A Love Letter to the Last Four Years

Hi everyone, this is Juveriah! Welcome back to my last and final blog here with UIC Radio. I hope everyone enjoyed these last few weeks with kahani, I know I had a really great time! Applying to become a blogger was a little out of nowhere for me, but I had so many amazing friends who encouraged me and look where we are now! I learned so much from writing these blogs every week, and I can’t think of a better way to end my undergrad at UIC than this. So, my final blog is a love letter to the last four years. My college experience was better than I could’ve imagined, and I’m so grateful to everyone I’ve met and everything I’ve learned!

Writing this feels like the official closeout to me in college. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit nervous to graduate. It’s the first time in like forever that I won’t be a student. But, along with those nerves, I’m also so excited! I was so privileged to have such an amazing college experience, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. These were such transformative years in my life, and I truly learned so much about myself, what I want to do, and who I want to become. I saw and experienced so many different things, and for that I am so grateful. I couldn't have done it without all of the amazing people beside me: my parents, my sisters (x5), my childhood friends, my college friends, and my professors! The support and encouragement that I've received from them is out of this world, and I cannot express my gratitude enough.

Pretty skies behind the library

I can’t talk about my college experience without mentioning my friends. I think the sole reason these last four years meant so much to me is because of them. Many people talk about how difficult it is or how long it takes to find your “people” in college, but I somehow managed to meet mine in my freshman year: Sarah, Habeebah, Yusra, and Amena. These girls are everything! When I try to sit and think about who they are to me, it’s really hard to explain. Experiencing life and college with them is something I will cherish forever. They’ve been some of my biggest supporters and sources of motivation during these last four years. No matter what, I knew I could always count on them. The all-nighters, the sleepovers, the city adventures, the apartment rot-days, even just sitting in the IDEA Commons and talking about what we learned in class are all things I will always remember. Everyone graduated a few semesters apart, but it was still so much fun with them. If these last few years with them were amazing, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us in the future!

A random quote on the sidewalk in Lincoln Park

In my freshman year of college, I had no idea what I was doing. Yusra (who is actually also my cousin) was basically my guiding light when I first started at UIC. She was in the year above me, so she helped me a lot with navigating the city and the campus. In my sophomore year, I took my first Global Asian Studies course ever, initially to fulfill a general education requirement, but that introduced me to the program that I’m graduating from (as I’m writing this) tomorrow! The Global Asian Studies program is something that is very near and dear to me now (shoutout Habeebah for the initial push to join, I’m forever grateful)! It was a minor at first, and then I switched it to a major, and now it’s my second degree! The courses I took, the professors I had, and the people I met in those classes will always be remembered. In this past semester, I had the opportunity to do a GLAS independent research study with Professor Gayatri Reddy. That entire experience is also something I will always remember, and I hope I can build on that project in the future (if you want a small glimpse of it, I wrote about it in my 8th blog!). 

Throughout my time here at UIC, I met so many incredible people and experienced so many different cultures and events. Over the past two semesters, my friend Sarah and I made it a point to attend any campus events that intrigued us. We wanted to max out our experience at UIC, and as a result, we were introduced to so many different cultural traditions and art forms. To name a few, we went to new exhibits at Gallery 400, a NASP Heritage Day Powwow, the Black Cultural Centers Open Mic Nights, showcases of Dance Nation and Macbeth at the UIC School of Theatre and Music, AASIA’s ImaginAsian, the ArabAmCC’s Tatreez Across Borders, and Latinos Unidos’ Fiesta del Mas Allas! My friend and I fit so much into these last two semesters, but it still wasn’t enough. I wish we had started sooner! The people we began to see regularly, and the things we learned from these events, are invaluable. 

My friends and I at a journaling event by the Treat Your Shelf Club

Even though I’ve lived 40 minutes from Chicago my entire life, I never really explored it until I started college. To start, UIC is in one of the best locations in the city. We are so close to such amazing neighborhoods like Pilsen, Little Italy, and Chinatown. Seeing the city with my friends, too, was unforgettable. We love sweet treats and trying new foods, and I remember one semester all of our schedules aligned once a week, and we would always go out for coffee at Sawada or baked treats at Levain Bakery. I think that was the same semester that I’m pretty sure we tried everything in Fulton Market… I’m just kidding, but we were there a lot! We all took our time exploring new neighborhoods in the city: Pilsen, Bucktown, Chinatown, Bridgeport, Wicker Park, Old Town, and so much more. I never realized just how big Chicago was until I started at UIC. And even though I’ve been here for four years, I still haven’t explored a vast majority of it. I can’t wait to continue these adventures post-grad!

Sawada Coffee

I feel like I also can’t talk about these last four years without mentioning the sweet treats that got me through it. Gathers Tea Bar in Little Italy and Espresso and Milk near the Loop. For those of you who know me well, you know my love for these two. I don’t think I started going to Gathers until my second semester in my freshman year. Since then, I have always found some excuse to go and get their drinks. Their matcha, specifically, is amazing! If you’re reading this and you haven’t tried it, please stop what you’re doing and get yourself some Gathers! For Espresso and Milk, I started going there regularly in my sophomore year. I was trying to find a new coffee shop close to the train station or campus and found Espresso and Milk! It instantly became my new go-to. It was right by the train station, and if I had enough time in the mornings (and money…), I would get an iced latte. I was there so much that the workers and I started recognizing each other! Besides my family and friends, if anything carried me through college, it was Gathers and Espresso and Milk. Truly some of the best matchas and iced lattes I’ve ever had. And I’ve also dragged almost everyone I know to try it as well, and they all had good reviews, too! 

One of many Gathers and Espresso and Milk trips

There are a few very memorable moments from these last few years that I know I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. Being holed up in the library and locking in with Amena during finals weeks were some of the most fun times during college. I feel a little bit bad because I think I would honestly distract her a lot while she was studying. My friends' graduation seasons were incredibly bittersweet and very memorable as well. Many tears of sadness and joy were shed. Seeing my friends accomplish something so amazing and go on to do the wonderful work they are now is an indescribable feeling!

Going to the LEGO x F1 pop-up in the city last semester was also so much fun! I had just recently gotten into motorsports and Formula 1, and the timing of everything was perfect. I ended up going on my own, so I was a little nervous, but I met another girl who was by herself as well, and we just stuck together throughout the whole thing. They had a car-making station, and they also had a life-size F1 car made entirely of Legos on display, and that was so cool to see up close! 

The F1 car made of Legos

A few weeks later, my phone randomly decided to die on me, and my friend and I were scrambling to get an Apple Store appointment in the city and to let my family and professors know where I was. I never realized just how many things I needed my phone for, and how many of my accounts have Duo-Authentication, so I was locked out of so much during all this. I had used my friend's phone to call my sister and let her know what train I was coming home on. Then I had to buy a train ticket with cash (I usually have a monthly Ventra ticket on my phone), sit alone with my thoughts for 50 minutes, and hope that my sister remembered to pick me up (she remembered!). Also, shoutout to my amazing friend Sarah for her support and guidance during all of this, truly my knight in shining armor. It was a pretty crazy time, but it was so memorable.

A cold, snowy day at UIC

College and undergrad life at UIC is truly such a unique experience. You’re surrounded by almost everything you could possibly need, and you’re in Chicago! What’s better than that? As I’m writing this, my Business Graduation is just a few hours away, and my Liberal Arts and Science Graduation is bright and early tomorrow. I can’t believe it’s finally here. I’m very excited not to have to worry about assignment deadlines, but I’m going to miss so many of my professors, my friends, and the experiences I've had over the last few years (when this blog is uploaded, I'll already have graduated!). Thank you for keeping up with kahani these last few weeks; it truly was such an amazing time. If I decide to start up my own blog post-grad, I’ll be sure to let you all be the first to know. Thank you again for this amazing experience at UIC Radio, and also these last four years <3.

- Juveriah