Atkins Dube, Grade 11
UWCEA (Arusha)
The racing beat of my heart pulsated loudly as I entered the gates of UWC East Africa for the first time. Uncertainty peeped in from afar as feelings of bliss and joy began to consume me sluggishly. What had resided in my dreams for so long had finally grown into a reality. Grimness seemed to have no place in this paradise of mine and no one even hinted of shedding a tear at this heaven, bustling at the seams with sprightly teenagers, zealous to get to know each other and bring about change.
As the academic year progressed, the graduation of our second years began to creep in slowly. It was an event which we all looked forward to with keen eyes, a day of jubilation and celebration, entirely unaware that the tables would soon turn in a way that would leave us embraced by a coat of sorrow. We were all blinded by the success of our second years such that we failed to envisage a life after their graduation. Graduation day came and with it brought the celebration of the innumerable achievements of the D2s. However, simply a day after the Graduation Ceremony, sadness sneaked its way into UWC East Africa Arusha Campus. Graduation meant the second years had to leave, an event we had not anticipated nor prepared for, at all.
Like a thief , despondency had allowed us to fill ourselves with happiness and excitement. It allowed us to take delight in our 2020-2021 academic year. We had stocked up with the most priceless treasures in the world: each other, being able to count on one another and be there for each other as we soldiered through the merciless International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, which incessantly slapped us with fresh deadlines with every sunrise. We were content with the lives we had and the impact we were having on our community, though we did thirst to do more. Like any family, we did have squabbles: over who uses the last bit of detergent on a Sunday morning as five students frantically sought to wash their clothes, all of which, apart those they are wearing were soiled and the boarding parents, the only solace when it came to detergent were out of reach, over who was supposed to do the missing work in the group project that led us to get a 3, but we managed to weave our way through those and find joy with each other. As we made merry and moulded our UWC experience to be the best it could possibly be, grimness stood there, watching, beaming a smile, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and what better moment could there be than soon after graduation, when people were still high on exhilaration.
It was a chilly winter afternoon in Arusha. A bright orange sun was struggling helplessly to escape a blanket of puffy grey clouds. The tall trees in front of the admin swerved from left to right, occasionally brushing leaves with each other as if exchanging secrets with each other. The air was dense, heavy with sadness and sorrow. Grimness had struck us right when we had concluded we were at the epitome of happiness. A large group of students had gathered in front of the administration block to say goodbye to the first D2 that was leaving, Luanga, a personal friend and companion. A place that had been the home of happiness had transmogrified into a den of dejection. The students were inconsolably forlorn and they wore pitifully sad faces. How would we even begin to say goodbye to the people that welcomed us to the school and shared so many heartfelt moments with.
Nevertheless, right there, in the thick of all the sorrow, the sad goodbyes and the “all the best at college”, the melancholy swallowed me and took me into a different world where I began to relive all the moments I had with Luanga and the rest of the D2s. The Youtheoria sessions we led together-raising awareness of societal ills, the global issues discussions-where we delved into pertinent global issues that plagued the world and shared our perspectives as the student body, the Jacaranda nights where residents of the Jacaranda boarding house spent a night, playing games and eating pizza that our beloved Miss Coralie had bought for us, the MUN sessions where we looked at the workings of the UN and drafted resolutions to certain issues in the world. All this showed me the true essence of UWC. The gathering of like-minded students from all over the world with the aim of raising a culturally aware and competent generation that will work together to tackle the problems that torment the planet. We had lived together, shared our opinions together and did our level best to bring about change in the community and that was all that mattered. Thus there, when many were at the verge of tears as Luanga left, I was not sad. I grinned because I knew it was two years well spent. We had truly served the mission of UWC well and I knew that Luanga and the D2s had grown tremendously and would go to spread the UWC values to wherever they were going.
As the academic year progressed, the graduation of our second years began to creep in slowly. It was an event which we all looked forward to with keen eyes, a day of jubilation and celebration, entirely unaware that the tables would soon turn in a way that would leave us embraced by a coat of sorrow. We were all blinded by the success of our second years such that we failed to envisage a life after their graduation. Graduation day came and with it brought the celebration of the innumerable achievements of the D2s. However, simply a day after the Graduation Ceremony, sadness sneaked its way into UWC East Africa Arusha Campus. Graduation meant the second years had to leave, an event we had not anticipated nor prepared for, at all.
Like a thief , despondency had allowed us to fill ourselves with happiness and excitement. It allowed us to take delight in our 2020-2021 academic year. We had stocked up with the most priceless treasures in the world: each other, being able to count on one another and be there for each other as we soldiered through the merciless International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, which incessantly slapped us with fresh deadlines with every sunrise. We were content with the lives we had and the impact we were having on our community, though we did thirst to do more. Like any family, we did have squabbles: over who uses the last bit of detergent on a Sunday morning as five students frantically sought to wash their clothes, all of which, apart those they are wearing were soiled and the boarding parents, the only solace when it came to detergent were out of reach, over who was supposed to do the missing work in the group project that led us to get a 3, but we managed to weave our way through those and find joy with each other. As we made merry and moulded our UWC experience to be the best it could possibly be, grimness stood there, watching, beaming a smile, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and what better moment could there be than soon after graduation, when people were still high on exhilaration.
It was a chilly winter afternoon in Arusha. A bright orange sun was struggling helplessly to escape a blanket of puffy grey clouds. The tall trees in front of the admin swerved from left to right, occasionally brushing leaves with each other as if exchanging secrets with each other. The air was dense, heavy with sadness and sorrow. Grimness had struck us right when we had concluded we were at the epitome of happiness. A large group of students had gathered in front of the administration block to say goodbye to the first D2 that was leaving, Luanga, a personal friend and companion. A place that had been the home of happiness had transmogrified into a den of dejection. The students were inconsolably forlorn and they wore pitifully sad faces. How would we even begin to say goodbye to the people that welcomed us to the school and shared so many heartfelt moments with.
Nevertheless, right there, in the thick of all the sorrow, the sad goodbyes and the “all the best at college”, the melancholy swallowed me and took me into a different world where I began to relive all the moments I had with Luanga and the rest of the D2s. The Youtheoria sessions we led together-raising awareness of societal ills, the global issues discussions-where we delved into pertinent global issues that plagued the world and shared our perspectives as the student body, the Jacaranda nights where residents of the Jacaranda boarding house spent a night, playing games and eating pizza that our beloved Miss Coralie had bought for us, the MUN sessions where we looked at the workings of the UN and drafted resolutions to certain issues in the world. All this showed me the true essence of UWC. The gathering of like-minded students from all over the world with the aim of raising a culturally aware and competent generation that will work together to tackle the problems that torment the planet. We had lived together, shared our opinions together and did our level best to bring about change in the community and that was all that mattered. Thus there, when many were at the verge of tears as Luanga left, I was not sad. I grinned because I knew it was two years well spent. We had truly served the mission of UWC well and I knew that Luanga and the D2s had grown tremendously and would go to spread the UWC values to wherever they were going.
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