An ideal atmosphere

Columbia offers more opportunities than most of us realize. Besides having access to first-class academics, we are immersed in a diverse community that not only exposes us to people of various cultural, political, and social backgrounds, but also helps us to understand this diversity. Such dissimilarities are valuable not only in their own right­—the situations we will encounter after university make understanding diversity all the more important.

Over winter break, I discovered the value of diversity on a visit to my Jordanian high school, King’s Academy. As I walked the campus and met with classmates I hadn’t seen in months, one question my friends frequently asked me was, “Do you feel King’s Academy has prepared you well enough for college?” Pondering the question, I realized my high school had an advantage over most boarding schools. King’s Academy strives to bring in as many students as possible from different cultures, nations, and social backgrounds. Living in such a community prepares a student for college, where new types of people are always encountered. However, while native Jordanian residents benefit from this community, it is the international students who benefit most. Regardless of the reason, they willingly thrust themselves into a diverse and foreign atmosphere. It is this type of audacity that truly helps a rising college first-year to prepare for the dynamism of a university like Columbia.

When I arrived on campus, I was not as nervous as I had expected. Attending an international high school gave me the confidence to believe there was no type of person I could not befriend or understand. Therefore, King’s Academy granted me a “head start” in college adjustment. By having native Palestinian, Jordanian, Indian, Pakistani, Korean, and American friends, I was able to understand the situations and viewpoints of peers who have had vastly different upbringings and experiences from me.

Just as Columbia students spend hours debating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I discussed Middle Eastern conflicts on a daily basis in high school. My Palestinian friends shared their perspectives on the issue and informed me of the atrocities their communities had suffered. Now that I am at Columbia, I know Jewish and Israeli students who have equally strong opinions on the conflict. Sometimes, I argue with one friend of mine over whether or not religious discrimination plays a significant role in the conflict. Whether or not I agree with him, I realize that my friend has some good points to make.

I can apply the same experience beyond Columbia’s campus to the city of New York. As anyone who ventures off campus knows, when you walk into an ethnic restaurant or store in Manhattan, you feel as if you’ve entered a nation. Instead of being bewildered, I can embrace it easily. Now, whenever I order at Amir’s Falafel, I’m able to do it in my rudimentary Arabic! I know it makes the Lebanese cashier feel more comfortable hearing the speech of his homeland, and I’m happy to speak it. These are the benefits of our very neighborhood—the variety of individuals offers us a great amount of information to learn or to put to use. Skills can be exchanged among members of our student body or easily learned beyond our campus.

I’m not saying that the best way to prepare for Columbia University is to travel and study in some far-off land. While obviously a worthwhile experience, traveling is not the only way to be able to force oneself to adjust to the dynamism of college. By choosing to attend Columbia, we have demonstrated our desire to step out of our comfort zones. Although it is inevitably difficult, adapting to something new makes us smarter and more self-reliant, making us mature in ways we did not expect. Our ability to adapt is the ability to thrive in whatever situation life throws at us.

The author is a Columbia College first-year.