Published on 2024-02-29 21:11 by Sam Wu

Dima Ghalili

High school is a really interesting time for me. I went to an international school in China. In the beginning, I was very shy and closed off… But I felt pretty true to who I was and I was able to investigate that for the first time. High school was the first time where I was with other people from all around the world… So it was really special.

It’s interesting… when I moved to BU in my sophomore year, my roommates were all white and from around this area. So it was very new, not necessarily to be around Americans and white people, but to be around people that had a very fixed worldview. It kind of had me very much questioning my identity, because, for the first time, I felt like I needed a label for myself: for people to understand me.

Now that I’m in my last semester, I’ve felt a lot more fulfilled and a lot more at peace with where I am socially. I’ve found out that I’m more social than I thought. When I’m forced in a situation to be around people, I enjoy myself and I think I’m able to flourish and build connections. A lot of people are often very judgmental about what they might say, but when you actually get to know them, you realize that’s not how they act. The world becomes an exciting place, once you give people a chance and give yourself a chance, especially when you explore who you are and explore the people around you.

Written by Sam Wu