to her by lifting her baggage to the third floor of a building she will later call her house. ‘’I am Christine from Benin’’ were the sentences she would repeatedly tell when she met somebody. And indeed, these were the first words she pronounced as she entered this school. For a second, she had come to ignore the fact that she has been nostalgic as ever for 12 hours during her flight, in the bus on the way to UWC Maastricht, and upon arrival when the grey building perfectly pictured her mood. That’s probably the reason why she loved these grey buildings of her school: it always reminded her of her first feelings and somehow provoked a sense of laughter she never gets over with.
Do you know about the feeling of accomplishing something although you judged yourself as incapable of doing so? Just like when you bike 15 kilometres, but actually thought you would never be able to do it? Well, this was the case with that little girl (and she indeed biked 15 kilometers). As she thought she would not survive the nostalgia and homesickness, she had come to build a friendship with the world around her. As she felt she could not defend a cause and talk publicly about it, she and her mates raised awareness about climate change and environmental justice. As she thought she would not make her way until the end, she is now in her final year of the IB diploma program. It is incredible how a place on earth can shift your whole perspective, make you look at things through different lenses, and be able to understand others. And most importantly, it is incredible to see that we almost all encounter this shift of mindset at the same moment, when our eyes are wide open and our minds ready and able to fully embrace the UWC mission and values. ‘’UWC makes education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future’’, thanks to the saying of these words during the community gatherings, which made me memorize it.
Today and tomorrow, I am confident that this place is like no other on earth. It provided me with an academic and lifetime education, the souvenir of the several Student-Led-Initiatives she and her friends would be incredibly excited about, the multiple AfroDance rehearsals with her fellow dance mates, and the long-lasting common room talks which end up in laughter and procrastination. However, our little girl is convinced that her nostalgia and homesickness will come back. Yes, these feelings will make their way back again. And this time, on her way out of UWC, on the day she will have to say goodbye to that place, that place which made her become a better person for the world, that place which is her home! And that day, she will vow to herself to give back to this movement, as this was for two years (and beyond), her paradise on earth.
www.unitedworldwide.co