Riverdale International Residential School

July 2015 was the first time I visited Riverdale for my junior college admission. I still remember it very clearly; it was an on-the-spot decision, and I didn't even search for it on Google.

The right turn my cab took to enter the school—what I saw for the next few minutes was out of my imagination. A school on a massive hill. Like, seriously, is that possible? Yes, it is! 

As I got out of the cab, I visited the founder's office for my interview, which was more like a discussion. I was still very nervous and wondered what this school looked like after what I saw. The first thing after the school building, I saw the dining hall, a huge hall with chairs and tables on the left, the food counter on the right, and a beautiful view of the Mulshi River surrounded by greenery out of the window. All the hill station feels!

Riverdale had a dormitory system. Unity Dorm was my dorm, where junior college girls stayed. I had three roommates. And we had a single bed with a personal cupboard and study table. And another dorm, besides Unity Dorm, was for the remaining girls. Hundreds of steps connected the main road and the girls dorm, with a basketball court and a tennis court in the way. After school and dinner and during sports time, that was the students favorite meeting point.

When I joined Riverdale, I was very nervous and scared in terms of my studies and the sudden change in my surroundings. I was very shy and reserved, and I spoke to very few people. My focus was on studies because it was difficult to shift from the SSC board to the ISC board. But I started enjoying my new surroundings and the change in my life. We used to laugh at each other's silly talks and slip of tongues, and that's how friends became family.

Everything was scheduled in our routine, from the morning alarm to turning the lights off at night. We followed everything except waking up and sleeping on time.😂 Running for socks and shoes till our dorm parent's last call for getting out of the dorm—that's how we started our morning.  

Apart from the academics, we had inter-house competitions, outings, annual day, sports day, investiture ceremony, graduation day, farewell party, trip, dandiya night, Christmas party, dinner parties, swimming day, hike to the hill behind our dorm, birthday celebrations, and much more small events throughout the year.

Trips to Ooty, Manali, Imagica, and more have left so many memories to cherish. Annual Day and Sports Day preparations always got us to bunk our classes, either by decorating our house notice board or rehearsing our dances.

Out of all the subjects we had, English was where both sections of our grade united in one single classroom. We had so much fun in Miss Menon's class. She is our friend, philosopher, and guide, and we discussed everything in her class, along with Shakespeare's plays and poems.

I remember sometimes how much I missed home, but I found comfort in sharing memories about my family and hometown with my friends, and they would too. There were some times when I wanted to go home and how much I hated being away from my family, but as my 12th grade was passing, I felt sad about leaving school sometime. During our 12th boards, we packed everything as we were not going to return back, our hearts felt heavy as we bid goodbye to the school and our friends and promised to stay in touch. My Riverdale friends would agree on that!!

How much I talk about Riverdale, it is less. Every area in Riverdale holds a lot of memories, be it the swimming pool, the hill behind our dorm, the long road we took after dinner to reach our dorm, or the Tuck Shop where we spent our weekends - all dressed up. 

When I passed out of Riverdale, I was a different person than I was when I joined. From doing well in academics to overcoming stage fear, finding my love for reading and writing, and many such small wins, Riverdale got me ready for life!! 

Imagine having the time of your life during the final years of your education, and then, unexpectedly, years later, one Saturday morning, you learn that the campus where you lived, shared countless memories, and made new friends is closing. I will continue to miss Riverdale International, even if it has been replaced by another school.