Embracing Fear Through the Learning Journey
Fear is part of our life and it manifests itself differently at every stage of our learning. As we learn and gain experience, we overcome our fears and unconsciously use them as fuel to move forward.
In this story, we asked Aisha and Zacharias, our Seniors, to share their fears throughout their learning journey at ISB. They wrote and recorded the text below where they talk about how they overcame and overcome these challenges through the different stages of their lives.
" ISB has been my second home for 16 years now.
Having been here for so long I could not understand when my friends said ISB was amazing. I had nothing to compare it to. But as I slowly grew up in the ISB community I understood more and more what they meant. Being an international student and having friends from all over the world I had to learn how to deal with them suddenly moving away. But also realizing the opportunity that opened up to meet new people. Transitioning into the ES I became more aware of my worries and insecurities of wanting to be at the same level of my peers. Yet I realized my own progress was more important than comparing myself as we all have the right to develop at our own pace. Middle School meant more freedom, we were finally out of our warm ES bubble. We gained new responsibilities. We had to look after ourselves (and our backpacks!). Getting to class on time, looking after our belongings and making sure we were on the bus on time. It was exciting, empowering and a little bit nerve racking. It was always on the back of my mind that I needed to find something that I wanted to do but it suddenly became very real in High School. Choosing a suitable course, choosing something I’ll enjoy but also that is broad enough for me to follow different paths was very present. I’m happy to say that I’ve found my path for now! I used to put half effort in everything so when I failed it wouldn’t be because I wasn’t able. This fear of failure followed me throughout my school life. Grappling with this was a constant struggle for me. As school became tougher this wasn’t an option and I had to adapt to succeed. I now know that learning from my mistakes is the only way to move forward and to deal with the fear of failure."
Aisha, High School Student at ISB
Zacharias, High School Student at ISB
"Being an international student and having friends from all over the world I had to learn how to deal with them suddenly moving away. But also realizing the opportunity that opened up to meet new people."
