SC-S29/W2- Nostalgia Of The Liitle Me : My School Days

Every school year, my mum, who is a seamstress, made our uniforms. The first day was always exciting because I wore my new uniform, shoes, satchel and notebooks for the first time. It was very exciting. I also remember the sound of the bell. The first thing you heard was everyone shouting, "Break time, break time, break time!" That half hour was great fun, although there were also fights between the children.

I was always a very shy girl. Everything embarrassed me. I was very afraid of making mistakes or being teased for not answering correctly. I often tried to hide so that they wouldn't ask me questions. I had some very strict teachers and some very good ones that I still remember.

Stage fright marked my time at school. I wanted to go unnoticed. My heart would race every time there was a test or I had to go to the blackboard. Even though I was a good student, I was always afraid of not knowing the answers.

Just as there were strict teachers, I also have fond memories of some who made a lasting impression on me during my primary school years. I remember my third-grade teacher, Vilma, who realised that I was very shy and always hid behind my classmates. She instilled in me the confidence that it was okay to make mistakes, that the important thing was to study to improve and learn.

There was also my fourth-grade teacher, Tomás, who helped me better understand division, as numbers are not my strong suit. I recently ran into him downtown and thought he wouldn't remember me, but the first thing he said to me was, "I imagine you know how to divide now, ha ha ha."

During my school days, I learned that I should not take what does not belong to me, although I remember that whenever Miss Vilma finished class, she would check our pencil cases to make sure that no one took any materials, such as colours, pencils or sharpeners, from another classmate. She told us that we had to share, work as a team and return what did not belong to us.

These are values that are learned every day and reinforced at school. Teacher Vilma, whom I remember very well, was someone who had a big impact on my school days.

What we are today is not just a title; it is a set of interactions that shaped us, that teacher who believed in me or who got annoyed because I found it difficult, the rejection by the sports group because I wasn't good at it, giving me the strength to try again, the joy when I finished a task with good grades.

All those situations you experience during your school years shape and strengthen your character. We don't study for school, or for our parents, or even for a teacher. We study to face life with resilience.