Space Sharing in Boarding School
As I often say, life in boarding school can be overwhelming.
Growing up as an only child allowed me to never be in the position of sharing my food, toys or personal space with anyone.
However, I was aware that making the decision of moving to boarding school would have “pushed my boundaries”, and led me to new experiences, as well as compromises.
Beyond your limits in Glendalough:
Have you ever had a hard time sharing your bedroom with siblings or friends? If your answer is yes, then you’ll have to read today’s piece for a change in your perspective.
After having spent fifteen years in my own single-bed bedroom, on the 25th of August I had to share a room with a person I had just met. Is my roommate nice? Is it going to be fun to spend time with her? Will we get along well? These were all questions I couldn’t give an answer to, on my first night away from home.
(Our room eventually became even more crowded, but it slowly led us to the achievement of a new balance).
THE TRIP
Today’s blog is about the IB1’s and 2’s two days long team building trip to Glendalough.
Our stops were:
- 2 hours and 40 minutes long bus ride to the location of Glendalough
- visit to the nearby Powerscourt Waterfall and monastery
- hike into the mountains
- dinner in Laragh
- visit to the “Beyond the Trees” Viewing Tower
- tour of the Gaol Jail in Wicklow
Since it was a two days long trip, the whole group spent the night together in the “Youth International Hostel”, in Glendalough.
Again, if you considered sharing the room with your older brother overwhelming, I would strongly advise you to continue reading today’s blog.
We were divided into three main rooms, one made of boys and the other two made of two groups of about 10 girls each.
Some of us had to share the top or lower bunk bed with someone they had never had a full conversation with, which surprisingly, when it came to the planning of our showers schedules or the decision making of whether to cook or clean in the following breakfast, led to a generally collaborative and united environment.
Why you should go for it
- Before coming to boarding school, I would have never imagined how sharing a room with another person might have felt like.
- Now I can affirm that finding yourself in the way more complicated situation of sharing a hostel room with 9 other people you barely knew before, could potentially lead to yours AND the group’s development.
Giada Iacobellis (2022-24)