This is not a "goodbye"..
To Dr. Rebecca West Burns,
Is this truly the last post? Are we there yet? I cannot believe it!
At the moment, I’m passing through some mixed emotions. I am so happy that I finally got into this stage of my academic journey, as it was my last semester with coursework. At the same time, I feel sad because this particular course, Supervised Teaching II, is over. If I ask myself: what made the experience a great one, the answer would definitely be the environment I found myself in.
What might not be obvious to every member in our wonderful group is how I feel between them. The safe and warm atmosphere has always pushed me forward. Through this particular semester, I’ve passed through several hard events. My younger brother was dismissed from the Engineering school and this impacted him emotionally in a hard way that he was hospitalized. This has happened during one of my own tough times, about a week prior to my qualifying exam. None of my parents knew about these problems, as I didn’t want to scare them while they are far far away. This was so hard on me and I thought that I wouldn’t make it through. This wasn’t the end of my drama, my older brother, who’s in the army, was sent to Yemen as part of the coalition forces. With this taking place, my pains were back and the wounds got deeper. I am a huge believer of life’s happy endings. This is exactly what has happened. Everything was fine at the end; I passed my quals, my younger brother got to meet with the dean who got him back to the college after reviewing his case, and my older brother made it home safe!
If you’re asking yourself: why am I bringing all these stories here? Then let me tell you: I wasn’t able to make it through without the support you and the whole group had provided me with. You all were my second family. As an international student, having that sense of belonging was wonderful. It takes a lot to get into that level where you “truly” feel as part of a whole. This is what helped me maintain my interest to learn and helped me collect every piece of my energy to move forward. It is these weekly nourishing meetings that made my reality way better. I am that kind of learners who needs to be in a group of caring and supportive members. Being in a such group allowed me to see more, understand more, and be happy more!
The first minutes in our weekly meetings, are the best: they made the experience so unique. They were the bounding moments, where we connect as a group and where we are provided with opportunity to support each other. My learning lessons in this course are accompanied with all the laughs and tears we had together.. so thank you so much for allowing to be on board with the best crew ever!
Yours,
Hessa
