The Home Stretch

     When I came to UWC, there was absolutely no doubt in mind that I was making the right choice. I knew that this was where I wanted to be, studying with 200 other kids from around the world, hoping to one day make a difference. I remember my very first glimpse of the castle, and quite honestly, I think a part of me still thought the whole concept of UWC was a dream until we rounded that corner and saw the red turret dominating the side of the mountain. "Montezuma": a tiny town in the middle of New Mexico, a place where the world comes together.

My first glimpse of UWC-USA- August 2012

     Yesterday I rounded the corner again, drove past the "Montezuma" sign, watched the red and gray become bigger, this time nestled comfortably into the mountains, a familiarity that can only be associated with a place called "home". But this trip was different. Now I was returning for my final semester at UWC.
     I cannot possibly express how wonderful my time here has been. I have made lifelong friends. I have grown as an individual, through studying, through attempting and loving new experiences, through opening my mind to a world of possibilities. And while I know that my UWC experience will only grow from this point onward- even beyond the campus gates- I cannot help but feel sad knowing that our time here is ticking down.
     It seems like everywhere we turn my co-years and I are checking off items on a list. Orientation? Check. Buddy Dance? Check. Third Semester? Check. Though we have five months remaining, I know how quickly they will pass, that very soon it we will be we who are standing on a stage, waving diplomas, saying good-byes.
     In the next few months my classmates and I will be receiving letters that will determine where we will be in the coming years. I cannot wait to see where my friends will end up; as talented and brilliant as they all are, I know everyone will go on to live grand new adventures, be they university, gap years, or whatever else.
     And I am excited for myself as well. Though I do not yet know where I'll find myself come August, I do know that I have been prepared for anything that may come my way. I hope to meet the future with excitement and with the energy to continue living my dreams.
     But for now, I have five more months to make the most of. Though there will be much working and studying and applying myself, I also look forward to making new friends, to making memories, to trying new things. This is the homestretch, the last leg of a journey that I will remember for the rest of my life. On what will I look back and smile?

Let Fourth Semester begin. Bring it on.

Happy Holidays from UWC-USA

In Memory

     In a place that is usually filled with laughter, announcements, cultural shows, and movie nights, there was a single canvas sitting upright on a chair, in the middle of the stage. Lit by a single lamp, the outline of a great man. The rest of the room just barely lit, a semi-circle of chairs.
     "Today we are sad for the death of a great man, a hero of our time. But we also celebrate his life, and all of the lives that he touched."
     It surprised me how emotional the following hour turned out to be. I'd expected a few words by our president, perhaps a song, a moment of silence. But, as always at UWC, it is the people, the personal experiences, that make the moment.
     We all stood for the South African national anthem. I admit I was surprised by the joy of the song. The anthem of my country calls for solidarity, unity, greatness. The words I heard this evening, in a language I did not understand, called for a simple celebration of life. Perhaps the words change the song, and perhaps the dimness of the room and solemnity of my fellow classmates exacerbated the moment, but nevertheless it was powerful.
     Then a song by our African Chorus. Introduced by the story of the same song being sung a world away for the first time. Written for Mandela, and performed, against all social constrains, by a group of both black and white individuals. Performed years later in a small school in New Mexico, celebrating the life of their honorary president.
     And then personal accounts. There was one from one of our students who represents South Africa, one from one of our teachers, one from a Swazi student, and another from a teacher. The short account given by J, one of our English teachers stuck with me. He spoke of growing up in Lesotho, a little boy of six who saw the world very simply. He told of growing up and learning that the world he'd thought he lived in, simple and peaceful, was not at all true. He described his friends and caretakers, who'd loved him though he wasn't one of them. And he recounted attending a concert with his black friends, who at the end had stood with a fist raised high in the air. Later he'd seen hundreds and hundreds of fists raised for Mandela. J spoke simply and earnestly and brought tears to everyone's eyes.
     It is not that any of my classmates or teachers spoke of anything unusual. In fact, I don't think anyone in the room had even met Nelson Mandela. Yet being reminded of the difficulties this one man had faced, the number of lives he'd touched, how he lived his life knowing what was right and maintained his vision of peace, it was difficult not to feel a deep sense of respect. My peers and I can only dream of living such a life.
     After the auditorium, the entire group was led up to our Mandela Peace Garden, guided by a singing African Chorus. The path was lined with candles, as was the entire garden. After a few more words from our president, and some chanting from one of our teachers, we closed the commemoration.
     I suppose it wasn't the ceremony that made the time so significant, but rather the notions. Here we were, a bunch of kids hoping to change the world, celebrating a man who had done just that. It was inspiring, and motivating, and I hope that one day we too can serve the world. I felt honored to be present at this celebration, and lucky to be a part of the UWC mission.
   

Disclaimer

     I was recently made aware that my blog does not exactly reflect the experience of every other UWCer out there. At least two different individuals informed me that coming here was not quite what they'd expected after having read my blog.
     Therefore, this is my Official Disclaimer. If you are a potential UWC student, please know that I can only report my own experience; I cannot generalize the entire experience as any other individual might encounter it. And for any current UWCer, especially here at USA, I apologize if you feel I have not accurately illustrated what you consider this experience to be.
   
      But I think this is part of the beauty of UWC. We all come from different backgrounds, different cultures, and different ways of thinking. And we all go through the IB and CAS, but what each of us takes from this adventure is very unique and often very personal.
     Today I and three of my co-years sat through a CAS interview, a discussion about the challenges and lessons we've encountered through our leadership CASs. It was extremely interesting. On the one hand, we all admitted to facing some struggles working cohesively with our respective groups, and even more so with the people in the community (particularly middle school kids... let's jut admit that it's an awkward phase in everyone's life), but each of us also had individual stories to relate and had learned and come across various ideas. I was reminded how impressive it is that, being given similar experiences, we all take something different away.
     On the greater scale, our lives are just like this. Every person we meet, every place we visit, or even something like every radio commercial that we hear, each changes our life in some small way and creates an infinity of incidents that expand into millions and millions of possible lives. It's difficult to wrap your head around, and beautiful, and incredible.
     Alright, alright, I won't get too philosophical or profound; it's just a thought that's been on my mind lately.

     In other news, UWC continues to be ever surprising. Last weekend we had two performance events: Halloween Cafe (an informal set performed by any willing students) and our first Castle Concert of the year. Both were full of incredibly talented performers; I never fail to be completely blown away by my peers. We also had some hilarious pass-down performances in the cafe (my personal favorite was the Backstreet Boys). One of the best elements of these performance situations is the atmosphere- there is so much love and support and joy surrounding the talent and creativity demonstrated, and it makes the community feeling so much nicer.
If you'd like to see the Castle Concert, click HERE. It's quite good.

Other than that, we're forging on with Third Semester. There's still a lot of work and life is busy as always, but as the semester moves forward, I'm definitely looking forward to the Thanksgiving and the winter holidays, and hopefully some snow before that. Fingers crossed!

The Other Reason

     There are a few different answers a UWC student might give you if you ask them "why UWC?". Many of us came here because we are interested in international politics or business, some say UWC gives you a boost for college applications, other wanted to study abroad, etc. But, regardless of why we initially came here, there is one reason we all love UWC so much: the people.
     Living on a closed campus with 250 people can be difficult sometimes. We're still normal human beings, we still have conflicts, and, especially as teenagers, we sometimes get a little hard to handle. But for the most part, I'd bet you could ask anyone on campus and they'll tell you they've made lifelong friends here. Living together 24/7 (or 25/8!) means that we see each other in all of our stages, the good ones- happy, excited, proud- but also the not so good ones- sick, tired, post-workout, sleepy. It means that we know each other very well. When someone looks out of sorts, we notice, and we're there to support that person.
     Recently I've been reflecting on my friendships here. This year started out a little roughly. It was much more difficult than I expected to return to a place so full of memories, but empty of half of the people who had made it so special. Top that with 100 new indiviudals, with two very strong, but dynamically different class personalities, and there were a lot of people, including me, feeling a little lost.
     Swamped with work and big decisions, I've found myself spending much of my time alone, sitting in my room working. It's important, yes, but also exhausting. Luckily, I can honestly say that I am surrounded by incredible friends who have shared both the highs and lows, and with whom I continue to laugh and make memories. I am so grateful to have such a strong class full of classmates who are interesting, talented, caring, fun, and who, together, make up such a great group.
     But there's another group of people who I should also mention and who I've recently come to appreciate a little more. Our first years. Quite honestly, guys, y'all were a handful in the beginning. I mean that in the most loving way, of course. We didn't expect for you to be so self-sufficient and cogent, and I think that threw us off a bit. Also, in case you hadn't noticed, you have some very... "big" characters in your class who initially overshadowed the diversity. But lately I've had the chance to get to know many of you, and I am so glad I have. You guys have a lot to offer, besides being just really great individuals, and I look forward to spending more time talking with you, or playing silly games in the castle, or working together in CAS.

     Oh, really quickly, one more thing from the first years. I guess I knew people were reading my blog, but I figured it was mostly my family and friends, or random strangers who accidentally stumbled across the webpage and didn't really read it. I was apparently wrong. Twice this year, first years approached me and told me they'd been reading my blog before they came to UWC. Turns out they were both surprised to meet me as one thought I'd graduated and the other wasn't completely sure I was a real person (or at least that's what I understood). C and O, you girls made me happy to know I'm actually being read and I'm glad that you're here and that I get to know you.

     Alright, what do you say, enough mushy friend stuff? OK. Basically, I'm just really grateful for the friendships I have- thank you :)

END

     Among all the college applications, CASs, IB assignments, and homework, it's been easy, at least for me, to forget the point of UWC. But last night, thanks to a lot of work from a bunch of Europeans, I'm happy to say I was reminded.
     I've explained cultural days before, so you've heard about NAD and CLAD. This time, it was END- European National Day. The evening started off with a lovely dinner, themed "Opera", including Spanish gazpacho, Hungarian goulash, German schnitzel, Polish pierogi, French crepes, and Italian tiramisu. Altogether the food and entertainment were magnificent. Following dinner, everyone moved to the auditorium for the show.
     I have to say, going into the END experience, I was skeptical. Biased, having led NAD, and beside the fact that I am actually European and was part of the show, I wasn't expecting anything too outstanding. But with hearty congratulations, I have to admit that I was very, very wrong. The show was really impressive. With a good mix of humor, depth, and variety, I think everyone left the auditorium feeling both more educated about European culture, as well as reflective. Check out the link below to see the performances (and see if you can spot me in the Language Tree skit and Jumpstyle, the dance with lights).
     Though the party- themed "apres-ski"- was hindered by technical issues, the evening overall was really fun and impressive. It reminded me of the bigger picture: why I'm here, where I want to go, and of all of the incredibly intelligent, talented people with whom I get to share this experience.
     With college application deadlines drawing near, I look forward to having a bit more free time to make the most of my UWC opportunities and return to learning about the world from its citizens.

http://new.livestream.com/uwc-usa/events/2474306

Second Year Survival Week

Third Semester is supposed to be busy. And everyone knows it. There are college applications, essays, supplements, interviews, SATs, Extended Essay, Internal Assessments, Leadership, and, of course, regular classes. It's very busy, sometimes overwhelming, but, overall, doable. 

This week is called Second Year Survival Week. Last year, as first years, we experienced this time as Southwest Studies- a time for all first years to embark on various trips around the Southwest. In the meantime, the second years stay on campus and "survive" all the work. 

Although it sounds like a lot, I'm personally enjoying this week. It's nice to have some quiet time to get all of my work together and reflect on the future, as well as have some fun with co-years (game nights in the auditorium are... interesting? hilarious? either way a great stress reliever)

I won't write too much, and I apologize for not having posted recently, but there's lots of work to be done. I'll come back soon with something a little more exciting and UWC-y. Until then, happy Survival Week!