hawra8uwc-blog

[hawra8uwc-blog]

My Miracle

There is more in you than you think.

-Kurt Hahn

The last 24 hours of my life have been outrageous.

So yesterday started out beautifully. I got asked out to prom, though i kind of back-stabbed my best friend in the process. Regardless, I was happy to say in the least. But my day turned upside down when I had a huge fight with my grandma. There were tears. Still, I managed to regain some solace.

All of that came crashing down when the grade 11 (my grade) WhatsApp group blew up. One of the nominees (from my school) for Selection Day had been given a 100% scholarship to attend UWC Atlantic. I frantically refreshed my inbox over and over searching for an email but…nothing. Remember how I said my day had turned upside down, this was when my world turned upside down. I cried a little, but mostly I felt…empty. I had wanted this for 5 years, and it was gone poof.

So I called my mom who was abroad, choking back tears to tell her; her reply was “I think you will get in, just wait a day or two, what do you think?”. I said “I don’t know”.

I probably said to myself a billion times, “I need a miracle”.

My ultimate best friends called me and comforted me, thank God for them. After the long phone calls, I was able to fall asleep. However, I woke up at 4 am and checked my phone for any email…there was none. However I found out that another person from my school had been given a 100% scholarship to Costa Rica. This just broke my heart further. I could not sleep after that at all. Restlessness kept me awake till 5 am.

My morning felt bleak too. I figured i’d have to put a lot of effort into studying so I could get admission into an A-Level school.

Later that morning, while I was in the bathroom, I heard someone knock on my door very,very loudly. All I could hear my grandma shout was “Scholarship program!”. I lost my senses at that. I ran to the phone, heart racing. The person on the other asked to speak to a guardian, so I obliged. My grandfather spoke to the person for 15 minutes while I waited with agony. Finally the phone was transferred to me.

“Hello Hawra, you have been selected to go to UWC Adriatic on a 100% scholarship!”

I immediately started crying and the man congratulated me over and over. I called all the members of my family and all of them were shocked since the night before i’d told them i’d been rejected!

The actuality was that the national committee had been trying to reach my mom but they couldn’t since she was abroad. And i’d assumed i’d been rejected. Nonetheless, my entire family is overjoyed. And the incredible thing is that I got my first choice of college, even though my country’s national committee don’t take preferences!! It’s like they read my mind.

So here’s my 24 hours on a silver platter. I hope my roller coaster of a miracle has instilled in you some hope!

[hawra8uwc-blog]

The Interview

There exists within everyone a grand passion, an outlandish thirst for adventure, a desire to live boldly and vividly through the journey of life.

-Kurt Hahn

On the 7th of March, Wednesday, I received an email from UWC Selections inviting me to the interview day. Naturally, I sobbed my heart out. But then Selections Day approached. To prepare, I read a million blogs, watched billions of videos and of course, i made people mock interview me. I can’t describe how incredibly absorbed I was.

On the big day, my nerves would not calm down. It didn’t help that i had kept my nomination a secret from all of my friends, and that 3 of them were going to be there. When I finally made it there I met one of them who was obviously surprised to see me but didn’t question me too much. When my really close friend arrived, she said she never believed that I didn’t get the email and that i was bullshitting for sure.

So the first hurdle of the day was a personal statement. It was a pretty general topic and we had 15 minutes to write. (I won’t give away the topic as i’m not sure i’m even allowed to)

After that was done and dusted, we had our group session. It was a really interesting topic (which again I won’t say). Basically, it revolved around a pressing issue and we debated on it for around 40 minutes.

Next came the interviews. I was extremely nervous, my hands were cold and clammy, but I managed to keep it together. There were 3 people sitting opposite me (they were super nice) and 2 others perpendicular to me, but I have no clue what they were doing as they didn’t ask me any questions. Their questions were pretty basic, “Tell us about yourself” and “why do you want to go to UWC”. But most of them revolved around what I wrote in my application. In my case, I am very passionate about girls being treated the same way as boys, and as I have learned from experience, the mistreatment of females is far too common in my country. So they asked me questions related to that.

And that concluded Selections Day. All in all, I met so many people from different backgrounds and it was really cool to hear their opinions and their perspectives regarding this world.

[hawra8uwc-blog]

The Email

The first week of March was incredible. I had my last test week of school, the philosophy field trip had been confirmed, I found more lucky money (1k) and I had two extraordinary dreams.

In the first dream I was sitting with my uncle, who was playing 2048, while I surfed the internet. Suddenly an email from UWC Selections appeared on my iPad screen. I was selected for an interview! The next part was a blurry mix of tears and laughing and then the dream ended.

The second dream was much more longer and highly detailed. I was at Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific; and although the place I was in looked nothing like Pearson, the entire scenario indicated that I was in Vancouver. I saw some people from school too. We were housed in one large room which had around a hundred beds and no closets. Also, it was like my mind had warped together all the UWCs because I could see elements from many of them. Additionally, it was weird that I was travelling to the college in a rickshaw, and on roads that I normally use to go to school. All in all, I roamed around the campus, talking to new faces at every corner. That’s all I can recall.

I just had a feeling that these occurrences were meant to happen. As if it was an indication of what was to come. So then I skipped school on Wednesday (March 7). I was carrying out my usual routine of watching YouTube videos when a notification from Gmail appeared at precisely 2:55 pm. My heart started racing when I saw it was from the UWC Selections Committee. While the Gmail app was launching, all I could think was “please don’t let it be a rejection”.

The email read:

 Dear Applicant,                                                                                                     Thank you for applying to the UWC Scholarship program…….

This was how every rejection letter began.

…..and congratulations on being nominated for our interview stage!

I began balling my eyes out when I read congratulations. And for once I didn’t care who heard me. I cant describe the way i felt in the next ten minutes; I was just overwhelmed with happiness. I am now a step closer to going to the school of my dreams.

It still feels unreal.

Here are some journal entries from that week.

[hawra8uwc-blog]

Bucket List

Go to a UWC

Change – myself and my world

Leave my city for six months

Fairy Meadows again

Sing in front of a crowd

Drive on the Autobahn

Atari

Shave my head

Raise a racehorse

See the Northern Lights

NYE in Times Square

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Stand at the equator

Teach someone to read

La Tomatina in Spain

Cross the Great Wall of China

Coachella

Donate blood and meet whoever gets it

Learn Morse code

Leave a $100 tip

Go stargazing

Get my portrait painted

Finish a ‘Wreck This Journal’

Fly first class with my own money

Try being vegan for a week

Go skydiving

Participate in a Holi festival

Swim with sharks

Visit Auschwitz

Backpack across ten locations

Get a tattoo

Learn sign language

Throw a mega party

Go bungee jumping

Build a treehouse

See a TED Talk live

[hawra8uwc-blog]

The Journey Begins

Hello!

My name is Hawra and i’m 16 years old. I decided to start a blog because I want to document my application to UWC. The application process ended on the 21st of February and now it’s a waiting game. I found out about the UWCs from my mom when i was in grade 7, and I was instantly captivated. As cheesy as it sounds, this is my dream school. I’ve never been more sure about anything except UWC, and I am so so scared that it’s possible I won’t attend. But i’m going to remain positive, If I want to change the world, and UWC isn’t an option, i’ll find another avenue, and the next, and then the next.

That said, here’s a bit about me. I have no brothers or sisters, therefore making me the center of attention, always. I live in a small neighborhood in a huge city. I go to a big school with people who have small minds. I love to travel, whether it’s abroad or to a part of my city with which i’m unfamiliar. I also have an affinity for baking/cooking (apple brownies are my specialty) and I started a baking business called Ding Dangy Delish (oh the cringe) when I was 11. I’m involved in the arts too. I mainly use watercolors and gouache though I started out with acrylics. Alongside that, I play the drums, guitar, bass and piano. I’ve also composed a few pieces. Something I started fairly recently was MUN. I’d never considered myself to be a public speaker but I really enjoyed it. Another thing i’m working on is an app my aunt designed. It provides people in rural areas access to basic healthcare all through video conferences with a medical professional. An important aspect of this is providing pre and post natal care to women due to the high mortality rates. I’m also working on another platform designed by my aunt which aims to connect blood donors to prospective patients.

I have many hobbies which I’ve fallen in love with over the years: swimming, horse-riding, badminton, I kind of started playing football (soccer) professionally, running, photography, Mario Kart, and of course, dreaming.

I also really, really like the meaning of my name: free