LETTER FROM ANDRÉS OLIVÉ

I'm writing you because since I came back from Canada I have realized that things are not the same. I got used to life there, living here feels strange and I don't feel this is the right place for me. The environment around me has changed a lot since I left to Canada, and now that I came back I found things way different and I don't feel comfortable when I am with my friends anymore. They are all into different things than me and I respect that, but I don't like what they do and what they get into. And I don't want to get involved in those things.

Living in Canada and going to NAT didn't just teach me academics and tennis, but it also made me grow up as a person. It made me realize that there's a whole lot of opportunities to become successful out there, and that we have to work to achieve each and every one of them. That's what I want to do. I learned so many values by living with many people from different countries that they became like brothers and sisters to me. My mind opened to so many different things that I had never seen before. When I first got to NAT last summer, I was expecting to have a good year, but I never imagined how great it would actually be, and now that I'm here I can see what I left behind and how much I miss it.

What surprises me the most, now that I look back, is that I have realized I was so close to so many people there, which you know because you saw me the day I left. I couldn't stop crying because I knew I was about to leave something that would never happen again, an unforgettable year. I didn't know when I was going to see you all again, or if I would ever see you all again. 

The feeling that I get when I remember all the good things that happened last year is indescribable. Living on my own, learning how to get along with all the guys that were around me, supporting them when they needed it, and being supported when I needed to. made me grow not only as a person, but as a human being. I found out the real value of friends, how much I need them, and even though sometimes we didn't like it, we acted as a family, loving, respecting, and caring for each other.

One of the guys told me that when I came back to Mexico and I hung out with my friends I was going to notice a big change in what I valued, that living with older people would have made me mature, which I notice it now.

I can't find people who I can trust and that I'm sure they will be there for me for whatever reason I need them to. Friends here are not so close to each other, and I don't like that. I miss having people by my side that really care about me, I miss those times when someone wasn't feeling good, and I would go and try to make them happy by saying something that would make them laugh. I miss those times when instead of jumping all over the house and talking to everyone, I would go upstairs right after dinner, lie on my bed because I wasn't feeling good, then someone would notice that very quickly, and they would go upstairs, talk to me and try to make me feel good, just like I did with them.
Living with a host parent helped me become a responsible guy. I was taught that everything I said and did, would bring a consequence, either good or bad, and instead of covering it up, I should admit my mistakes and face the consequences. It made me realize that people can become very close to each other in a very short time, and that's what happened with us.

I was told that teachers and coaches at NAT were not only that, but they were part of a big family too, which is true. They became an important part of my life. They were always there for me if I needed to talk about something. If I had problems with people, school, tennis, or anything else, they would support me. I know coaches' job was only to train us, but they always did something else to help us, a little extra thing they didn't have to do, but they did it anyways.

Every single person at the academy told me you had a great heart, and that you loved to help people. I always tried to follow one of the examples you set, to be nice and treat people with respect. You were always there for me which made me feel confident to talk to you about a lot of things. I love the family environment at the academy. I don't understand how you make it happen, because year after year it's the same environment with totally different people. I have heard from people that studied and trained at NAT for several years and how they wish they could go back to those days.

Last year I started playing some good tennis. I learned a lot of things that helped me improve as a player and I worked hard to obtain what I did, and finally when my game was starting to get better and better, I had to come back here. This is one of the things that concerns me the most. I have been trying to find a good place where to train and to keep improving my tennis game. I'm currently training at the club where I did before I left to Canada, but practice is not good. Coaches are lazy and they never help us with anything. They never talk to us about our game and they never give us tips or tell us how to improve. I can't believe that everything I improved in my tennis game last year, which I worked so hard for, I'm losing this easily. 

I finally made my parents realize that this is not the right place for me, they thought things would be just as they were before I left to Canada, but they have changed. I have made them realize that my friends are wasting their time instead of doing something that will help them in the future, which what I'm trying to do. But I can't find someone to support me the way you did. I want to go to a good university, where I can get a very good education and play very good tennis as well. I would also like to play some ITFs and get some points, but I have to train hard to achieve all these things.

 

This is what Niagara Academy means to me...Andrés, 2011

 

 

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