Gayathri Menon, Grade 11
UWC Mahindra
It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for me to say that I had a lot of preconceptions before I got to MUWCI. When you bring together students from different countries and cultures, you expect a multicultural experience, and my MUWCI journey was just that. However, what escaped my mind was that I would not just be meeting people from different countries, but also different people from my own. A country as large and as diverse as India, the Indian community on campus sees a wide variety of cultures. I had expected to hone my knowledge regarding different countries but never really gave my own country too much thought. That was until I ended up finding my own support system on campus.
I connected with quite a lot of people online prior to meeting them on campus and was surprised when one of the girls I talked a lot, Priyanka, ended up being one of my closest friends. After a casual invite to my dorm for a cup of old-fashioned coffee brew, the friendship had kicked off. Both of us shared a lot of interests, mainly politics, activism, history, and a similar sense of humour. There was no formality between us, even at the start. She came to be one of the most important figures in my MUWCI life. The similarity we both had become useful in improving my understanding of myself.
I remember sitting on my bed, obsessing over something insignificant, and the fact that my birthday week turned out to be the worst of my MUWCI experience. At 2 A.M. in the morning, she spent consoling me while helping me redirect my focus on the better. Her experiences have shaped her into this extremely understanding being, and that reflected in her sacrifice of a night’s rest, even though she was sleep-deprived. Priyanka also taught me to better understand my own culture. A native Assamese herself, we bonded over conflicting representations of India around the world and having our cultures invalidated as being the “minority”. During one of our college meetings where Theatre Season was first announced, she pulled at my sleeve.
“Pssh, you should probably take part. You’ll do great!”
She whispered, and she stuck around for the painstaking process of writing my own play. Where does cultural influence come into this? Well, I ended up writing it on one of our local stories in hopes of representing my culture and customs better, and she inspired me to go through with the play.
In MUWCI, you share one room with three others. Two of them are usually second years, and the remaining one is a co-year. To my surprise, my roommate was another Indian. Usually, first years are from different countries, which helps with diverse conversations and connections. Aitijhyya, whose name I butchered too many times, was mine. A Bengali, a stellar student and the clumsiest person I know, she and I spared no time in becoming good friends. However, it would be an understatement to call what we share a friendship. The only appropriate word for it is a sisterhood.
Due to the harsh monsoons that Maharashtra faces and my weak immunity, I’ve been the victim of one too many infections and ailments. One such incident was when I felt a sudden onset of dizziness in class and that lasted six days. The situation became dire and required a specialist as regular medication was of no use in alleviating the sensation. Unable to walk, sit up or even move without toppling over, as well as facing severe nausea, meeting a specialized doctor became the need of the hour. However, the weekend had passed, and it was exam season. Distraught at the idea of having to postpone a long-overdue appointment, Aitijhyya stumbled into the medical ward, her characteristic smile plastered across her, which I could clearly see, even with the unbearable dizziness.
She came offering help- she would accompany me to the hospital the next day. It does not sound too grand on paper, but the visit would require a four hour travel time and taking me around in a wheelchair and handling a perpetually dizzy person, and she accompanied me as if it was second nature.
The visit went by well, and I was up and running in two days, but when I returned to my room from the Med center, the dynamics of our friendship had changed. She was no longer a roommate or a friend but family, to the point of my mother referring to her as a second daughter. From being strangers with extremely different interests to now sharing a sacred bond, it was quite the roller coaster.
A friendship that was unexpected was with my Wadamate (Wada is the Marathi word for living quarters), Anoushka. Half Slovenian and half Hyderabadi, she was one of the most fascinating people that I have ever met. Immediately, I could pick out how different we were from each other to the point that it intimidated me from initially approaching her. That was until we planned a study session and ended up listening to our favourite songs at 3 A.M. on a school night. Extremely artistic and introspective, she was the complete opposite of the rather intense and decisive person I was. Other than introducing me to great shows and books, she would act like an extension to my inner monologue, often speaking my own thoughts out.
In terms of my self-growth, Anoushka has been the most transformative force, encouraging me to act on my own thoughts and being merciless in her criticism of my careless actions and negative thoughts. A lot of my passion for art and appreciation for it was because of her persistence in introducing me to new things. The biggest lesson I learned from her was being open to trying new things and not letting perfectionism get the best of me. Late nights that turned into early mornings became the time for our conversations, and there never was and never will be a dull moment.
Earlier on in my MUWCI journey, I was anxious about the fact that my close peers were mainly Indians and whether I was subconsciously holding myself back with becoming closer friends with people of my community because of my desire to have multicultural experiences. But as much I’ve learned to appreciate the differences and acknowledge the similarities, the biggest lesson I learned from my closest circle is the value of emotional connection. With them, it didn’t really matter where they were from or which culture they identified with. It mattered to me because it mattered to them. Seeing my classmates as individuals before seeing them as citizens of a country or people from another community, my experiences on campus have been enriched by connecting with people on an emotional level.
I connected with quite a lot of people online prior to meeting them on campus and was surprised when one of the girls I talked a lot, Priyanka, ended up being one of my closest friends. After a casual invite to my dorm for a cup of old-fashioned coffee brew, the friendship had kicked off. Both of us shared a lot of interests, mainly politics, activism, history, and a similar sense of humour. There was no formality between us, even at the start. She came to be one of the most important figures in my MUWCI life. The similarity we both had become useful in improving my understanding of myself.
I remember sitting on my bed, obsessing over something insignificant, and the fact that my birthday week turned out to be the worst of my MUWCI experience. At 2 A.M. in the morning, she spent consoling me while helping me redirect my focus on the better. Her experiences have shaped her into this extremely understanding being, and that reflected in her sacrifice of a night’s rest, even though she was sleep-deprived. Priyanka also taught me to better understand my own culture. A native Assamese herself, we bonded over conflicting representations of India around the world and having our cultures invalidated as being the “minority”. During one of our college meetings where Theatre Season was first announced, she pulled at my sleeve.
“Pssh, you should probably take part. You’ll do great!”
She whispered, and she stuck around for the painstaking process of writing my own play. Where does cultural influence come into this? Well, I ended up writing it on one of our local stories in hopes of representing my culture and customs better, and she inspired me to go through with the play.
In MUWCI, you share one room with three others. Two of them are usually second years, and the remaining one is a co-year. To my surprise, my roommate was another Indian. Usually, first years are from different countries, which helps with diverse conversations and connections. Aitijhyya, whose name I butchered too many times, was mine. A Bengali, a stellar student and the clumsiest person I know, she and I spared no time in becoming good friends. However, it would be an understatement to call what we share a friendship. The only appropriate word for it is a sisterhood.
Due to the harsh monsoons that Maharashtra faces and my weak immunity, I’ve been the victim of one too many infections and ailments. One such incident was when I felt a sudden onset of dizziness in class and that lasted six days. The situation became dire and required a specialist as regular medication was of no use in alleviating the sensation. Unable to walk, sit up or even move without toppling over, as well as facing severe nausea, meeting a specialized doctor became the need of the hour. However, the weekend had passed, and it was exam season. Distraught at the idea of having to postpone a long-overdue appointment, Aitijhyya stumbled into the medical ward, her characteristic smile plastered across her, which I could clearly see, even with the unbearable dizziness.
She came offering help- she would accompany me to the hospital the next day. It does not sound too grand on paper, but the visit would require a four hour travel time and taking me around in a wheelchair and handling a perpetually dizzy person, and she accompanied me as if it was second nature.
The visit went by well, and I was up and running in two days, but when I returned to my room from the Med center, the dynamics of our friendship had changed. She was no longer a roommate or a friend but family, to the point of my mother referring to her as a second daughter. From being strangers with extremely different interests to now sharing a sacred bond, it was quite the roller coaster.
A friendship that was unexpected was with my Wadamate (Wada is the Marathi word for living quarters), Anoushka. Half Slovenian and half Hyderabadi, she was one of the most fascinating people that I have ever met. Immediately, I could pick out how different we were from each other to the point that it intimidated me from initially approaching her. That was until we planned a study session and ended up listening to our favourite songs at 3 A.M. on a school night. Extremely artistic and introspective, she was the complete opposite of the rather intense and decisive person I was. Other than introducing me to great shows and books, she would act like an extension to my inner monologue, often speaking my own thoughts out.
In terms of my self-growth, Anoushka has been the most transformative force, encouraging me to act on my own thoughts and being merciless in her criticism of my careless actions and negative thoughts. A lot of my passion for art and appreciation for it was because of her persistence in introducing me to new things. The biggest lesson I learned from her was being open to trying new things and not letting perfectionism get the best of me. Late nights that turned into early mornings became the time for our conversations, and there never was and never will be a dull moment.
Earlier on in my MUWCI journey, I was anxious about the fact that my close peers were mainly Indians and whether I was subconsciously holding myself back with becoming closer friends with people of my community because of my desire to have multicultural experiences. But as much I’ve learned to appreciate the differences and acknowledge the similarities, the biggest lesson I learned from my closest circle is the value of emotional connection. With them, it didn’t really matter where they were from or which culture they identified with. It mattered to me because it mattered to them. Seeing my classmates as individuals before seeing them as citizens of a country or people from another community, my experiences on campus have been enriched by connecting with people on an emotional level.
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