Posts Tagged ‘freshman’
Chronicles of a Tamil Freshman – Part 4By Editor - February 23rd, 2015 |
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Being an Arts and Science Major, Tanya was enrolled in a wide variety of courses—Writing and Informal Logic, Calculus, Climate Change & Global Warming, and Biological Processes were a few on her course list this term. Breathing heavily, Tanya ran down the corridor of GBS (George Benjamin Science Building), and found room 145. She looked down at her phone, and saw that it was now 8:37 am. “Great, I’m late to my first class on my first day of University. There’s only like five billion people in there. What a way to be remembered,” Tanya sighed. Tanya slowly opened the lecture hall door, and prayed that her professor wouldn’t make a scene. She tip-toed up the staircase in the center of the hall, and scanned the room for an empty seat. She didn’t make it very far, before she began attracting everyone’s attention. “Welcome to your first lecture in Writing and Informal Logic, otherwise known as ENGLISH 1Q03. Today we will be cov—”, the professor paused mid-way as he began his lecture. Tanya slowly turned around, and was met by his fuming expression. |
Chronicles of a Tamil Freshman – Part 2By Editor - January 25th, 2015 |
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“Damn it,” she thought. She knew she had a habit of doing clumsy things, and being given the top bunk would just add fuel to the fire. “What if I roll over one night, and fall flat on my face? Or, what if I gain so much weight that I break the bed and crush Eliza?” She began to imagine an obese version of herself, dressed in black, attending Eliza’s funeral. She pictured her tombstone reading: “Crushed to death by fat Tamil”. Trying not to think about it, she began unpacking her luggage, and found the container of her mother’s infamous chicken biryani. “I’ll save this baby for tonight,” she thought. She put away her clothes and supplies in her assigned dresser, and organized her binders and notebooks for the first day of classes tomorrow. “I think that’s it,” Tanya thought to herself. She began digging through the rest of her luggage to see if she’d forgotten anything. She felt something underneath one of the folds, and pulled out a few packets of Fair and Lovely. “Jeez, thanks Amma,” Tanya muttered, as she threw the packets into the garbage bin underneath her desk. |
Chronicles of a Tamil Freshman – Part 1By Editor - January 5th, 2015 |
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With one swift strike, she hit the snooze button on her rusty Sony alarm clock and once again the room was silent. Her room was small with cream coloured walls, a twin bed, a wooden desk scattered with registration papers and to-do lists, a sliding closet opposite the bed, three labeled suitcases stacked in the corner, and a bulky Persian rug that gave the space a retirement-home feel. Fifteen minutes passed, and the alarm jangled again. Tanya opened one eye and peeked at the clock. “Ten more minutes”, she mumbled, whacking the snooze button once more. She closed her eyes, and exhaled deeply. She had a big day ahead, and was in no hurry to let it begin. The comfort, however, was short-lived. It was then, that she heard it. “TANYA?!” her mom hollered from downstairs, wearing an old-fashioned, brightly coloured Tamil nightie. Tanya knew how angry her mother became if, god forbid, her morning tea ran cold. Eyes wide, she channeled her inner Vijay and lunged out of bed. She showered, brushed her teeth and carried on with her usual morning routine. She brushed her short, wavy, black hair and clipped it back with one-too-many bobby pins. She slid open her closet and put on a red sweater and dark jeans that complemented her slender figure and olive skin tone. Feelings of fear and excitement welled up inside of her, as she knew she’d be moving into her college dorm room in just a few hours. |
