The first time I entered Ichthus, I was in a tough time in my life. I had been struggling with my grades, my social life was a disaster, and I felt like I was going nowhere in my life. After enduring my latest year in my current school for what seemed like an eternity, my father finally decided to give me a reprieve by transferring me over to a more stable school. A place is known as Ichthus. For a while, I had my fair share of doubts; given my experiences in the academic world over the last year, I was uncertain that my transfer was going to have a significant impact on my life. What if I ended up repeating the same incidents of last year? What if I ended up not fitting into the crowd just like I did in my previous school? These were the thoughts that stirred in my head as I awaited the transfer to my new school.

 

Before initiating my time as a student, I was given a tour of the premises by one of the teachers. I immediately felt a very warm, comfortable sensation as I roamed about the halls of Ichthus. In the past, I've been to several international schools, all of which have radiated this larger-than-life, luxurious first impression the moment I enter their premises. However, these international schools have also ended up feeling very intimidating to someone like me. I've said the following statement to many, many people in the past and I'll repeat it once again: I am NOT a sociable person. I've undertaken tens of personality tests in the past to determine my temperament and identity, and they've all agreed on one undeniable fact: I'm an introvert. I despise crowds, and in a large community, I ironically feel… alone. Lost. There're so many people to talk to, and yet so little. And that's the way it's been for many of my past schools.

 

But as I toured the halls of what would soon become the school I proudly reside in today, I felt the warmth. I felt close. The campus didn't feel like a large school designed to gloat and impress; it felt like… a large house, if you will. A large house where students and teachers visited to talk, share their knowledge, and generally have a good time with their peers. If a school feels more like a home than merely just a place for you to study in, you know that they're doing SOMETHING right. This was just the start of many more surprises that awaited me in this new environment.

 

I also recall being called to school with my parents to decide my academic routines. Imagine that! Being constrained by the confines of mockingly stereotypical lesson plans has always been a bane in previous institutions, so imagine my surprise when I was provided a choice to determine my own class schedule. Under regular circumstances, I'd more or less be bamboozled into making academic choices that would ultimately matter very little to me in the long run, but during that moment in time, the very prospect of non-trivializing choice was essentially unheard of. Being able to select my own classes quite literally changed my life for the course of the next two years; in the coming days, I was able to focus on studying the subjects I really desired whilst utilizing my free time to catch a breath and prepare for anything that may come my way.

 

My next two years in Ichthus were nothing short of extraordinary. I bonded with new friends, initiated hundreds of random discussions, and generally had a blast in my new second home. I also experienced a significant boost to my grades thanks to both the lesson choices and the confidence boost I received upon being transferred here. As of this moment, I am currently approaching the end of my tenure here as a student in Ichthus, and I’m quite devastated by that fact. I’ve had a heck of a time in this place, and I dearly hope that anyone reading this blog can empathize with this anecdote. Thank you for reading.