My first year of high-school was overwhelming yet exhilarating  Do the multiple experiences that I have gone through over this year  I have grown and developed mentally and though my journey and really feel that through my first High School experience here in uwc it was very memorable and I will bring the life lessons that I’ve learned over this past year on to my next few years of high school.  United World College of South East Asia has been my home for the past 11 years and through my experiences here I’ve grown so much as an individual and hoped that my new life my name is you send it to me will be able to create memories that will last as long as the ones I’ve made here. new

 

My first significant experience here was culturama. I said it’s only my first year I did not expect to be able to participate in this event. But I am glad that I was able to be chosen as I not only created friendships branching out to new people, but it also allowed me to gain a better sense of commitment. Through having 3 rehearsals a week and multiple sacrifices of my lunchtimes I gained a better sense of how important my participation and commitment was as we had to all work together as a team in order to create an amazing performance. Through the idea of this event itself, I also gained a greater appreciation for the cultural diversity and acceptance in our school, as it is often taken for granted. This not only was a boost to my confidence so early on in the year through performing in front of large crowds but also became one of the most memorable experiences here in UWC.

 

Another important part of my high school experience has been participating in preseason and ACSIS softball team. Softball has been a passion of mine since middle school and being able to compete at a more serious level and at tournaments really strengthened me mentally. I was really fulfilled with my growth in skill this season as I really feel that my participation in the preseason and in games was a very rewarding moment for me. Through this experience, I have developed a true passion for this sport and will continue to develop my skills in my new school.Being in ninth grade at first I was intimidated by the older players as they had a greater development of skill. But as I had participated in events such as culturama prior, I had already developed friendships with the girls and felt like I was in a much more comfortable environment to make mistakes and challenge myself. I was also honored to be able to be named as vice-captain to my team which was also a very memorable experience as I gained a sense of leadership and developed skills of efficient communication that allowed me to withhold this title.

 

As being a UWC student for 11 years the service learning aspect if our school’s values have had a major implement on my service journey these past years. This year I was fortunate enough to have participated in boomerang bags. Plastic waste and consumption have been a significant rising issue these past years. And especially as we have grown and matured we realize the real impacts plastic consumption is having on our futures. Through this issue, I decided to participate in a service that I believed would make a changing impact on plastic use in our community. Through this service, I developed basic skills of using sewing machines, threading, cutting, etc. I also really feel that through my participation we have made an actual impact on our community as we have placed these bags in the school shop, by the boarding house and handed them out to parents during the family festival. This was a very rewarding feeling knowing the influence our service has had upon our school community.

 

Another sport opportunity that I have taken this year is taking part in preseason volleyball. Volleyball has been an intimidating sport for me to try, as I had no prior experience to this season. But through the supporting coaches and my close friends who were able to guide me along with this experience, I have developed a much more open-minded relationship with this sport. Not only that it has become a sport in which I hope to continue, and gain a better understanding of the sport itself and the skills that come alongside it. As I had never participated in a real volleyball tournament before my first game was nervewracking. I was unaware of myself and overwhelmed by the idea of a competitive game alongside the skillful teammates around me. But with the supportive environment that this tournament, as well as my teammates, offered I gained a lot of knowledge about the sport and was able to have that experience of a competitive atmosphere. In my new school, I hope to continue this sport and even try out for the team. Therefore I am glad for the risks I took within this sport and am thankful for my friends and their help throughout my journey.

 

Even though activities and athletics have been a major part of my high school experience, academics and my journey in my academics has been an undeniable aspect of my year. Science was a subject that greatly intimidated me when starting out as I believed there to be so much content that we needed to learn in such a short amount of time. But I was so lucky to have 2 amazing science teachers that were able to slowly guide me and help me test the waters of how my learning was developed best. Through ups and downs in my academic year, I was able to learn so many things about myself as a learner that I was previously not aware of. Such as being a visual learner and that videos and physical demonstrations of content allowed me to digest and comprehend knowledge better. And through this understanding of myself as a learner I was able to apply this to other subjects I found challenging such as maths, and the finance unit in enterprise. But subjects such as English which I was not particularly fond of in middle school, has come to be one of my favorite subjects as I felt the warming environment of Ms. Levy’s classroom has really made an impact on the way that I think of English as a whole. I have gained such a deep-rooted appreciation for this subject and the learning I have gained.

 

Overall I feel that my years in uwc have been so rewarding and to see my development as a person be implemented into the events, activities, sports, as well as academics that I have participated in during high school. Uwc has been such a large part on my development and I would not have come out with the same values and characteristics as I have now if it was not for the environment that this school has provided me with. As we have learned in Gpers, your values can be argued to be genetics or environmental and countless studies have proven to both sides. But, I really feel that uwc has been the most significant aspect of my environment that has shaped me to be the person making the same decisions I am today. I will greatly struggle to leave such a unique and special school but feel that through the qualities this school has implemented within me that I will be ready to handle the challenges that my future years in highschool thow at me.