Letter from
Harvard
As Capital was about to launch ‘The View’ a column
by Yoseph S.Ayele, the writer was eagerly awaiting to join prestigious
Ivy League school Harvard which had accepted the dynamic Ethiopian
to begin classes in 2008. We would like to take this opportunity
to wish Yoseph all the best in his promising academic career and
look forward, as do readers of The View to his insightful commentary
from Harvard. The column’s title as of this week is specified
further with –”Letter from Harvard”.
"God, it is so hot!" That is what I kept on saying during
my first dinner at one of the oldest dining halls in Harvard. "Wait
for a few weeks Yoseph, and tell me what you think of New England
weather," said one of the students who was in my pre-orientation
program. I will not lie to you, after the rains and the cold weather
of Addis Ababa, Cambridge City (where Harvard is) was pretty hot
and humid. And thinking about it, he was right. The weather changed
so fast without notice, but it wasn't my only first impression that
changed.
Getting into Harvard University is very hard. People feel like one
has to something extraordinary to get to this world-class university.
When a student says he/she studies at Harvard, others ask, "which
medicine did you discover?" or, "what did you have to
do to get in?" So every student, before arriving at Harvard,
is extremely intimidated by the student group, and so was I. These
are students who have been the best in their schools, in their towns
and cities, and in some cases even in their countries. Before I
got here, I couldn't help but get intimidated. Did things change?
A bit, I would say.
I arrived at Harvard expecting to meet the next presidents and Einsteins
of society. There are certainly many students who can and will become
one of those. The thought made me feel so worthless, and kept on
wondering how on earth I got accepted into Harvard, and how much
of a mistake the Admissions Office made. This was before I found
out that many students were thinking the same. When I first met
people, we argued on which one of us is the laziest and very lucky
to get in. Everyone is insecure about Harvard, and no one feels
not smart enough compared to others.
When I learned of this valuable information, I was able to catch
a breath and feel less threatened. What was the turning point in
this dilemma is when many students were fascinated by the fact that
I was Ethiopian and that I came a long way. This was a big relief,
to know that I have something to talk about and offer something
unique. My intimidation lessened greatly, and I felt more relaxed.
I learned valuable lessons from this. One is that we are all unique,
and all of us do not necessarily have to succeed in the same thing
to be successful. I still feel intimidated, when the person sitting
next to me quotes specific Articles from the UN Charter, or someone
else in my class tells me how Ge'ez is different from Latin. Just
because I do not know that I know more or less than other people.
What, I believe, Harvard teaches us is to explore knowledge and
not compete over it. I am learning how to push my limits in understanding,
thinking critically, and managing my time, while keeping a vibrant
social life. Competition becomes insignificant because it is not
about how knows more or who knows less, but it is getting closer
to finding solutions to the problems society faces today.
What I am learning at the moment is to make intellectual criticism
of everything I read. The system encourages us to argue with the
knowledge the faculty shares with us, in order to get closer to
the truth. But truth be told, at this exact moment, I am learning
how complete 500 pages of reading a week.
Yoseph can be reached at askyoseph@gmail.com
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