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Al-Iman End of the Year Senior Celebration

Celebrated the seniors on April 30th. :) This is a picture of my fellow first-year friends and Salma, who’s a junior.

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ISO Carnival 2017

Yesterday, the weather was beautiful -- 85 degrees (15 degrees too hot for me, thank you very much), but just enough of a breeze to keep me from melting. I drank some authentic chai catered from India Palace, had Sanna, my roommate, tat me with henna, took some group photos at the photo booth, and jumped rope with Anisha’s neon pink jump rope.

Sanna and I took a picture with the Pakistani flag since we both have Pakistani backgrounds.

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Jess’ Birthday Partay

Last Friday was my friend, Jessely’s, 19th birthday. Nadia and I compiled a bunch of photos and videos of our friends and her family wishing her a happy birthday. Reem and I baked two cakes: one for eating (which is shown below) and another one for us to shove her face into. <3

Love you, Jess!

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#MyIslam

This past Thursday, there was an event called My Islam 2017: An Exploration of Identity. Prior to this event, photos were being taken of Muslim students and students racialized as Muslim. We were asked to write down what Islam meant to us, so I wrote that “Islam is the one identity I know I will never lose.” Currently, our photos are hanging in the Campus Center and will be there for about another week and a half. 

The event itself was amazing. Two of my friends, Enas and Rezwana co-hosted the event. Some of my friends went up and spoke. There was a wide variety of experiences shared. And they had Play-Doh for us to play with to keep our hands busy as we listened to others speak.

Maybe next year I’ll prepare something to say, so keep your eyes peeled!

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My love story

Now, this post isn’t as exciting in the way that you might think it is. This is the story of how I fell in love with Smith College.

My sister advised my to apply to Smith during the college application process because it was free. I still remember Smith’s Supplemental essay question because it was the most unique one I had encountered out of all twelve schools I had applied to. The question asked us to write about a moment where something made us laugh. Right away, I knew that Smith was different from other colleges. It wasn’t a school that was necessarily geared toward the students with the best test scores or grades, but students who Smith knew could foster to make a difference in this world.

Smith accepted me early, even though I didn’t apply for early acceptance. They sent me a t-shirt, so that was kind of rad. During the spring, they flew me in for Discovery Weekend, and that’s how I knew that Smith was the right choice for me. My host was Areej, who was a senior and also a Pakistani-American Muslim. She was very open to all of my questions and gave me great advice. And I know that she greatly shaped how I saw this school, which is why I plan on hosting a prospie during Discovery Weekend as well.

These are just a few aspects of Smith that I loved:

-Paradise Pond

-Botanical garden

-Cutter-Z House

-Al-Iman Muslim Student Association

-The environment

-The small campus

-Downtown Northampton restaurants & shops

-The people

-The dearth of boys

For all you first-year prospies out there, I really hope you consider Smith as your home for the next four years!

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Spring Break - 2017

It’s spring break and one of the issues with short breaks is finding out where to go. Sometimes, home is too far, it’s too expensive to go back, or you have too much work to do. For me, Portland, OR is too far and expensive to fly back for a week. My friend, Nadia, lives in the other Portland -- Portland, ME. She graciously invited me, along with two other friends, Reem and Jessely, to spend spring break at her house.

Two days ago, we went to Fort Williams Park. It was about 28 degrees outside and sunny. I had the fabulous idea to go rock hopping and get as close to the water without touching it. I stepped on a slippery rock, but little did I know that the algae would try to seduce me. So...I slipped right in and soaked my pants. I walked around with only my leggings on as Jessely tried to air-dry my pants.

-Picture of Jessely and me staring at them buoys.

It was definitely a super chill experience. I’m so thankful to be spending this break with my friends in a place that feels like home.

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Zoom zoom

If you see me around campus, I’m usually climbing something, jumping from somewhere, or doing something out of the ordinary. Tuesday night, I visited my friends in Washburn. Parked in their living room is a tricycle. I’ve never seen anyone use it before, but I often ride it when my friends are with me. Being petite is kind of awesome because I can do things or fit in places where others can’t. Even though riding this small tricycle is not the most comfortable experience, I can still do it. 

Shoutout to Nadia Aman for always being my camera-woman. :)

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About me

I’m a first-year student at Smith College - class of 2020. I was born in London, England and was raised in Beaverton, OR (hometown to me and the Nike HQ). My parents immigrated from Pakistan two-and-a-half decades ago. I’m a hijab-wearing Muslim who loves to have some innocent fun with her friends. Some of my hobbies include climbing things, reading, eating, going to Dobrá Tea, and going on adventures with my friends. As for majors, I’m thinking of Math and Spanish, but my heart has yet to decide.

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InterMSA Princeton Summit

Over this past weekend, I attended a summit at Princeton with Smith’s MSA, Al-Iman. The trip was filled with a 90-degree car ride, lots of socializing and deep discussions, some interactive games, and talks by Rumana Ahmed and Sheikh Omar Suleiman. Rumana Ahmed, who worked at the White House under the Obama Administration (and eight days under Trump’s), talked about social activism in the current climate. Sheikh Omar Suleiman, a sheikh with popular YouTube lectures, focused more on religious aspects that were eye-opening. 

After Rumana Ahmed’s talk, I was able to meet my best friend’s cousins who picked me up. We walked around in the 71-degree weather, sipped our drinks from Starbucks, and scarfed down scrumptious cupcakes (I ordered the chocolate pretzel cupcake) from House of Cupcakes. After she dropped me off, I was right behind the Sheikh. He asked me where I got my coffee, and to be honest, I was kind of fan-girling. I mean, just look at him. :)

I’m so thankful for all the opportunities I’m given at Smith. This weekend was one of the most memorable weekends I’ve ever experienced. I love Al-Iman. <3 Below, you can see us reppin’ at the summit. 

Stay cool, my friends.

Noor