Home; Sick
My two homes are very far apart.
The Great Plains that raised me are roughly 1300 miles away from Tufts. It takes plenty of planes and lengthy layovers…
When I first began my college journey in the Fall of 2016, one of the most common questions I was asked by my peers was: Did you apply regular decision or early decision? The answer would be relatively simple for most others, but I struggled to come up with a response that required little explanation but also described my situation. Being a QuestBridge scholar who was admitted in December through the Match scholarship program, I was early decision but my college application process was different from everyone else's. When I explained this, I was usually asked why I ranked Tufts. I gave variations when answering this question; I was ashamed for my reason to rank Tufts, which- in reality- was because my high school counselor had convinced senior year me to apply. Coming from a low-income home and being first generation, I had big aspirations but little guidance so I took what my counselor said to be the “best thing for me” as just that. In all honesty, when I was accepted to Tufts on December 1st, 2014, I didn’t feel the overwhelming excitement; I felt fear. I was afraid that I’d committed to a school that I knew absolutely nothing about and that, as a result, I would not be happy for the next four years. I am absolutely glad that I was wrong.
One of my biggest worries coming in to college was being able to make friends. Prior to coming to Tufts, I spent a lot of time reading bios that were posted on the Class of 2019 page and Facebook messaging classmates in search of the perfect roommate. However, this didn’t help calm my nerves. I ended up signing up for a pre-orientation, FOCUS, in hopes that I would make some friends before college. One of my closest friends at Tufts was in my FOCUS family and others who slept on the same cold hardwood floors became my good friends. My first month at Tufts, the freshmen were particularly welcoming. I was able to come out of my shell and form new friendships, most of which have developed into close friendships. Some nights I find myself awake until 3:00 in the morning, telling my friends about my fears and my hopes or simply cracking jokes. I recently went with some of my closest friends to Skyzone to celebrate my birthday and it was one of the best days of my 19 years of existence.
My academic and extracurricular experiences during my freshman year have also led me to see that my preconceptions and fears about Tufts were absolutely incorrect. During my fall semester I was able to volunteer at East Somerville Community School as a bilingual assistant through my Spanish class. This experience then led me to enroll in Child Development and led me to decide that I want to work with children in the future. Also, I’ve been able to relieve my own nerves and help someone in the community by walking his or her dogs through Leonard Carmichael Society’s Animal Aid. As a single child, I’d always craved a relationship with a sibling and I’ve been able to fulfill this though the Big Sister Boston Program. At Tufts, I was able to try new things. In the beginning of the year, a group of friends and I attended classes (which led to tryouts) for the Tufts Bhangra team. It was very difficult to keep up but definitely worth trying and although I didn’t end up actually trying out and making the team, I had a lot of fun.
College is obviously more than academics, extracurriculars, and making friends. However, it’s very difficult to list all of the things that I love about Tufts in a short blog post. I simply love Tufts way too much and I’m glad that I am here now and that I'll be here for the next four years. A question that I have contemplated recently, especially in the wake of hearing from current high school seniors about their college decisions, is whether or not I would rank Tufts again. Without a hesitation, I would say “YES!”. I cannot see a place where I would’ve fit in better or where I would’ve been happier. Tufts is home.
My two homes are very far apart.
The Great Plains that raised me are roughly 1300 miles away from Tufts. It takes plenty of planes and lengthy layovers…
Roughly three years, nine months, and seventeen days ago, I sat in my AP Calculus class, sitting unusually still while I clicked the refresh button…
If I had to give a one word answer - yes.
Congratulations and welcome to Tufts! I vividly recall the excitement which washed over me when I committed…