Beginning where it ends.
As I begin typing, I see, from the corner of my eye, a dark blue jacket, hung on the wall of my room. A jacket which, on its back, emblazons the names of boys and girls who, for 8 years, have made this place their second home. One would wonder, how so many years of memories, or cries, of laughs, of struggles and of success fit so modestly now into one single bit of memorabilia. “Perhaps, is it meant to just be this way?” I presume.
On my last day as a student, as an ‘active Gandhian’, a man, by a handful of years my senior, told me:
“You will be in my shoes one day, and that day is the day after today.”
This man, was once in my shoes too; for the last time, he would walk down the curvy, dreamy alley that lead to Home; for the last time, he would tread the corridors hearing the faraway rustling of the leaves and the distant rumbling of the cars hurtling by on the motorway; for one last time, he would take in all those sensations: the sounds, the smells and most importantly, the views.
This singular sentence has remained in my mind ever since. Life is not meant to be lived one chapter at a time, for one takes the highlights of every chapter until one creates a story of one’s own. This school represents so many things for so many people all around the world; each one of us will take away one thing which will remain etched into our minds and hearts for life: a second home, a scary classroom, a Premier League-level football pitch, a state-of-the-art canteen, or simply, ever-present nature.
I giggle as I recall my very first day as a Gandhian. Adorning a crisp white shirt, fresh out of the store and knee-level shorts, a squared off haircut, trying to hold in my tears of apprehension, I saw this ginormous white line of concrete rise in front of me. It was a gloomy day, which only made things worse. Of course, I stepped into a puddle of muddy water the moment I got out of the car, and my crispy new white shoes were ruined for the day. What, at the time, felt like the beginning of something scary, would later turn into a collection of beautiful memories, of growth and of learning. Memories that I shall never dare trade, for anything!
Over 8 years, this place has taken me on the world’s most unpredictable of rollercoasters. The promise I had made to myself, to try my best to stay lowkey, and remain unseen until I left the school was soon enough broken. It turns out, this school helped me breakout of my own prison. I grew in a matter of weeks. I started speaking to people, which, at the time, was an achievement in its own regard. This school carried an energy which, even today, I fail to comprehend. It is not reassurance, nor is it security, far from that. I never felt at peace at school, perhaps because Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) was quickly labelled as the culmination of the 8 years I was going to spend between these walls (I was not!), and regularly, I would be reminded of it. This school carries something else. Something which, for every one of us, was - and is - different.
The culmination of my time at MGI has not been how I had expected it to be. My last year spent in its classrooms have been almost overwhelmingly anticlimactic. My idealistic, Disney-saturated-self had pictured a High-School-Musical-style ending to the year, and a Troy-and Gabriella-like love story to top it all off. To my surprise, it did not unfold that way (wow!). No, the culmination of my years at MGI has been much more intricate. The year before my last has been the most educational one for me. If there is any year where I grew and learned the most, it would hands down be that one… 2022. The year it all changed.
In retrospect, this school has taken more things away from me than it has given me - it took away my shyness, my doubts, my fears and gave me one thing, something that, I know, will stay with me forever: kindness (cliché, but true).
I left the school, but I will never leave Home.
Life starts now, folks. Embrace it, Live it, and most importantly, Love it.
“And if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?” - Bastille
