There are plenty of obstacles that keep us from living the same life we did as children. Bishnu Poudyal’s, in particular, is a distance of 7,251 miles.
Five years ago Poudyal and his moved to Concord, New Hampshire, from Nepal.
“My uncle was here before we came, so we are following his footsteps. My cousins came here following our footsteps. Guess it’s going around,” said Poudyal, a graduating senior who started his American schooling at Rundlett Middle School.
Reflecting on how he’s grown since then, he said, “I think that I have grown my behaviors, like from childish to kind of an adult. I am so happy that I accomplished what I have faced these four years. I learned to never give up but to face my problem.”
While Poudyal never felt a social barrier in his transition to high school, he occasionally struggled to maintain  all A grades while immersing himself in a new language.
“Sometimes I used to cry when I came here freshman year. When I went to class, everyone was speaking a different language. I did face this in Rundlett Middle School, but it wasn’t that challenging. The grades and the different things did not matter there but in here, everything does, everything matters,” Poudyal said.
Sometimes he reminisces about life in Nepal: “I miss my childhood. I miss my friends, playing soccer, I miss not everything counting.”
But he loves his New Hampshire home and community, including the atmosphere at Concord High School.
“[It’s] always welcome for everyone from everywhere. It really doesn’t matter what’s your race, or culture, or religion; it just showed me the way of life and living,” he said.
One regret Poudyal does have about his time at CHS is not getting involved in sports.
“I really like soccer. I never got involved in soccer so I would probably do that. ‘Cause really I did not think that I was capable of playing soccer with the team, so I really did not involve myself in it. I used to play soccer in Nepal,” he explained.
If he were starting CHS all over again, he would reach out more quickly for help when he found himself struggling. “If I had the chance I would improve my way of thinking, and try to get help from other people also. What I did in freshman year was a really unexpected thing — you know, not getting help from others, thinking that I can do everything, but I am now a senior and have a better idea and understanding of doing something and being able to get help from teachers and other people.”
“Oh . . . and I would not take any study hall classes!” he added, echoing other seniors who wish now that they’d taken additional courses.
Poudyal will balance his time this summer between work as a cashier at Walmart and spending time with friends.
“My four friends, before our one friend leaves to the Navy, we want to go camping and visit a different place. We are planning to go to Maine. We have never been before,” he said.
This fall he will continue his education.
“I am thinking about going to college and studying computer engineering. I got accepted to three of four schools, Southern New Hampshire University and New England College, but because of my kind of economic problem I would like to go to NHTI for two years at least,” he said.
Beyond that, he hopes to travel. “I have never been someplace special other than somewhere I call home. Like, I want to go to Mt. Everest!”