5/5/2023 (Fri)

Everybody wants to run away.

We come to UWC in search for a desperate way to escape from our countries. Well, our origins. But is it the place that we're trying to flee from, or the problems in it? The thing is there are problems everywhere. In every single country and city. We leave, hopeless about the future of our home, hoping for a better one in foreign land. But there will never be a replacement. In the end, we are forced to come to terms with the fact that there is simply no escape. Problems follow us — or more precisely manifest themselves in different forms according to our surroundings. But either way, they will be there, regardless of where we are.

Of course it is okay to leave. After all, it is all about making a choice. But the choice is not whether to leave, or where to stay instead. It is choosing which problems, or as we like to put it, challenges we would rather confront, and if they are worth it.

In the span of the nine months I've spent living here, I've learnt one thing: Every single person — except for the occasional few — I've talked to hate the politics back home, yet still possess this unconditional love for it. Some are planning to make a living elsewhere while more are determined to return, no matter the background we come from. But most of us have come to an agreement that our home is the best place on Earth, and we'll always hold a special feeling for it — the place we didn't choose to be born in.

So there's it: We might be able to find another home, but it would never be the same as our home. It is one thing to watch your home crumble, and another to see it collapse from across the world where people don't care. At the end of the day, a place is so much more than just the politics. Politics does influence our way of living, but we are not politics. We are the grassroots, we are the people, and we have a choice.

So make it wisely.

*Disclaimer: I fully understand and acknowledge that I’m speaking from a very privileged position, and that not everybody has a choice. This was never meant to apply to everyone, and nothing could really apply to every single person anyway. It is a reflection of my journey from my own perspective, and I hope that it could resonate with some of you to some extent.