A Five Years' Journey: Diary of a Graduating Girl

 

 

Often in life, you make the mistake of taking many things for granted. Undoubtedly, the worst mistake common to all is not giving the right value to the moments lived, which will leave a happy memory in everyone. All the senior citizens of Italy have reached the final stage of a long journey that lasted 5 years. A journey of adventures, difficult moments, and disorientation—a long journey that often involved the risk of getting lost. But sometimes it is necessary to get lost to find ourselves. This is what this journey has taught me, an experience also made of discoveries, new knowledge, moments of joy, and that has been built on the birth of indissoluble bonds, established with my classmates and with a part of me that lives in the shadow and sometimes emerges. 

These 5 years have been difficult, especially the first 3, which, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not managed to live and enjoy fully. The masks, the distances of at least two meters from each other, the lessons in DAD made us forget who we are and who the other is. This has reduced attention, discipline, and consistency in study. Consequently, in the last two years, we have had to do a great job of recovering everything we had previously lost, both from the educational point of view and the social and relational. Starting from September 2023, we had to submit to the pressing rhythms that the teaching of the fifth year required. We had to follow the order of the program with more effort and adapt to the fast-moving times. Meanwhile, as we hurried to complete the program ahead of the final exams, the year flew by. Moments full of stress, in which we were afraid of not making it, alternated with moments of happiness hidden between the lines, which we were able to enjoy at the lunch of 100 days, the journey of education in Vienna, and in those moments that there and then seemed not to matter. And yet they did. 

Only now have we become aware of how short and elusive happiness can be. Only now do we realize how fundamental those moments have been for us and how they have contributed to making these years unforgettable. However, we are at the end of May, and we are about 20 days away from the beginning of the first written test. So it’s time to take stock and mentally retrace the past five years. I look to the past with homesickness (from the Greek νόστος, return, and ἄλγος, pain; “pain of return”). The same mood is felt by the Homeric hero Odysseus, far from his native land, Ithaca. As Ithaca was for Odysseus the landing place, the territory of those who conquer existence, so for me high school was the place of knowledge, awareness, where to grow and treasure my mistakes and new teachings. High school was for me a meeting place, of myself first of all, but then of life. This is my travel diary, the pages written by a graduating girl, who wanted to tell the personal growth and maturation that occurred within the Institute Braschi-Quarenghi of Subiaco. I hope that for all students, the school can become a place to collect the most beautiful moments of their lives, the place to return, both with their mind and heart. 

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up,” Stephen Hawking. 

This is the poem that our teachers gave us at the 100-day dinner.

Today's Blogger

Hello, I'm Beatrice Scifoni, a liceo classico student and an 18-year-old enthusiast with a passion for exploring new horizons and discovering diverse cultures. From a young age, I've been interested in travelling and connecting with people from around the world.

In my spare time I work as a tour guide at the Monastery of San Benedetto in Subiaco, where I find joy in sharing the rich history and cultural heritage with visitors. However, my most cherished experiences come from the lasting friendships I've made with individuals from various nationalities during my time at a NATO military base in Belgium.

I’ve been glad to be part of Let’s Blog Staff and I hope you’ve enjoyed following my posts!