At its core, my MUWCI journey was all about connections with friends, faculty, staff, and strangers in the village who became familiar faces. People often talk about the great friendships they made throughout those two years. To me, the power of connection showed up in more subtle ways and was just as meaningful.
I witnessed these connections grow as the custodian greeted me every morning, attempting to use the new English words he had learned and giving me a chance to practise my Marathi. By the end of the first term, he told me in English that he wanted to check on how my exams went. I also witnessed connections as the security guard brought mangoes to our Wada residents during check-in and enthusiastically watched us rehearse the song "Sau Gile Shikve Hain Lekin" by our own Head of College, Gaurav Chopra.
The song has since become my bridge to Wada 5 and to the wider MUWCI community. What began as a difficult task for a group of teenagers practising a song in an unfamiliar language evolved into the very thing that bound us all together. As we practised and grasped the words, the lyrics revealed themselves, and a message about love persisting despite grief and hardships became clear to us.
On other occasions, we did not even need to exchange words to build meaningful connections. Going to Sadhana Village every week as part of my CAS project and getting to play and dance with the Friends taught me that connections transcend language barriers, age gaps, and ability status.
I found myself drawn back to this experience even after I moved to the United States for college. In my freshman year, I got together with my MUWCI co-year and leader of the Sadhana Friends, Nicolas. We reflected on the experience for hours, and I ended up writing a paper about it for my Cultural Anthropology class.
The good news is that these connections don’t go away when you graduate; they continue to evolve after you leave MUWCI. They provide you with grace at moments when you need it and remind you of who you are. As I travelled around the US, I got to reunite with MUWCI friends and meet other UWC alums for the first time. I stayed in their homes, shared dinners, and even travelled with them. I navigate the world knowing that no matter where I end up, I will always have this community supporting me.
I was once again reminded of my MUWCI experience during the annual UWC Davis dinner at my university. Surrounded by some of my MUWCI friends and other UWC alums who have become my family away from home, I felt the power of those connections and how they have truly changed my life. In a world full of uncertainties, the lessons I learned at MUWCI have become even more meaningful. And despite all these uncertainties and hardships, I know for a fact that—as we sang together once—true connections and love persist.