There are things you learn in school, and there are things you learn in boarding school. Being a boarder is so different from being a day student. The things you learn in boarding school are actually more useful to life than those you learn in formal education. I mean how many people are actually gonna need cosine?
This would be one of the key things you learn in boarding school. When you're placed in a foreign environment, all alone with a bunch of strangers, you realize that the only person you can truly rely on is yourself. You've got to start taking care of yourself, managing your own schedule, do your own laundry! But I guess you can call it freedom in some ways.
I personally learnt this while trying to make food out of whatever is supplied in the boarding house kitchen. That was hard. But I pulled through and I learnt how to bake without eggs or relying on a timer. The point is, you learn how to make the most out of what you've got and that's really useful when you finally graduate from full time study and emerge into work industries.
I remember my first week in England. I was so tremendously homesick, I cried every single day. But going through that made it easier for me to adapt to different situations. You'll become especially good at this if you're studying far, far away from home.
It's really different from living at home where you can pretty much do whatever you want and get away with it. Because the people you live with are the same exact people you go to school with, your lifestyle would affect your social reputation. Therefore, you kind of have to act more 'civilized' than you would like to refrain from 'abnormal household behaviors' and be more tolerant and considerate especially if it's an international boarding school. You won't want to start World War III.
If you've ever been as lucky as me to get shipped away to an English girls' boarding school, you'll know exactly what I mean. People are so fake and pretentious nowadays, it's actually pretty scary. I'm not saying everyone's horrible and all, I do believe there's good in everybody. Just be cautious when choosing your friends.
In a way, you become more grown up and mature when you're independent. And through that process, you sort of figure out more about yourself and what really drives you in life. It's a self discovery journey, really. By the end of it, you'll get a clearer vision of where you're heading and why you're heading there.
Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. I've learnt to appreciate my family so much more and not take them for granted. It also make you grateful even towards the little things that people do for you. Especially when you're still new, you'll easily feel touched by the tiniest act of kindness.
These are just some of the things that I've personally learnt in boarding school and I think it's really help me grown a lot at a young age. For parents thinking of sending their children to boarding school, I'd say go for it, but only if they themselves are prepared. What do you guys think?