I originally came to UWC Costa Rica to push myself out of my comfort zone. And yes indeed, that’s exactly what I did. But along this journey, I got so much more than what I came here for. It took me a while to get used to because in the frenzy that you call first year it’s easy to lose the reason that brought you here. Eventually you start asking yourself the question “what the heck did I get myself into?” and the idea of packing up and going home pops into your head more and more. Once summer rolls around the corner that thought becomes reality and you finally get to go home.

You take that thirty plus hour trip halfway around the world and in those thirty plus hours you try to remember who you were before coming here. You were probably a bit skinnier, a little more shy, a little more dependent on others, and a little more unaware of the challenges that you were about to face. When you get home, you land, and the familiar sights, sounds, and smells fill your eyes, ears, and nose. In that moment, at least for me, your life in UWCCR seems like a distant dream. Your summer passes by more uneventful than you had hoped though. Your friends seem different to you and you ask yourself whether it’s them or you that has changed. A place that you have missed for an entire year becomes a place you can’t wait to leave, and once you do, comes that even bigger frenzy called second year.

You think by now you understand the workings of the school, but do you really? The question “what the heck did I get myself into?” is still there, but you have come to terms with it; it’s not that bad, you’re halfway there. Halfway through the IB, but also halfway to graduation. The dreaded trimester four begins, and you realize you either nap or study your way through it, but nonetheless you will make it through. From this point onward what is important is not that you made it through, but it is the people you made it through with; those broken friendships you mended and the new people you meet and talk to.

I originally came to UWC Costa Rica to push myself out of my comfort zone. And yes indeed, that’s exactly what I did. But along this journey, I got so much more than what I came here for. What I got is friends so close I consider family. My advice to future UWC Taiwan applicants: don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, don’t be afraid to make that big decision. If this is what I get everytime I step out of my comfort zone, I’ll take it again any day.