Some days in your life create a permanent residence in your memory; my journey with KL-YES had many of such days.
Grade 7 is when I first mentioned KL-YES in my conversation with my parents. It was to let them know that I will be applying for it in later years. During this time, KL-YES was merely a five-lettered word to me, not knowing that these five letters are what my plans will be revolving around in high school.
I still vividly remember sitting in my classroom, in the initial weeks of grade nine, laughing and relaxing with my friends when our career counselor entered the classroom and announced the deadline for YES preliminary application. His first look went towards me, knowing that I had religiously talked about getting into the program. My eyes turned towards my friends whose smirks indicated that they too knew I was about to get my hands on the form as if it were my prey.
Fast forward to getting selected for the interview, a pretty huge achievement in itself, my nervousness was its zenith! After all, the interview was the prime factor in deciding who the most eligible participant for the program is; the one who stands out takes the win! Surprisingly, although I was convinced my interview will go wrong in some way or the other, I aced it. I knew that I aced that right after I came out of the interview room, only because of the wave of inner satisfaction I had felt after talking to the interviewers.
One of the most difficult phases came after passing the interview and the last English test, the waiting for a response. Day and night I sat with my mom and annoyed her about how I might not get into the program, I texted my friends telling them how I might not get into the program and assured myself about how I might not get into the program. The old habit of sabotaging my mental health didn’t die. Days later, I was sitting in my room, working on a school assignment when I got the life-altering call. I had been selected for the KL-YES program! The years-long dream had come true, tears, laughter, and joyous yelling had filled the air in my abode. Even if I knew at that exact moment, about the delays that would follow, I’ would have been equally triumphed about it.
Once COVID-19 hit the country, our program got delayed by a year. I was utterly devastated and lost. I had based my CAIE timeline on my departure to US and arrival back to Pakistan. I had not prepared for any subject during the lockdown and getting out of this quicksand seemed challenging. Having no other option in sight, I decided to prepare for 6 subjects at once for the May/June 2021 session.
Months of academies and practice sessions, along with sleepless anxious nights were in the drain when the exam cancellation was announced. Although my initial reaction towards the cancellation, naturally, was an absolute joy, I later realized that I had passed two years of my O levels without giving a single CAIE and I will not be available to attempt any of those exams the next year because of my departure to the USA.
July series was a reward for all my great deeds. Knowing that I had at least given some of the required exams made going to the US much more fun and relaxing. All that was left was to wait for the official flight date and my placement. Waiting to get my placement was one of the most difficult parts of this entire journey, I remember how gloomy I used to be the entire day. Sleeping 18 hours a day, seeing all my friends go to school and my fellow exchange students depart for the US, and over-thinking does not remind me of any great days.
Just two days before my flight day, I got placed at a perfect school and a very loving family. Two days later, I landed at Dulles International Airport, Washington DC and it all seemed like a dream. It has just been a little longer than one month since I have been here and I have already experienced more than I could have in years if I didn’t come here. Coming to the USA is a great privilege, but it comes with immense responsibility. To represent my values and culture well, and to be a responsible Youth Ambassador is certainly not easy, but it is worth it. The homesickness and the constant fear of missing out on things back home is not something that fades away in just a week or a month, but it certainly gets easier once you start amalgamating yourself with your host family and friends. I don’t know what challenges lay ahead of me in the future, but one thing I know for sure is that this year will be life-altering for me.
