Oookay and look what happened to me thinking that no my blog wouldn't end up being inactive despite how busy we'd get. I'm determined we turn this around, it's still not too late in the game with one year left, and y'all can laugh at me if this winds up being the only post in the few months to come. (which I suspect there being a 99.9% chance of happening but what are the odds we beat the odds)
So, first year has come to an end. I do realize that I haven't given an update ever since second term started, and it would take forever to describe every little thing in detail, but to sum up: ever since Winter Break, life at Pearson has been beyond imagination and despite the combination of highs and lows, laughter and tears and agitation and emotional turmoils, I wouldn't have traded it for anything else.
One World, Project Week, Golden Shoe; besides those events, on-campus life has been full of vibrance and joy just being able to spend time with people, enjoying nature, the scenery, spontaneous adventures and late-night conversations that leave me zombie-like the next morning but wouldn't trade for anything otherwise. That's the thing with Pearson, really; there's never going to be enough time to balance academics, social life, extra-curriculars and more, but you learn to prioritize what's important and what to sacrifice. Something to remember being that you only spend one year with the same community of people in such a unique proximity, and that there's nothing else that could ever measure up to this. Wise words I've gotten from conversations about this, 'as long as you enjoy it in the moment and it feels right, who cares?'
Which was something I had to constantly remind myself the last 3 months as I struggled with self-expectations in terms of grades, strengthening bonds, the dreaded SATs, and increasing workload with everything that we'd learned throughout the year crashing down in a series of finals. The thing with Pearson is, and perhaps the beauty of it, is that you get so accustomed to everything that even with the knowledge that the final goodbyes are looming and that you'll never get to experience anything like this again, everything feels so normal up until the final moment and even then I'm in awe of how the campus can still be so familiar upon being so empty. Yet I stare at the empty parking lot moments after the last bus has departed, eyes tired from only 3 hours of sleep in the last three days and from crying my eyes out and I'm filled with nothing but warmth and if any hollowness in my heart only from the void that is the sense of community, the time we spent together laughing and crying together the night before at the last Musical Cafe, the final few days of sunshine and company, and making use of what's left to solidify the friendships that mean the most and to make the most out of every remaining moment. And I think the whole reason it hurts so much is because it was so beautiful in the first place, because it means so much, and that's why it aches. But eventually this will heal, and leave us with nothing but the imprint of the year we spent together with all our crazy adventures.
Returning to Pearson will be difficult, for that I am sure, but in me there is also a sense of anticipation to return to that beautiful community, to welcome our first years and open their eyes up to all Pearson has to offer, and to be every bit the second year for them as ours have been to us. Year 44, there will never be words that can completely capture what you mean to us, but there is nothing but so much love and gratitude for you all.
UWC isn't perfect, and it isn't the utopia many people picture it to be. Rather, it's what you make of it yourself. And so as I sit back home (and seriously not knowing what to do with the sudden lack of a packed schedule), reflecting back on the past year and how everything has come to change, and as I see Year 46 full of that anticipation that I had exactly one year ago, I wonder what I would've thought had I been able to foresee the future, or if I'd change anything to lessen some of the pain I went through this year or obstacles I'd had to face. And honestly?
In all the imperfect there is, I think I caught a glimpse of perfection.
I don't think I'd change one bit of it for the world.