Written by Michelle Adhiambo

It has been an exciting year as a first time high school student at Starehe Girls’ Centre. I remember joining form one as a naive young girl who doesn’t know anyone in the school. I can say that it has been a short year whose days have gone very fast. Sometimes I feel like I was just admitted to the school yesterday. This gives me motivation for the following three years that time flies fast so I have to make a move now.

It did not take time for me to make new friends, as students there are very friendly and nice. I also met different teachers who teach different subjects unlike primary school where one teacher can even teach all subjects!

Learning twelve subjects is interesting but at the same time difficult for me. At first it was difficult to balance my revision timetable but our teachers guided us. The challenge is that I am not able to always follow the timetable. This is because either the assignment is a lot or teachers come to teach during prep time.

The school feels great because it is diverse. Students in the school are picked from all the 47 counties of Kenya. We usually share a lot together and get to learn from each other. The environment is also clean and green with monkeys around swinging from tree to tree and it is friendly for learning.

The climate there is a challenge to me. The mornings are always cold and most of the times it rains heavily. I have had common cold a few times while in school.

It is important for me to study at Starehe because the school is molding my behavior and character. It is also raising me up to be a disciplined person in future. We are often guided and counseled by different people including Starehe alumni, teachers and invited speakers who I don’t take for granted. There are also many opportunities for every student to explore.

I have built good relationships with my classmates and dorm mates. We love each other and assist each other in academics. We live in peace and harmony as sisters and even crack jokes together. Some of them are very understanding.

The subjects that I am best in are German, Agriculture, Computer and Chemistry. I was position one in my stream and position three in all the form one classes. I have been improving in my performance because I work closely with my teachers and classmates. German has been my favorite. Sometime this year when we were home for a break, I had the opportunity to speak German with Mama Hanne. I still don’t know a lot but I am very eager to learn

Although I have faced ups and downs while at the school, I have overcome them because of the love and care we are shown. I am certain that great things are in store for me only if I work smart and put God first in my journey to success. The quote, “The past is my heritage, the present is my responsibility and the future is my challenge”, strengthens me and gives me hope. What I have learnt is that nothing is impossible if you set a goal, focus on it and work on it.