Why Tufts
I started to write this blog a few weeks ago; it was almost halfway through the second semester of my sophomore year and I could truly say that it was the best semester of my college experience thus far.
My friends and I had signed a lease to live in an off-campus house next year (my junior year) and we were in the midst of the excitement of picking rooms. The weather was warming up and it was the season of cute outfits and eating lunch outside the campus center or on Prez lawn. Spring Break was approaching and we were all excited to travel together and finally be on the beach for a week.
From a more academic standpoint, I had officially declared my Child Study & Human Development major and was very interested in the classes that I was taking, and excited for the ones I planned to take in the future. One of my professors had connected me to an Internship for credit and I was working at a middle school, teaching art. A few students and I were in the process of starting a Tufts Unicef Club and I was becoming more involved with the preschool that I volunteer at through the Junior Jumbos program - under the Leonard Carmichael society. Needless to say, life was at an all-time high. My academic, extracurricular and social lives were all thriving and I was living my best life.
Finding out we had to leave abruptly due to the pandemic was heartbreaking, however the upside was that I was looking forward to being back at home and spending quality time with my family. Having home being so far away does make you appreciate holidays and travelling back to visit family more. After three days of packing up and a few tearful goodbyes, I began my 15 hour journey back to Dubai.
It has only been a few days and I can truly say that I have come to the realization that although Dubai is my home because of my family and loved ones, Tufts is also my home because of my friends and newfound family. I miss the early morning walk to Eliot-Pearson for my 10:30am class on Mondays and the uphill walk to my 12pm Arabic class on Tuesdays. I miss running into different people in the laundry room and ending up in long conversations with them. I miss chilling with my friends in their rooms in Harleston Hall or my suite in Latin Way, listening to music and talking about our days for hours. Medford will always have a special place in my heart and I am counting down the days to return!