I grew up calling a two-room apartment my home. As we shifted three more times, I realized that home is where my family is.
A family of 5 turned into a family of 7 and just like that my home expanded.
My friends make me feel at home. A book makes me feel at home.
When I started studying at UWC Red Cross Nordic, a room with five cozy cubicles became my home and my roommates made me feel at home.
I found out in the most pleasant way ever that you can have more than just one home. You don’t have to grow up in a place to call it home. You don’t have to be blood related to people to call them home.
Home is where you feel like you belong. Home is where YOU are accepted. You get to decide what, where and who to call home.
I get to decide my homes.
In less than a week I will be starting another adventure. To be honest, I am not sure what to expect specifically from my Gap year in Brazil (still not concrete) but I am positive that in 8 months I will return with bags of memories and more homes to add to my list. In 8 months I will not be the same person, as I will have changed, may it be big or small changes. Every experience teaches me something and with every knowledge I gain I become more me than I ever was. I am on a constant search to learn more about myself and the only way I can possibly do that is to put myself in new circumstances and challenges. That’s how I decided to take this Gap year. Another valid reason – I don’t feel ready for university just yet. I am not ready to push myself into more years of academics right after the last two years of IB. I am taking a break from all things academics and just hoping to take this year to educate myself more holistically. But most importantly to take what I have learned at RCN – cultural sharing and community building – and applying it in the world.
I am very excited for these upcoming months in Brazil (or maybe another country – haven’t got the green light yet *visa problems*), I am excited to meet new people, to learn and to experience a new culture. I am looking forward to giving and receiving. I have been counting down months which now have turned to days which will soon turn into hours. I am a ball of nervousness, curiosity, and excitement and I am not going to lie, a hint of fear lies among it all. Come what may, I am as ready as I can be.
I plan on using this platform to take you along with me on this journey. It’s also a great way for me to keep in touch with you guys. As many of you might already know, I am pretty bad at keeping in touch.
For those who don’t know me but subscribed anyway, first of all, THANK YOU, second of all, through my unwritten future posts I hope you will get to know me better and vice versa. So, please don’t hesitate to leave comments and questions – after all, I expect this to be a two-way street. I hope to post pictures of moments that speak to me and hopefully will speak to you too. I will write honestly and be true to my feelings. I hope my blog will be of help to anybody who would want to participate in the Global Citizen Year Program, or even to anyone who is considering to take a gap year. And to those who have started Uni or are starting soon all the luck and enjoy.
Until then enjoy the rest of your summer break.
Hugs,
Tenzin
