I Was Nervous to Start Boarding… Here’s What Helped

Written by a Year 7 Student

When my parents first told me I was going to start boarding, I actually felt really happy at first… because they said that if I boarded, I would finally be allowed to have a phone!

But after that first moment of excitement, something suddenly hit me.

If I’m boarding, that means my mum and dad are going back to China.

And then I started to feel really nervous.

I kept thinking about everything that could go wrong.
What if I can’t make any friends?
What if I’m not used to boarding life?
And the biggest thing of all… what if I miss my parents too much?

The next day, I told my best friend in my class how I was feeling. She listened to me and then said something I’ll never forget:

“Don’t worry. I’ll always be your best friend and I’ll be with you.”

That made me feel so much better, like I wasn’t doing it alone.

When I first started boarding, I brought loads of things with me (probably too much!). I wanted to make sure I had everything I might need, because I didn’t know what boarding would be like.

And now, I’m halfway through my first week of boarding, and I’ve already realised something really important:

Boarding isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

It’s actually really fun. Everyone has been so kind to me, and I’ve already made friends. It feels more like a community than I expected, and there’s always someone around, whether it’s to talk, laugh, or just spend time with.

If you’re feeling nervous about starting boarding, I completely understand; I was too.
But now I can honestly say I’m glad I gave it a chance.