Following my Passion

"Use art to turn the world inside out" -JR

Already a week into NYUAD, I have almost surely decided to change my major to Visual Arts, minoring in Social Research.

Some background. I want to change the world, if only in a small way. That is one aspiration that I share with all of my classmates. Right now, after college, I plan on volunteering and working with NGO's and non-profits abroad, while developing my portfolio to become a photojournalist. Now of course, that could change completely- this university offers so many amazing opportunities that it would be a waste to not consider them.

That being said, I came to NYUAD thinking that I was going to major in Social Research and Public Policy- a broad degree encompassing things like politics, economics, and international affairs. That is what would be logical. Safe, in a way.

During Marhaba Week, we had many speeches given by our outstanding faculty and staff. A common thread in all of them was following your passion. Which started me thinking (it really didn't help matters any that I see the quote above whenever I walk to or from my room)- I care about social research and volunteering, and I will most likely end up working in the field at some point. But my passion is art, and using art to change the world, and people's perceptions of the world.

Every long term project I have completed has had to do with art. My junior year, you need to write an extended research paper in English. I changed my topic over 5 times, the final change being from something on the social sciences (which had evolved over 4 changes), to a completely new topic- music education in schools. (Note to students- not the best idea to completely overhaul a paper when you are over halfway through. You can do it, it just isn't easy).

The following summer I went to a leadership retreat where you make a vision plan for creating change. I created a proposal for a series of photographs portraying modern global, social, and cultural issues. This plan morphed...

Into my Capstone (senior project), which entailed write ups, actually taking the photographs, and then hand printing them (using a darkroom).

Art has always been close to my heart. So with all the talk about following your passion, I decided that I would explore what my major would be. I am taking a class this semester that is required for Social Research, and I will take a class next semester for Visual Arts, and decide from there.

But right now, even though it isn't the most logical decision, it looks like I will be majoring in Visual Arts.

So far, following my heart and my passion hasn't steered me wrong. And there are a lot worse philosophies in life. I am going to use my years at NYUAD to explore, discover, and hopefully understand. Being brave enough to follow my heart and passion even when it isn't the choice that most would make is the first step in that journey. <3

Coffee

Before coming to NYUAD, I had never even tried coffee.

That has definitely changed now.

My first venture into the world of coffee began at the Dubai Mall, the largest in the world. I had been wandering for a while, and, with my collegiate mindset, decided to stop at one of the numerous coffee shops. What I discovered was that while the taste of coffee isn't horrible, I really don't like lattes. Of any kind (back at home I had tried a chai latte, and even though I love chai, I disliked the latte).

Then the next day comes, and one of my unofficial roommates, Remi, (like stated in an earlier blog, we have a quad, so people visit us a lot :) ), made ice coffee (she has a blender). And that was really good.

Now add onto this the fact that I have an 8:30 class Monday to Thursday, and you get this: 

Nescafe Mocha. I also tried the original, which wasn't as good, but Al Safa (the nearby supermarket- which has EVERYTHING, and is only 3 buildings away from the dorm, so it is awesomeness), has run out of the mocha. But I have enough for the first week :)

<3

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well, in reality, I left over a week ago.

I left Vermont on Aug 25th, and after a flight to NYC, then another to Abu Dhabi (13 hours), I arrived on the 26th. Went through some visa processing, got my eyes scanned, and then waited with a bunch of other NYUAD'ers for other flights of our classmates. Eventually we went outside, (going from air conditioning to a wall of heat that you just walk into- happens a lot here. Sometimes accompanied by my glasses fogging up), and went to Sama Tower, my home for the next 4 years. Got settled in a bit, met my roommates (who are awesome), and slept.

Now, here is the funny thing about time zones and traveling. They mess with you. But not always in a negative way. For the first few days of Marhaba (Welcome) Week, I was naturally waking up at around 7, with the light. But alas, I did not magically turn into a morning person- as the week progressed I began to sleep later and actually need my alarm.

Marhaba Week was awesome. It was a whirlwind, but one that was at the same time both fun and useful.
Some highlights:

• Iftar meals. We arrived during Ramadan, which is the Islamic fasting time. An iftar is the meal that breaks the fast after the evening call to prayer, and we attended two at really nice banquet halls. 
• The school library. Awesome books, that you loan on a semester basis :)
• A discussion on following your passion and intercultural intelligence (more on those ideas in another post)
• Dubai! I figured out that my foreign travel curse is to be on the bus that breaks down. It happened in India when we got a flat tire, and it happened on the way to Dubai when the AC broke. But Dubai was amazing. Got to see the Burj Kalifa, the tallest building in the world, and went ice skating :) A nice reminder of home. 
• Kayaking eco tour. Even though I had to wake up at 5:45AM, it was completely worth it. We kayaked through the mangroves, learning about the environment. But what was really amazing, (I need a thesaurus), was kayaking on an inlet of the Persian Gulf, seeing the sun rise, the skyline of the city, the horizon, and feeling a cool breeze for the first time since getting here. 
• Participating in the wandering journal project- an artistic endeavor in the UAE to bring about a renaissance by printing journals and passing them around, getting the people who live here to make a page, and then sharing those to show the diversity and creative talents of the residents.
• Making the dorm room feel like home was fun, and is still an evolving process (my desk is now ready for class)
• The realization that here, you can truly be yourself- I don't know if this is true for all US colleges, but here, there is very little judgement and since we are all figuring out where we fit, everyone is really friendly. And it is so inspiring to be in an environment with talented and driven students. 

<3