It’s always hard to answer when someone asks, “ Do you regret? If you could go back in time, would you have chosen the same decision?”
Me 1.5 years ago, solely knowing that this was going to be a life-changing experience, couldn’t foresee anything. I gripped the handles of my two suitcases firmly and entered the airport. At that time, I would’ve never imagined myself crying so badly after 1.5 years in this small country on the other side of the the world.
UWC provides you countless opportunities. The diversity of the student body gives you the chance to learn new languages and cultures, to meet new people, to challenge yourself. The fact that it’s a IB school let you experience a different way of learning apart from what we have in Taiwan. The resources and this supportive community motivate you to take initiative. There are service weeks, numerous extracurriculars, theme weeks and days, forums, speeches, and activities. UWC is a weird place. It bombards you with everything, so you try to make the most out of it, and it becomes chaotic and you stumble and fall, then you get up and try it again, sometimes by yourself, sometimes with a hand of others. There were moments when I was so lost and culturally shocked that I didn’t know my position in this community, but then there were times when I felt so determined because I was challenged by people, ideas, and tasks. Many nights I felt that I was fighting all on my own and everything seemed to be pointless, but the next day people gave you their hugs and smiles with the morning sunlights. There was me in the first semester idolizing everything in the western world, and here am I appreciating the beauty of my language and culture. Tons of times I complained a lot about what the school could’ve done better, but it also made me enjoy pure little happiness like a cup of hot chocolate under fairy lights or the purple sunset with a group of friends.
So do I regret it if there were so many ups and downs, if UWC isn’t a perfect utopia after all? My answer is yes. Yes for all the ups of course, but also yes for all the downs because that’s how we grow in life. We strive then thrive. UWC is hard, but it’s how you learn. You learn that a small action can make big ripples. You learn that life can be a jerk sometimes and you just have to grin and bear it. You realize that you are inferior, and that you are privileged. You are asked to be politically correct, to think deeper, to be involved and active. You are encouraged to step out of your comfort zone. You learn to be alone and to take care of yourself, but do reach out to people when needed. And most importantly, you learn through these inspiring people around you and their virtues and through all the obstacles you are facing.
UWC is a weird place, by the time you realize, it is over––especially for my generation, it has ended in such an abrupt way. But it has been such an influential, intimate, and beautiful experience for me. The truth is, no matter how hard I try in the future to find another place to replace UWC and to re-experience its magic on me, I know I won’t find one. All of them will have some fragmented similarities of UWC but never the whole. So I cried. I cried because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. It was like throwing away your old favorite teddybear as a child. It meant everything, but the time had come and you needed to let it go. And that’s the hardest part––letting things go. Knowing that you might not see this place and the people again, and even if you do come back in the future, nothing is the same anyway.
But I guess this is just another thing that we have to learn. The final life lesson UWC gave me.