“Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget”

This was especially true for me when I attended the Harvard Summer School program the summer of my junior year.

When I first arrived at the program, being the shy person I was, I didn’t really talk to anyone.

I had 6 roommates the first one I met was Anoma. I thought she was the most intimidating person I had ever met. I said to myself, “there’s no way we will be friends”.

The first night there Anoma, Clara, and I all sat on Anoma’s bed and discussed about who we were and where we came from. We were all so different. I thought, “this is going to be hard- how could I possibly get along with people who are so different?”

The second day of the program I remember us all walking from lunch together and we all looked at each other, I can’t remember who said it but one of us said “we are all very different” and we all nodded in agreement. An agreement of surprise of … I’m not quite sure. A nigerian from Nigeria, an African American from New Jersey, an Indian from Singapore, a Chinese from China, a Hispanic from Paraguay, and a European American from Michigan- all in one room, embarking on a 7-week journey- together.

On the floor above us I would eventually meet Pim. Her and I were inseparable. Without realizing it at first, we had signed up for the same two classes and lived in the same dorm. We walked to class together, stayed up late together writing papers, ran to the printers before class, went hiking (with no intention of actually “hiking” but to really take artsy photos)- everything.

The first few days were awkward getting to know each other… but in the end we were like sisters. We bonded over the stress of our classes at Harvard, our classes back at home, standardized tests, and getting into college. We bonded over the appreciation of our differences and the similarities in our desire for higher education.

The day we left I cried almost the entire 3 hour car ride back. The goodbyes were painful. I felt as if I was leaving the sisters I had known my entire life.

Today I attribute a lot of my open mindedness to my experiences during the program. While yes I learned so much in the classes, priceless information and experiences with renowned professors- it was the relationships I built with those around me that truly completed my experience. Without friendships I wouldn’t have been able to stay up until 3am to finish a paper.

I had so so many amazing experiences while I was there with faculty, Harvard students, in the Cambridge and Boston area, and with the friends I made there. To write of all of these experiences would probably result in a 20 page paper. And while some of the more specific details of my experience fade, I will forever remember the amazing friends who completely changed my entire perspective on life.