beginning of the end
A little late with this post, but my absence will be justified in the next few sentences! And just like that the first term of DP2 is over and I’m halfway through my final year at UWC. With university applications, extended essay and internal assessment discussions pretty much completed, it has undeniably been the most taxing term academically. As with everything, it’s also had its lessons, and no academic stress was going to stop us from living the UWC experience and all the extra-curricular madness it has to offer.
We kicked off the term earlier than everyone else as a couple of us returned early to prepare for the incoming firsties - NEW PEOPLE!!! It was bittersweet, knowing our second years wouldn’t be coming back but also that we were the grown ups now who were going to guide these “lost sheep”. I was so grateful we had done a majority of the planning prior to summer break because it made the week that much more seamless and relatively less stressful. Meeting these excited individuals who had arrived with the ideals of changing the world and bubbling with fresh ideas was an inspiring change. The week was filled with movies, discussions on countries in crisis, family dinners at Greenshop and the terrible jet lag everyone was experiencing (myself included of course).
September brought more to celebrate, not only the completion of the 4000 word Extended Essay for the G12s (which was one hell of a journey and learning process, but also somewhat gratifying to finish), we also had UWC Day!! As per last year, we spent the first half of the day doing service projects, either on or off campus, and the second half in workshops aligning with this year’s theme of Inspiring Change. For the first half, I was tasked with leading the project of repainting Shaka, the student-run cafe I work at. The activity included students spanning from Grade 6 right up to 12, so we decided to start the day with some ice-breakers to get to know each other before we kicked off the activity. I really appreciate days like UWC day because we get to bond with the younger grades and really take advantage of the K-12 system we have here at UWCT, learning how to work with people who have different interests from yourselves but still coming together to achieve a common goal. We spray painted Shaka to look like 3D bamboo (going for that natural Thai vibe), beginning the project with a bit of skepticism but becoming more convinced as the project neared completion. That afternoon, I had to give the workshops a miss to attend the quarterly Board Meeting, another thing I’ve learnt a lot from, being able to listen to the direction the school is heading in and provide a voice to the student body in such discussions. The day concluded with a Peace Poetry Slam paired with a stunning sunset, in which we all dressed up in our national costumes, paraded with our flags and shared pieces of literature and personal anecdotes that we thought symbolised peace. The diversity present, both physical and of thought, was beautifully inspiring and perfectly represented the UWC mission.
The next thing isn’t related to UWC Day but happened that night. So in Theatre for the majority of term 1 we were working on a collaborative project portfolio in groups of 4-5, going through the process of exploring stimuli and devising before producing a 15 minute piece. My group, comprised of Phoebe (Aruba, Hong Kong, Netherlands, USA), Aviv (Israel), Jasper (USA, Canada, Malaysia), Chanon (Thailand, Switzerland) and I, devised a piece that aimed to portray a day in the life of an individual with depression, and how it affects their daily relationship. It was a general call for people to be more empathetic and understanding of difficulties others may be facing. So that night, before we had figured out that whole storyline, we spent about 3 hours in the theatre room devising to random music from our individual playlists and playing around with the lights, trying to come up with ideas for our piece (while Jasper slept on the floor because he loves devising). The picture above shows the set that housed our impromptu devising, cool beans. We left the theatre room at like 11.50pm, just in time to get back to our rooms for curfew #ibtheatrestudents
October brought a whole new face (literally!) to UWCT, as Maya (US and UAE), Josh (Sri Lanka), Aviv and I shaved our heads for Breast Cancer Awareness Day. That morning, we held an assembly for Grades 9-12 and staff members in which we showed a video of families explaining the journey of members fighting the battle with cancer, as well as the value in early detection. We presented a couple of statistics, and in essence - cancer sucks. Please remember to check yourself and remind your loved ones to get checked. there's a 98% survival rate with early detection! The video below was created by Natalia on our headshave, check it out for raw emotion (Mert actually hurt my head with the razor - I didn't cry because I missed my hair).
November was another one for the books, presenting so many opportunities for growth but also meant a more taxing and tiring month. However, with the fatigue emerged interesting realisations and lessons about myself that I had failed to realise before. Bangkok treated me to two visits, the first for a Theatre Trip and the second for the Peace Summit (see story in other blog post). For the theatre trip we stayed at this fabulous film-themed hostel and were exposed to exquisite and thought-provoking pieces of art and performance, challenging preconceived notions on production elements and the way we present theatre and interact with the audience. For the first day, we watched traditional Thai Khon Theatre and had a boat ride along the Bangkok riverside before chilling for the evening at a hipster location filled with food, ventriloquists and other attractions. On the second day, on top of watching two plays, we had the option of going to malls or staying the day at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre to explore the exhibits. I opted for the latter, unconsciously missing out on meals as my mind indulged in the art on display, producing multiple works of poetry and self-reflection on the art and my interactions with it. My passion for the creative arts was reignited over this weekend, a reminder of why I feel in love with the performing arts - something I often forget when I get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life.
I think I fell of the balanced lifestyle wagon in November, when balancing all the internal assessment deadlines, Student Council and other commitments as well as some sort of a social life became a tad too demanding for my wellbeing. I became frustrated with mediums of communication and democracy, like in StuCo, as I found it pointless and a waste of time. However, as the frustration passed, I discovered that the moment we lost that element of communication, our efficacy declined too. I needed to learn how to deal with my frustration so it wouldn’t affect other activities, which is when I became more engaged in self-compassion and empathy and beginning to recognise my emotions rather than suppress them. I began to acknowledge that it’s alright to be immature, and if there’s any time to be immature, this is the best time to do it. This led to greater understanding of myself and my relationship with others, as I stopped worrying about an image I was trying to preserve but instead looked at what I truly wanted to do and let everything else fall into place.
We were treated to a great break in between deadlines and school work with UWCT’s annual Winter Gala organised by the Community Committee, an excellent event to bring the community together. The lights enveloped us in, leading from all corners of the room and uniting in the ceiling. The night began with performances from the school orchestra, to dances and songs from groups and individuals, concluding the night the only way we know how - DANCE PARTY! It was a great break from all the ongoing academic stress, and a perfect reason to dress up and look pretty for pictures.
Over the past term, I’ve enjoyed learning to live in the moment, recognising emotions that are new to me and learning how to deal with new levels of stress I’ve never experienced before. All these new experiences are exactly that, new. Which is why I have chosen to accept them with kindness and see where the rest of the year takes me. Exciting projects and experiences awaited the new year as I kicked off my break with a trip to Manila before heading home to spend Christmas and New Year. Stay tuned for all I got up to in the first half of term 2!
love,
pree