HARVARD EDUCATION COURSES

  It felt strange at first. It really did, and if you felt strange, or still do, just know that you are not alone. No one was speaking Swahili, Sheng, Luo, or Abasuba around me.  It was Fall 2021, and I was only used to the vibrant street markets of Kisumu’s lakeside, the flowing left-hand side traffic pattern of the Nairobi metropolis, and the constant beautiful weather with yearlong moderate temperatures. In short, I was homesick upon arrival. As weeks passed, I even became more homesick. The beautiful colors of fall started waning, and I started even missing how I used to spell “color” as “colour” in my favorite Commonwealth English: Kenyan English. But after three years of being here, while the homesickness may still come intermittently, I have learned better how to deal with it. After three years in the game, I hereby write with a little more experience on how to deal with it.   Take time to get updates on the domestic news of your home countries. I ta...

 Well, first things first, let's talk about my ancestry. I'm a mixture of Icelandic and Mongolian heritage, which has given me a deep, intrinsic connection to both cultures. I learned about their customs, traditions, and languages from a young age, so I've always felt at ease in a globalizing world. As for film, it's my passion. Growing up, I loved the magic of cinema and I'm now studying at Harvard's prestigious film curriculum. It's the perfect forum to showcase my creativity and share the cultural nuances that make the world beautiful. Now, I'm not just a student, I'm a cultural emissary. My life is dedicated to promoting the diversity of the world, and encouraging respect and understanding through my artistic pursuits. My aim is to bring a new perspective to global media, one that showcases alternative cultures and celebrates their complexity. I've spent years studying, honing my skills, building connections, and making my name known. While y...

  “ We all hold a little softness in our hearts for something that feels like ‘home.’ The taste of ginger in our mother’s chai, the melody of lullabies softly hummed into our ears by our parents and their parent’s before that, the aroma of agarbatti coating our childhood homes…”  Jasleen Kaur ’25 and I hold our wireless mics behind the curtain of the Agassiz Theatre’s stage where Ghungroo — the largest student-run production on campus — takes place each year. We read aloud the beginning of this year’s vision for the show,  Remembrances:  “Remembrance, like gold-tinted glass, coats seemingly ordinary moments in a layer of warmth and belonging. As we chase down the nostalgic smells, sights, and traditions of our past, we find ourselves in a community of individuals embarking on the same journey, each reciting a slightly different folktale, some written in familiar dialects and others foreign to our native tongues.”   Hana Rehman and Jasleen Kaur, the co-directors ...

  Junior year has been one of the toughest years in college so far. This semester, choosing to take five classes and participating in four extracurricular activities has been incredibly fun. Still, at times, it’s left me swamped with deadlines and debates about how to spend my time. Weekends have become partial breaks, and each day seems to stretch longer as the semester progresses.  One class, however, has helped me contextualize my stress and understand on a deeper level a human condition that is pervasive and inevitable among college students: anxiety. Where does anxiety come from? Where does anxiety go? And, most importantly, what insights can we draw from the study of anxiety in art, literature, history, psychology, and philosophy? Exploring this question has turned my semester into a case study of sorts. In this blog, I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned so far, and why this Gen Ed class has been one of my favorite classes at Harvard. The Harvard College Program i...