Grade 9 has been a great year for me. I moved away from my home in India and shifted into the boarding house, beginning my first year in UWC. I have learned. a lot since I came here, and there were a few things I discovered about myself and some things I wanted to improve on.
Moving to a new country, I gained a lot of exposition. In India, most of my friends were Indian, and we all grew up in similar backgrounds, so we all behaved a certain way. Meeting people here, I noticed how different they were from me. I made friends of several ethnicities and learned about many different cultures. I discovered things about myself such as my hobbies and what I’m good at.
In my old school in India, I was quite average in mathematics. I wasn’t bad, but compared to my peers I fell somewhere in between. This may be a stereotype, but in my old school we were mostly Indians, and Indians are known to excel at maths. After coming here, I was initially doing the regular CIM course, but by pushing myself further than I did earlier, I made it to the add maths course halfway through the year. I didn’t really have a hobby when I was growing up, I was a ‘nose in book’ kind of child, and evolved into a ‘nose in screen’ kid. But after moving to Singapore, I discovered a new love for cooking. Back in India my mom used to cook a lot, and I used to be her ‘sous chef’, and one day I was missing home food, so I decided to give a go at making it myself, and it wasn’t half bad. From then onwards I cooked quite often for my friends and family, and love doing it.
One thing I really wanted to work on after coming to Singapore was my physical lifestyle. I am not very sporty, and growing up I was never that good at sports, which is why I avoided them. So I took it upon myself to start playing some sports. I tried out for the rugby team as my friends told me I would be good, but since it was my first time playing ever, and due to the fact that I am not really the pinnacle of fitness, I didn’t make it. But in the 3rd quarter, I tried out boxing and Muay Thai which I really enjoyed. It motivated me to start being a bit more physical in my day to day life.
Overall, this year has been great for me. I have made many friends, I have discovered new talents, new hobbies, and I have even worked on myself a bit. I am glad I took the choice to come to Singapore and broaden my horizons.