Weekend-Engagement Week #286: Fond Memories from the Year 2000

The year 2000 was quite interesting. I remember hearing stories that the world would end once we entered that year, although I don't know exactly why. I was 9 years old at that time, and didn't really care what the adults were discussing.

I was in third grade at the time, but my life was about to change: my parents planned to transfer me to another school, much closer to our house, after the school year ended. (In the Philippines, the school year ends in March, and starts in June)

My mom's cousin suggested we try transferring to that new school... and by "we," he meant my two second cousins and me. Transferring houses and schools wasn't new to me, even at that age, so I didn't really mind. However, our parents gave us a chance to decide. And to do that, they made us take summer classes at that new school.

There were several options, mostly academic ones, but at that time, I started to develop a passion for drawing. So, I asked my mom if I could take the summer class, which was painting. And luckily, she agreed.

If I remember correctly, my second cousin chose a summer class related to music.

Before we enrolled in the summer class, one of the teachers there spoke with my uncle (mom's cousin) and my mom. I think they informed her that potentially three of us would be transferring, with the youngest in Nursery 2.

When I went to them to get something from my mom, the teacher asked her if I was the one joining Nursery 2. O_O I was like, WHAT??? Just how huge are the pre-school students in this school?! Imagine I was about to enter fourth grade at that time. hahaha

I thought that teacher was funny, so I had a pretty good impression of her. LOL

Then, I entered the painting summer class. It was just another student and me. She was an incoming fifth-grader named Nicole. She was so kind and was like a big sister to me. I enjoyed the summer class because of her. Well, our teacher was also very kind, and she taught us well.

Every time we have our painting session, we try to paint various things. She mostly guided us and told us what and how to paint at first. However, around the middle of the summer class, we were allowed to paint whatever we wanted.

This fun experience made me love painting and drawing even more. It's among the reasons why painting remains one of my hobbies to this day.

I forgot how many sessions we had in total, but the summer of my 2000 was so enjoyable! Not only did I improve my drawing and painting skills, but I also gained a new friend. Nicole is a year older than I am, and actually, she and her brother were also planning to transfer to that school.

When my second cousins and I were asked about our decision, we all answered yes to transferring to that school.

That school was pretty new at that time. It opened in 1998, so there weren't many students yet. It was an international Christian school.

On the first day of class as a fourth grader at the new school, I wasn't nervous. Nicole was in the next room, and her brother, Joshua, was my classmate. There were just 12 students in our class at the time, and only two were male (who later became my basketball buddies). It was so different from my previous school, where we had around 40-45 students per class.

Another thing I was happy about at that time was that our room had an A/C, we had our own lockers, we had a school bus, and we got to wear casual clothes every Wednesday. The school also had a lot of fun activities, such as the school festival, sports festival, camping, and more! We even had the chance to join competitions against other schools! The shy, silent student broke out of her shell in 2000. Transferring to that school was one of the best things in my life. hahaha

So many amazing experiences have happened in my elementary years since then. I was able to spread my wings, find things I am passionate about, and make friends not only from my class but also from other grade levels. In that school, we were like a family. Everyone knew each other... well, there weren't a lot of students to start with, but it made the school activities even more fun!

The world didn't end in the year 2000... that year simply opened a new world for me.

And yeah, that's it for this post. See you around, and may you all have an awesome weekend ahead! (^^,)/