And here we are again. Another year has gone by. Too fast. The advance of time is inexorable. 2016 has honestly been the best year in my life. Well, maybe not the whole year but its first half for sure. A lot has changed, I have changed. Some of these changes were good, some not, but, as I always try to look at the bright side of things, I think that all of them brought something positive into my life.
As I said, the first half of 2016 was as perfect as it could have been. I made some new friendships, achieved lots of my goals, attained quite a lot when it comes to my adventure with the English language, changed my outlook on life, generally became a happier person that is no longer afraid to be one true self. What is much more important, though, is the fact that I spent the best last year at my beloved School so that now I only have positive memories of that time. And to crown it all, my biggest dream finally came true! I will never forget how absolutely blissful I was during those amazing 5 days I spent in London. I was figuratively floating on air and I didn't at all feel tired despite the amount of time we spent walking and visiting as many places as humanly possible. I will not forget the day I learnt about the trip either. How exited I was before I even knew anything, as if something inside me had already been giving me secret signs. And then my utter astohishment when the beans were finally spilled. It was the first time I had ever cried out of happiness. And it all became a reality thanks to my awesome teacher.
Those first few months of the year also meant a really hard work to me but it was the kind of work I enjoyed a lot. I had hundreds of thousands English competitions to prepare for, probably the most important and prestigious one being OJAG, and the more I studied, the better I felt. It was quite a challenge, indeed. It significantly contributed to my learning how to manage time efficiently, though, not to mention the vast amount of knowledge I gained. What's more, I overcame the fear of speaking English thanks to my vis-a-vis extra classes, which I absolutely loved by the way. They were honestly the reason why I woke up every day full of new energy and eager to go to school. Having said that, my score from the speaking part of OJAG reassured me that my skills did improve. Also, I daresay I became a more broadminded person during that period.
However, nothing lasts forever. The six months went by so quickly that I feel as if I had just blinked and they were gone. However much I didn't like it, the day when I had to say goodbye to my amazing school and awesome teachers came and I had nothing to say about it. For me, it was a very sad day indeed and I really struggled to resign to it. Graduating from that school was like stepping into a more adult life. I must admit I was scared of what would happen in September. I didn't want to trouble myself with it very much at the time, though, as I still had whole two months of holidays ahead of me.
The holidays were truly marvellous as I spent a month at my family's in Ireland. I had a whale of time there and cherished every opportunity to talk in English with the locals. It was a very enriching experience as I learnt a lot about the country, its people and their culture. Travel broadens the mind, they say. Having said that, I must admit that the Irish are incredibly friendly people. On coming back home, I again realised that I was well and truly beaten by the travel bug in 2016. Those two adventures I had in London and Ireland were just a beginning of what I hope will one day be a very long list of the countires I can tick off. Actually, I've been recently thinking of taking a gap year so that I can travel all over the world before I go to uni in London.
I was again forced to come back to the ground, though, when the first bell on September 1 went off. With that day I began a completely new life. I'd spent a lot of time thinking what high school to choose. Having considered many different options and weighed out all the pros and cons, I decided to turn my life of 360 degrees, maybe without really knowing that yet. My huge passion took me to a school so far from home that now I have to live in a student housing estate. That's therefore a completely new environment and completely new people. 'But why so far?' one may ask. My answer is, 'Because of the IB program.' When I heard that all the subjects are taught in English, I immediately knew it was where I had to go. I know very well that this is going to be quite a challenge but I like getting out of the comfort zone and testing myself. For now I do not regret my choice in the slightest though I would rather stay at my old school. But life is brutal and we don't always get what we want so I know I just have to move on.
Therefore, I hope 2017 will be a good year, and my plan is to start it with renewed energy and do my best to make it happen.
