It has been four years since I have joined the United World College South East Asia, East Campus in Singapore. Hand in hand with its challenges, UWC has played a big role in shaping the person I am today. It has helped me craft a space for myself, that is wide and open, allowing and accepting inputs from multiple sources. Along with that, it has also taught me to stand with confidence and work hard for what I believe in. Conforming to popular thought isn’t natural to me. I do what I believe is best; stemming from my drive for perfection I am not afraid to stand out and go the extra mile. Always encouraged to question, and not blindly accept things, I find myself in possession of a curious and investigative nature. I don’t just believe what I am told, and stop there.
As a fifteen-year-old, my goals in terms of a larger scale in life are not quite clear. However, I have definitely set myself objectives in terms of a relatively smaller scale. An example being school: I would like to receive top grades in my IGCSE exams, as well as get the most of out of my UWC experience whilst I am here. In order to achieve objectives such as these, I have also set myself a few targets. An example being: improving my personal time-management skills, which play a big role in my life.
There are numerous moments and experiences that have led to building the person I am today, and in turn the goals I have set for myself. A fair share of them have taken place at UWC. One of the most significant has been my outdoor education trips. When I first joined in sixth grade, I had never been by myself without my parents for a trip. The idea of going to Tioman island on an expedition had terrified me. The trip in itself had its fair share of obstacles as well. However, by the second trip to Sibu, I had begun to enjoy the expeditions far more. By the third trip to Chiang Mai, I had started to look forward to the trips and had completely gotten over my homesickness. The span of these trips had made me realize that if I set myself up for challenges instead of being afraid of them, I would learn and gain so much more out of experiences. It was this newfound courage that encouraged me in stepping up to new challenges such as Skydiving, Parasailing, etc. and acquiring a love for them.
Since I was small, I have always had a special place in my heart for books. Yet another special experience has been my indulgence in our school’s huge library, which has made it easy to have access to so many books, and in turn so many stories. One of my absolute favorites has been the ever-famous Harry Potter series. Hermione Granger, an important character in the series had been one of my role models whom I looked up to inspiration during the entirety of my childhood. She has helped me find the determination to work hard enough and be able to achieve my goals.
All in all, dreams will remain dreams, until and unless we work hard enough to turn them into reality. However, doing so is not easy, it requires commitment and resilience to keep going when things don’t always turn out exactly how you planned them out to. I plan to move closer to my goals taking things step-by-step, and day-by-day.
Even so, as we get older it is but natural, that our aspirations and goals may change and alter to fit our circumstances. I trust that along with the support of my friends and family, I will be able to consider whether my goals remain ‘’right’’ for me. Moreover, as of here and now, I am content with the goals I have set for myself and the plan that I am following to reach them.
-Shruti Doshi