Unayza Anika, Grade 11
UWC Costa Rica
It has been months since the world got struck by COVID-19. Yet, the effects of the merciless virus are just as alive today as they were back in March. A ban on public gatherings, obligatory face mask policies, 6 feet distance, and the most dispiriting policy if you’re an international student, international travel ban - defines the new normal. The new normal has crushed the hopes and dreams of many students all over the world. What was anticipated by all UWC students as a life-changing experience filled with adventures and cultural enlightenment has now taken a vastly different UWC experience for each student? Some are risking their lives to reach campus, some are attending online classes in time zones with a 12 hour difference. But for many students from third world countries like mine, the new normal also meant dropping a year, shifting to a different UWC, losing their financial aid due to lack of funding, and worst of all, having to give up on their UWC dream entirely.
I deem myself to be one of the lucky ones, though. Fortunately for me, UWC Costa Rica has shifted to a blended online model. While the time zone difference is not ideal and often tiring, I assure myself that this is the new normal. But seeing my classmates from western world countries reach campus and enjoy each others’ company in their respective social bubbles makes me wish I was there too. Don’t get me wrong, I acknowledge that students who had to leave the comfort of their own homes and risk their lives to reach campus have a struggle of their own. But I can’t help but think, at least they are closer to the UWC life than me. Because to be exact, I am 16,220 km away from my UWC life, and with each passing day, it feels like it gets further away from me.
In reality, everyone is fighting a different battle in these trying times. With every passing month, new havoc is bought into this world, whether political, social, or economical. Many people have lost their loved ones to the merciless virus, while many haven’t been able to meet them for months and are uncertain whether they will ever meet them in good health - both of these situations are extremely sorrowful, and it feels immoral to compare them. So I can’t really say the person who reached campus is happier or closer to the UWC dream than me because if there is one thing 2020 has taught us is that everyone is going through struggles that often go unnoticed. And this is something I’m still coming to terms with.
But that’s the thing about the new normal, it’s not easy. It’s not easy to shift from hugs to 6-feet distance, from smiles to face masks, from planning your best friend’s birthday party to zoom birthday parties - it’s an uphill battle that tests you, again and again, every second along the way. So, this is an open letter to every student struggling like me. This experience may not be the ideal UWC life we imagined, but it will definitely be a unique one. This will be an experience that shapes us for the better and prepares us for the real world. COVID-19 has taken a lot of things from us, but we can never let it take our hope. And I’m still hopeful that things will work out in the end because if it doesn’t work out, that means it’s not the end.
I deem myself to be one of the lucky ones, though. Fortunately for me, UWC Costa Rica has shifted to a blended online model. While the time zone difference is not ideal and often tiring, I assure myself that this is the new normal. But seeing my classmates from western world countries reach campus and enjoy each others’ company in their respective social bubbles makes me wish I was there too. Don’t get me wrong, I acknowledge that students who had to leave the comfort of their own homes and risk their lives to reach campus have a struggle of their own. But I can’t help but think, at least they are closer to the UWC life than me. Because to be exact, I am 16,220 km away from my UWC life, and with each passing day, it feels like it gets further away from me.
In reality, everyone is fighting a different battle in these trying times. With every passing month, new havoc is bought into this world, whether political, social, or economical. Many people have lost their loved ones to the merciless virus, while many haven’t been able to meet them for months and are uncertain whether they will ever meet them in good health - both of these situations are extremely sorrowful, and it feels immoral to compare them. So I can’t really say the person who reached campus is happier or closer to the UWC dream than me because if there is one thing 2020 has taught us is that everyone is going through struggles that often go unnoticed. And this is something I’m still coming to terms with.
But that’s the thing about the new normal, it’s not easy. It’s not easy to shift from hugs to 6-feet distance, from smiles to face masks, from planning your best friend’s birthday party to zoom birthday parties - it’s an uphill battle that tests you, again and again, every second along the way. So, this is an open letter to every student struggling like me. This experience may not be the ideal UWC life we imagined, but it will definitely be a unique one. This will be an experience that shapes us for the better and prepares us for the real world. COVID-19 has taken a lot of things from us, but we can never let it take our hope. And I’m still hopeful that things will work out in the end because if it doesn’t work out, that means it’s not the end.
www.unitedworldwide.co