Dialogue Journal #2

Freshman M
Sarin Sulahian

We always have the most cheerful memories from our childhood, whether it’s where we lived,

grew up, our school, etc. To me, my school is the best memory of my childhood that I have.

To give you a little background, I was born in Aleppo, Syria, and lived there for almost eleven

years. When people usually ask me where I’m from and I answer, the first thing that comes to their

mind is if I know, understand, read, or even speak Armenian, which I understand where the

confusion might come from. Armenians have always been hardworking and determined to stay

true to themselves and never forget where they came from, thus to this day there are more than

20 Armenian school, dozens of Armenian churches, social clubs and many more. From age 3 to

10 I went to the same school which included kindergarten, elementary and middle, and high

school. It is called Grtasiradz School. It was actually built as the first official Armenian School

after the 1915 Armenian Genocide, when thousands of Armenians were forced to move from

Anteb to Syria. Those 7 years that I went to school I have learned more than ever. Starting from

kindergarten, we would learn Armenian songs, history, stories and everything in general. The

crucial part is that all the students were on the same path and we stuck together through

everything to continue our legacy. I called my school my second home, because not only did I

study there, but also went to for all of my extracurricular activities. I remember every year we

would celebrate Armenian holidays like Easter, and Independence Day. We would sing songs,

and recreate myths and legends through performances. School never felt forced to me (although

it was very hard to keep up with), but because it was a rather small community where everyone

knew and supported each other and no one would feel left out in our class. We would always
play, go to trips together and have the best time. I will never in my life forget those moments and

will cherish the memories forever.

It was very unfortunate that I left Aleppo without knowing that I wouldn’t go back, and never got

the chance to say goodbye to my school, classmates or even my home. But I guess every good

thing comes to an end. Today, every single one of my classmates do not live in Aleppo, we are

all scattered around the world including Europe, America, and Armenia. I want to emphasize the

fact that no matter where Armenians go, they will create a home for themselves, and never forget

their identity, and one of the examples is my school and community. I guess our destiny was

different, but I know we all learned from our experience and it is time to move on. I still very

much miss my home and wish to visit my school and remember all the memories again, but I am

very happy and fortunate now that I’m finally living in my homeland, Armenia.