So for those of you that haven’t seen me or heard me which I doubt is many of you, My name is Anthony Romello Salandy. It has been a pleasure to be asked to do Humans of NES. Throughout my 12 years at NES I have seen many changes whether it be in management or with teachers. I have seen myself develop academically, physically and mentally. Some of you know that I was once roughly 350 pounds ( Big Shocker I Know). I genuinely didn’t know why I was so overweight until I found out I had two conditions with my Thyroid & Insulin. These left me dumbfounded, bewildered and distraught since they made me realise why dieting, starving and endless exercise seemed to achieve nothing. I reached my heaviest in March 2016 and was diagnosed that September. Since then I have lost 115 pounds. Although I stressed and felt ashamed and alone I had a collective community that supported me whether it was a nice comment from Ms.Blake or Ms. Rowbotham about how much weight I’d lost or comments from my peers. In the end, it forced me to realise that the social stigmas surrounding weight, beauty, and identity meant little if I didn’t feel healthy and happy on the inside…
This leads me to languages. I love languages. I was fortunate enough to have cracking Spanish teachers who supported my Journey through not only Spanish but also Dutch. To give you some context I started learning Dutch December 28th 2015 and sat the second language IG in spring 2017. Languages fostered a sense of academic self-advancement and development that I had never known before. Whether it is 5 minutes of Danish or Irish, learning languages brings me joy. Academia brought me solitude and mental competence. Our generation often struggles with this idea of ‘Mental Competency” and it’s something I’d like to address.
Depression and anxiety is something that is universally human, but it does not mean it is a defining characteristic of oneself. I jokingly say that it’s me: the Brown-Mixed Race-Round child. However, in jest, I understood the meaning of self-preservation and happiness. Poetry helped me through my fears, sadness, woes, and sentiment that I thought could never be expressed. I faced a great deal of bullying and confusion regarding my identity (my mother being Kuwaiti & father being British) – nevermind both my parents being mixed race. This is where I realized again that life’s too short for divisive labels. Moreover, I decided to challenge what was meant by “Kuwaiti” in Kuwait through articles and Sociological work that made me understand prejudice to its deepest of unfortunate meanings.
The point I am trying to make is life is too short to care about being judged and for you to internalise racism, bullying or prejudice in any shape or form. Whether it be a confident teacher or a group of special friends, it is better to discuss your true self, rather than let it be diminished by the tumultuous journey that is life. Never be afraid to discover yourself; suffer, love and immerse yourself in things you thought you could never do. Always be true to yourself regardless of anyone or anything. I would like to end this with a favorite Dutch proverb of mine: geen success of eer zonder lijden en angst (No success or honor without suffering and anguish).
-ARS.
