Boarding schools are often presented as terrifying places to be in. The truth is not completely far from it. But here’s what every boarder who has ever lived in a residential school know to be true:
1. You learn extreme discipline and follow rules without questions
Your mom can’t thank enough your boarding school for getting you in the habit of waking at 5 in the morning.
2. Staying away from home doesn’t make you sad anymore
Humans adapt to situations.
3. Short holidays and weekends are not for you
Because no matter which holiday it was, you had to stay on school campus.
4. You learn to make your own bed & clean up your own mess
Discipline creates a sense of responsibility.
5. You learn to appreciate uniforms and wear them without complaining
Blazers do look smart.
6. You are disciplined even while eating
Knife and fork to eat fish? Yes please.
7. You are used to common bathrooms and they don’t gross you out any more
You soon get used to not being modest or covering up.
8. You learn to hide your stuff better than the CIA
Courtesy years of practice in hiding your personal stash of food.
9. You quickly learned that division of work was the best way to do things faster
And you had your best time doing the chores together inspite of how boring it was.
10. You learned the art (and yes, I say art) of writing letters
Because that becomes your only reliable source of communication with the outside world.
11. You have eagerly waited in queues to make that weekly phone call to home
Waiting in line for your turn was a nightmare.
12. Speaking of home, packages arriving from home were always a cause of excitement and dread for you
Dread, because once everybody has seen it, you know they will have their eyes on it.
13. You got used to studying only during study hours
Any other time, books were just neglected.
14. You got to learn at least one game that is uncommon in India
Baseball, rugby, polo etc.
15. You had very less to no internet access
Say hello to newspapers.
16. You became artsy and classy
Something that other people often view as being snobbish.
17. You learned that being a prefect was a high honour
And not just meant for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
18. There was one rival school that you hated more than Justin Bieber
Not kidding!
19. You got used to having all sorts of fun but within limits
Getting caught was nothing compared to the fear of getting expelled.
20. You have had at least one thought of escaping from your school
You even mentally planned it out in detail, with maps et al.
But you never could, realizing how much you actually love the place
It quickly dawns upon you that having survived boarding school, you are better prepared for the ultimate challenge: the world outside.
Bring it on.