The Beauty of Bruff

So I just got out of class. I got exactly 4.5 hours of sleep last night. Why you ask? Because like most college freshman, I’d say I have a pretty strong adversion to studying over socializing, and thus socializing was what I was doing until about 3 AM. I didn’t even go out last night and yet when all the people who did came BACK, I was still awake. College is such a community for social interaction that a young socialite like me just can’t help herself.

Or at least that’s what I tell myself when I’m dragging myself out of bed for my 8 AM class. This morning it was quite a struggle, and I have to tell you: I should get a medal of valor or something to commend this morning’s particular intense ordeal.

I was cranky, I was sleepy, sugar was the only thing keeping me awake UNTIL . . .I went to Bruff for a biscuit. Now let’s not lie, Bruff isn’t exactly known for its fine cuisine, (though its biscuits are pretty good). But while there, I ran into two sister in the sorority I’m pledging, a floormate of mine, AND an unamed Tulane athlete whom I totally adore. And suddenly, my day turned around!!

One thing that I noticed about this place right away was that people you’d meet while out and about you always meet again. I’ll be honest, it is kind of awkward when you’re dancing with someone and you’re not sure if he’ll remember you the next day and then he’s in two of your classes. Actually, its quite awkward. And then you see him at Bruff. Every day.

But eventually, you get used to him and everybody else you meet and hope you’ll never meet again but inevitably do. It’s pretty amazing when you get over that awkward stage and make friends with these people too. Bruff is definitely the focal point for all of that. It’s the joys of a small college–its a little community and eventually you find your place in it.

And if my place happens to be at Bruff, getting a biscuit, I’d say its not too bad of a place to be.

My friends Justin, Iris (also my pledge sister, on left side), Caroline, and me Bruffin’ it up // Caroline, Pledge Sister Iris, and me // And here’s me being cool

Twins

Bette Midler once said, “Cherish forever what makes you unique, because you’re really a yawn if it goes." Eleanor Roosevelt too commented on the value of individuality when she said, “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one." Individuality has been one aspect of human life that is taught from the earliest stages of comprehension: you are unique, you are special, and there is no one else like you. But it’s a little different with twins!

My fraternal twin sister and I are 19 years old.

Our 19th birthday, which was yesterday, was the first birthday in our lives that we celebrated apart. It was a milestone that marked the beginningn of the rest of our lives, our lives on separate paths that now only occasionally intertwine. She chose to go to school in Texas while I decided to go here. Because of Hurricane Katrina, my whole college experience so far has been a unique one, and very different from hers.

We didn’t want to go to the same college because we wanted our own separate identities, and our own separate experiences. My father is a fraternal twin as well, and as the frustration of always being one of the twins really began to hit us, he told us to get used to it. At the age of 50 people still remembered him and his twin brother the same way. Growing up as a twin made it difficult enough to assert our independence from each other, and through our teen years, constant comparison made this feat almost Herculean.

We are much better friends now than we ever were, because instead of growing up together, the societal misconceptions about twins made us almost into competitors in every respect. After coming to Tulane, it was my goal to establish my own identity, separate from hers. I am nowinvolved in multicultural organizations, pledging for a sorority, president of my dorm, and writing (sporadically, I’ll admit!) for the Hullabaloo.Since coming here, I’ve found so many opportunities to succeed and excel! I didn’t ever think I wanted to go to a smaller university, and almost attended a large state school like she did, but Tulane has made its way into my heart and New Orleans has made its way into my soul.

Going back to Eleanor Roosevelt’s prolific words, we see that we each have an obligation to be unique. In the world of twins, uniqueness doesn’t come with the territory. But with this birthday and each coming year from now on, our twinship is no longer what defines us. It is part of who we are, but certainly not all we are. We are individuals.

This is Anisha (L) and me at a restaurant in Moscow last spring.

Basketball Game

School spirit really can be defined as a lot of things. To me, it means people unconditionally supporting their team, regardless of the status of that team, the situation they are in, and any other factors.

School spirit is what I saw tonight.

Tonight I went to the Tulane v. Memphis basketball game. My dorm, Wall Residential College, had a pep rally prior to the game, during which Coach Dickerson talked, Soundwave played, and Shockwave cheered. Our residents came down from their rooms and bought t shirts and enjoyed hot dogs. We talked, we shared, we bonded. It’s hard to instill school spirit into people when we had no reason to have any . . . .but our particular class came back to Tulane and so in us it was almost inherent. We were Tulanians, and therefore hardcore fans of every Tulane endeavor. We painted our faces and happily skipped off to the game . . . . .only to witness a colossal defeat. Tulane lost that game 65-105. We knew Tulane was facing a very strong team, the third best in the country. We just hoped that with our peppy attitudes and team colors, Tulane would win.

But I guess that’s not really the point of team spirit now, is it?

In the end, we stood together as a community, supporting our team, letting them know that we supported them no matter what. Wall Residential College is all about community living, and there’s no better way to kick off our year than with this pep rally, and this game. We really came together to show Tulane Basketball that we do love them, and we’ll watch them win or lose any day. It’s one thing to stand for something when its easy and everyone else is doing it too. It’s another thing completely to stand alone, and against a far more powerful ideal than yours. And in our case, our school spirit ensures that no matter what the event and what the situation, none of us will ever stand alone.

So here’s to you Tulane Basketball boys: We LOVE you . . . . .all of you . . . . . .every single one of you, because no matter what the outcome of the game, you guys sure have heart and we can see that. We support you!

New Orleans

For all of you that wonder what life is like for a freshman returning to New Orleans post-Katrina:

This is pretty much a soliloquy of my thoughts and feelings after returning to New Orleans, right after classes started here at Tulane.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The true test of a civilization is not its census, nor its crop, nor the size of its cities, but the kind of man it turns out." As we each go through life, the people around us constantly strive to make us representatives of a society that will pass Emerson’s true test. We are taught morals, values, ethics, and most importantly, how to give back to the communities that foster these ideals in us in the first place. In the case of New Orleans and Tulane University, this is an opportunity that we have that we should never forget, for it too will define us as representatives of our own perfect society.Metaphorically, New Orleans is a perfect society. Now devoid of most of its residents, it sees uniformity, many less drunken nights, and less crime. I’ve now been in New Orleans for about a week, and I can hardly believe my eyes. I’ve seen destruction and devastation, but I’ve also seen a community trying to rebuild itself amidst a world full of doubts. Orientation Déjà Vu was held for us freshman returning to the city, and though the Tulane staff and students praised us for coming back, it is not we that deserve the praise.So for all those people now returning to their homes to find them broken into and broken everywhere, for all those people coming back to New Orleans to find nothing is left, and for all those still trying to find their memories and the romantic vision of New Orleans as she used to exist- I congratulate you. You have a lot more hope in this city than many of your counterparts.But with political strife, bureaucracy issues, and rampant disorganization, it’s a miracle people are returning at all. As a freshman, I returned because I wanted to make a difference, and here I knew I could. I would get a unique opportunity to facilitate the lives of others, and instead of turning a blind eye to need, I would turn both eyes to focus right on it. Many other freshmen returned for the same reasons, and in President Cowen’s words, we are “the most famous entering class in America." Hurricane Katrina not only reshaped our college experiences, but it gave us an identity, and according to the USA Today, a name too—“Katrina Kids."


We too share that romantic vision of New Orleans as the shining beacon of the Old South. We too want to see New Orleans return to all her former glory and stand as a representative of the United States culturally and socially. But with all the doubters amongst us, it is hard to see where New Orleans will go. For the most part, as freshman from all over the US, we were raised in different societies with different ideals and values. We were taught to give back to the community, but none of us ever predicted being the second line of defense after the worst natural disaster in American history.

This is the most paradoxical image I have ever seen. It is beauty and destruction, sunrise and flooding, and light and dark all at once.

If this doesn’t define us as people, I don’t know what will. We will be the representatives of this country’s youth, and we will step up to the responsibility that has suddenly been thrust upon us. New Orleans will pass Emerson’s true test, for due to the efforts of this university and this city, we will be exactly the kind of people New Orleans hopes to turn out.