Tenzin Tsomo, Grade 11
UWC Red Cross Nordic
Curiosity and excitement overtook me as I entered chemistry for the first time. The first class of the day. The first class at UWC Red Cross Nordic. The first class as a UWC student. Our teacher bore a warm smile doing his best to make the first years comfortable, but the atmosphere was still tense, and as though to make it better, the teacher said: "Let's take a test!" The students, who were quiet before, gasped "Are you serious?", laughed nervously hoping that the teacher was telling a joke. Everyone was visibly confused except for the teacher. He just stood there looking us eye to eye as though it was the most perfectly normal thing to do. We didn't know the teacher well enough to complain, and it was after all the first day; we didn't know how the school worked.
We took the test and, as a result of my six-month break before travelling to UWCRCN, my mind was a blank slate. The test went horribly, and I thought it would be the same for everybody. I mean, no one can be prepared this early in the semester.
Oh, Boy was I wrong!
The other students were talking about how easy it had been; someone even said that they wanted to drop out because he had covered all the chapters already. As you might have guessed already, this was an extreme shock to me. My view of my fellow classmates was shredded to reveal that they were far from equals. That was when I realised that I had a long way to go.
Coming to UWC, I stepped out of my bubble and arrived in a completely different environment. Everything was new: the country, the people, the culture. It was not what I wanted, but what I needed. I needed the challenge; I needed to own my life. At school, I realised on the very first day that I was not only being challenged mentally but also academically. Experiencing the UWC adventure was a challenge, and I don't regret coming here a single bit. It has helped me grow as a person more than I ever thought, and it has shown me ways to improve as a person more than I ever imagined.
In life, it is true that we grow up physically, but it is not always the case that, with age comes maturity. We mature when we face challenges when we step outside of our comfort zone when we compete with those who are better than us. UWC, at first glance, might seem simply a place to connect with people from all over the world, but it is so much more than that. It is the opportunity of a lifetime for you to develop as a person, as a global citizen. Students from more than eighty countries gathered in one place, what better peers could you find to learn from than them! At UWC, we are put in an environment where each of us is filled with contrasting differences. We have wholly different childhoods and stories to tell. And us coming together to share these experiences is magic of its own. So when you come to UWC keep in mind that everybody is as nervous as you are. The challenges that are thrown at you shall be overcome, and at the end of the day, you can look in the mirror and say "I am better than I was yesterday and tomorrow's me will be better than today's me. I am on a journey of continuous growth, and I am loving every moment of it."
We took the test and, as a result of my six-month break before travelling to UWCRCN, my mind was a blank slate. The test went horribly, and I thought it would be the same for everybody. I mean, no one can be prepared this early in the semester.
Oh, Boy was I wrong!
The other students were talking about how easy it had been; someone even said that they wanted to drop out because he had covered all the chapters already. As you might have guessed already, this was an extreme shock to me. My view of my fellow classmates was shredded to reveal that they were far from equals. That was when I realised that I had a long way to go.
Coming to UWC, I stepped out of my bubble and arrived in a completely different environment. Everything was new: the country, the people, the culture. It was not what I wanted, but what I needed. I needed the challenge; I needed to own my life. At school, I realised on the very first day that I was not only being challenged mentally but also academically. Experiencing the UWC adventure was a challenge, and I don't regret coming here a single bit. It has helped me grow as a person more than I ever thought, and it has shown me ways to improve as a person more than I ever imagined.
In life, it is true that we grow up physically, but it is not always the case that, with age comes maturity. We mature when we face challenges when we step outside of our comfort zone when we compete with those who are better than us. UWC, at first glance, might seem simply a place to connect with people from all over the world, but it is so much more than that. It is the opportunity of a lifetime for you to develop as a person, as a global citizen. Students from more than eighty countries gathered in one place, what better peers could you find to learn from than them! At UWC, we are put in an environment where each of us is filled with contrasting differences. We have wholly different childhoods and stories to tell. And us coming together to share these experiences is magic of its own. So when you come to UWC keep in mind that everybody is as nervous as you are. The challenges that are thrown at you shall be overcome, and at the end of the day, you can look in the mirror and say "I am better than I was yesterday and tomorrow's me will be better than today's me. I am on a journey of continuous growth, and I am loving every moment of it."
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