University Days.

            Today marked my third meeting with Bayan. As these meetings become more regular, I’m beginning to find a deeper appreciation for our meetings and see the value in the time that I spend with her. Bayan is one of the most caring people I have ever met; before I can ever ask her any questions, she never fails to ask me about my week. What’s even more is that she is so intentional. She always remembers the things I tell her about in our previous meetings. This week, she asked me about my stressful week: how did my presentations go, how did my interviews go, what did I get on my test on Monday? I admire her so much, and because I know how much she loves meeting with me, it makes me love meeting with her even more.

            After we made it through the beginning small talk of how our weeks were and what we were doing for the weekend, she reminded me of something that I sometimes lose sight of in the mess of projects and tests: these years we spend in college are supposed to be the time of our life. Nothing can compare to the years we spend in college; this is where we make our lifelong friends, find our passions, and most importantly, discover ourselves.

            Bayan’s undergraduate experience was vastly different than mine, and she doesn’t hesitate to remind me of all of the opportunities we have as American students that she just didn’t get in her undergraduate experience in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, they only have a few colleges with just a few majors, such as business, journalism (Bayan studied journalism!), and political science. Being a music major, the fact that I have the opportunity to study only music blows Bayan’s mind.

            She also reminded me of how fortunate we are as students at a university as great as TCU. She doesn’t understand why I don’t take advantage of all of the programs that TCU offers (i.e. the speakers, guest lecturers, and service programs) because that is something that you simply don’t find elsewhere. We are truly blessed to attend an institution like TCU; nothing quite compares to the 4-7 years we spend here.

            By talking about our passion for TCU, Bayan allowed me to talk about my passion for higher education. She doesn’t quite understand that graduate program I want to pursue (student affairs) but we were able to find common group in the preparation process for grad school. We talked about the GRE and GPA requirements and which schools had good programs for our desired degrees. She still wouldn’t let me forget that I am fortunate to spend my undergrad time here, with a beautiful campus, surrounded by intelligent friends and supportive faculty. At times, school can be stressful. Tests are difficult, presentations are nerve-wracking, and papers are tedious. But at the end of the day, we are immensely blessed to go to school in America, where people of different genders, races, sexualities, and backgrounds have (generally) the same opportunities.

            This particular meeting with Bayan really put things into perspective for me. I get stressed out very easily, but if I realize how fortunate I am, the stress can be easily controlled. Bayan thinks that she’s learning more from me, but the truth is that I am learning so much more than she could ever imagine. I love my time with Bayan. As always, we parted ways with plans to meet at the same time next week, and as always, I am counting down the days until we get to converse again. Bayan is becoming less of a forced contact and more of a friend, and that is in itself a blessing.