Reflection

My name is Caitlyn Bowling, and I started my journey back in 2021 in Year 10.

I come from a small rural town called Wandoan, on a cattle property 50km out of town. From a school of about 70 students and being the only girl in a class with 7 other grade 9 and 10 boys, adjusting to the fact that I would be a part of a family with 220 sisters was – let’s say the least – a little daunting.

I have a younger sister and brother and I thought that was a handful enough, let alone living with 220 others.   

My parents, having had their heads stuck in the sand of where to send me for so long, decided that we should probably find somewhere for me to go one year out. Fairholme was the first school we looked at, and in an instant, I knew this is where I wanted to go. I made my decision that day after our tour, not even considering any other schools.

It was during my orientation that I had met my best friend, Amelia. Her constant smile and openness to chat to when I didn’t know anybody made coming here so much easier. Now lifelong best friends, I realise how important those little interactions are.

While boarding was very foreign to me, I was ready for something different.

My first day of Fairholme wasn’t quite as I planned it; falling down the stairs and dropping my morning tea wasn't quite what I had in mind… thinking how could this get any worse? I was in a different school, eating different food at morning tea and was just trying to get through my first day, alive… but I survived.

You may be known as the girl who fell down the stairs, but that doesn’t matter! When you are accepted, loved, and supported like you are at Fairholme, you learn that little things like this only help shape you into who you become.

For me, this journey has now led me to the appreciative role of Boarder Prefect and the girl who only falls down the stairs maybe once or twice a term.

I understand that boarding is hard for both parents and their daughters. It as much as your first day as it is theirs. While I may have managed to keep it all together, my mum, however, not so much.

But YOUR GIRLS too, will survive this incredible journey and want to do it all over again as I do now, even if they fall down the stairs on their first day.