Tufts Blogs

Amos Then
Honestly, my first experiences included enjoying the cozy warm weather and enjoying the dining hall food. I used to enjoy the grilled chicken with a side of fries and rice. Walking to Carmichael and Dewick were some of my favorite things to do. I had the most fun eating, since it was so awesome trying the different cuisines at Tufts. I remember walking into Hodgdon for the first time during my second semester at Tufts; I could not believe that I could get all the snacks that I wanted to have for a total of about $55 per day. The breakdown included approximately $8 for breakfast, $15 for lunch, another $15 for late lunch, and finally about $16 for dinner. This was totally very exciting to me, and I’m sure it was the same for other students as well. So, at some point, going to the dining hall to sit and enjoy a meal was a thing to do with friends, but mostly, I would go to Hodge to grab a takeaway bowl and some snacks.

Before last summer, I used to pursue Biomedical Engineering. I had started taking some of the courses that build up for this major. For me, it was the best alternative to pursuing Community Health with the aim of being on the pre-med path. I thought about it for a very long time and realized that some of the biggest challenges that I have always wanted to solve have been cancer, and for sure, that path seemed very close to my cause. I enjoyed the classes as they enforced the idea of learning with passion, despite sometimes the classes being somewhat challenging to understand at one go.

One thing that has been constant, or slightly increased, is the number of people that I am friends with at Tufts. My social community circle has widened so significantly; I mean, meeting new people has been one of the biggest highlights of my experience at Tufts thus far. One of my biggest worries of coming abroad for undergraduate study was not being able to form a community or at least be in one. I used to think that you need to have the social butterfly trait in order for you to make friends at Tufts, but that’s not true at all. I can’t tell you how many people I smile at as a greeting within a single day, whom I don’t even know their names. The numbers are high, and I couldn’t be much happier for that.

Amos Now
I could start by saying that I am now super aware of my space and surroundings. I have learned the skill of reading the room, in that I know what to say and at what time. It fulfills me to know that I have acquired so much learning about myself within a short period of time. I know my identity too; I know that I have the whole world in front of me, and I just need to embrace how the experience unfolds.

I don’t know if anyone at all can be used to the brutal cold winters—me neither, for sure. It is super hard to go outside without knowing what the weather is like. I would say that the Weather app has been the most frequented app for me. This year has been different also; we had the first experience of a snowstorm—wow! That was beautiful, as it might have snowed for 48 hours straight, but now when you walk around campus and in Boston as well, there are huge piles of snow next to the sidewalk, and now it is not cute anymore.

I switched my major to Economics, which is most certainly one of the major decisions that I have made during my time at Tufts. I remember thinking about it for three consecutive weeks before I decided to switch. I know that my friends were used to me talking about BME a lot, and now I am singing about Econ. I would say that for sure I haven’t abandoned BME fully, as I have a minor in Biotechnology.

I am glad that I have enjoyed several experiences so far here at Tufts. Every great moment reminds me of home, and it keeps cementing the idea that Tufts has been my home for the past about two years. Oh, and not to forget, I enjoyed cycling so much this past year. At first, I used to just get a Tufts bike from Tisch Library, but now I got my own road bike. So, it is an adventure to me, as I get to explore the city more!