'Marhaba, Khuss Amdeed, Welcome, Bonjour, Willkommen’
These were the first words all of us laid our eyes on when we first entered this campus. Like most of us, I was also nervous, scared and thousands of miles away from my home. I was looking forward to what awaited me here. These few words of greetings offered all of us the solace we needed. It reminded each of us that we were not alone in this journey.
We all had travelled from different parts of the world: some of the first people met here had come from as far as the United States, some were from Eastern Europe - precisely Albania, Croatia, and Bulgaria - and some were locals. All of us, however, had one thing in common: all of us had entered this new home with one identity and under the banner of one big Jacobs University family.
Throughout these past three years, the same people - who like me - were nervous, scared, and even a little homesick have now grown to be completely different people. I’ve seen them grow as we went on and I’ve seen them make some precious memories during their stay at Jacobs University. Not only did we overcome numerous personal and professional hardships and tragedies, we also were able to experience the joy and freedom that comes with university life.
I will never forget the TOS weekends, long and peaceful walks along the Campus Green pathways, the time spent chatting outside the IRC, the wonderful coffee shop, and of course, the almost routine assemblies outside C3 as a consequence of false fire alarms. Now that I think about the time I have spent at Jacobs University, I am immediately taken aback, so much so, my heart sinks a little for even though I had an amazing time at Jacobs University, I hate to admit that now it’s over and now it’s time for me to move on.
It’s amazing in itself that even in the midst of never-ending academic stress, struggles associated with finding internships, and the constant reminder of the makeups that I had to give, we still managed to maintain our social life and explore whatever life at Jacobs University had to offer. We have seen each other grow, make mistakes, love and lost, but most importantly, evolve into the better versions of ourselves.
One of my personal fondest memories include playing cricket in the basketball court every spring, placing bets with my friend Zohaib Mirza that I always lost, and then later gathering in Ameer Hamza’s room to order food and play Fifa. This also stems to our over exploitation of "Pizza Protein,” especially by Khubaib and Dorrabb who were, without doubt, responsible for atleast 20% of their business. I was also almost an equal contributor for first two years until I shifted to Joudi's nail-biting Arabic cuisine in my final year. Another major recollection is when we travelled to Croatia with Professor Maurelli for "Breaking the Surface" conference. I remember my friend Arham and I almost drowned each other in the Adriatic Sea trying to do whatever we were. Time flies when we do something we love, and it still seem like yesterday when we used to listen Tallah’s investment advices at three in the morning, when were used to have Mohid train us at the university gym, Zaidi motivate us after every setback, and Farzan rant about Barcelona’s defeat, which, just by the way, came very often.
I still remember that before I came to Jacobs University, my father said, “A person never forgets his university years.” Oh, well, it’s almost unbelievable how try those words were for it has barely a month since we graduated and I cannot stop thinking over the time I spent at this wonderful, wonderful place. It is truly difficult for me to say goodbye to our home, but it’s time. And so, in all its glory and defeats, I will always remember this place. Farewell, Jacobs, farewell. Thank you for everything.
BY MUHAMMAD Ammar Zafar (Pakistan) | CLASS OF 2021
