Month: October 2019

Living in a boarding school for eight years can change anyone’s perspective of ‘normal.’

Normal kids plan on what movies to watch over the weekend, while we plan out our next laundry day. Most kids looked at me with pity the second I mentioned ‘boarding school.’ Some even asked me what I did to make my parents send me away. They’re expecting metal bunker beds, non-stop fighting and a whole lot of crying after watching ‘Taare Zameen Par.’

How am I supposed to explain that the place, in all it’s cliched-ness, became a home?

I could list the place’s shortcomings for days on end. The bath water alternates between lava-hot and bone chilling cold, everyone is loud or everyone is quiet and pissed because you’re loud. It may not be easy to make friends because everyone is so different, leading to clashes between groups. You can’t always do things your way, because someone or the other will call you out if you’re wrong. Even if you are right, people will still be against you. You are also faced with the fact that if you want to be set apart from the rest, you’ve got to fight tooth and nail. It’s a savage place in that way, because it’s students pitted against other students.

Sounds frustrating? Well, it is.

But a fact that I keep repeating to myself is that these are obstacles you can face head-on. You can still find people who you fit in with, you can still excel in different fields if you have dedication, and that you can always learn from your mistakes.

You can’t do much about the water, though.

It’s hard to remember all the good things, but at the end, you see them—the victory hug after a stressful match, a walk on the football field right before a teacher catches you, the smuggled chocolate that you end up sharing, the chorus of good-nights as the lights go off. The frantic study sessions, the secrets between unlikely people and the feeling of crying into a friend’s chest.

The drawback of a boarding school is that it’s fixed in nature. You’re there and you can’t do anything about it. At the same time, though, you become a stronger person. You learn to deal with them, to focus on the good, because there is a lot of it. It is human to focus on the bad. Boarding school makes you notice that, and helps you move away from it.

The benefit of a boarding school is that it’s fixed in nature.

Do you ever wonder how to make current affairs fun for teenagers? Take it from me, I couldn’t have cared less about politics before attending my first MUN. I used to think politics was something my parents used to worry about. I’d rather think about how Zack and Cody troubled Mr. Morby today.

I was introduced to MUNs in the 9^th grade. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I knew it was some kind of debate, and we had to represent some country, and look super-attractive in formals.

On the 25^th of December, 2016, I heard this one statement that has resonated with me since. “MUNs change your life.” At that point, I thought MUNs were completely overrated, but the following year, I realized that the statement was true.  When I won my first MUN, I had this feeling of accomplishment that I had never felt before.  For the first time, I felt like I could accomplish whatever I put my heart into. That is something every young adult needs. We give teenagers these books and make them feel worthy if they score above 90%. If they don’t, they spend their whole life believing they’re stupid or average.

Debating about things like organized crime or drug-related violence at the age of 14 or 15 not only gives you immense knowledge about the subject, but also helps you find your voice, teaches you to voice your opinions, listen to other people, build relationships, talk to and interact with all kinds of teenagers, learn to become leaders—whew! I’ve barely made a start!

MUNs give you clarity, exposure and a new way of consuming knowledge that you’ll never forget. Today, thanks to my MUNning record, I am eligible for one of the top business schools in the world: The University of New South Wales. I could organize an MUN at school, and call myself the Secretary–General. Now, I love politics, and I’m continuing to grow leaders whilst working on myself.

You must get yourselves involved in active learning and find your passion outside of books, because studying is not always learning.