An Open Letter to the Graduating Batch of SSE 2021
Like all good things in life, even your time at the place you called “home” has to end…….
On my right, was a typical “sakht launda” with his traditional beard, fashion-sense, and an unbelievable layer of fake attitude which prompted him to believe he’s ‘Thomas Shelby’ but in reality, he was hiding his better version. On my left, was a girl who definitely radiated the SSE vibes, typing down answers as well as reminding herself of the numerous assignments still pending. You may wonder, how did I find myself in such a situation?
My O-week wasn’t the most eventful one, mainly due to my personal stupid decision to evade the group in favor of some other people and by the time semester began, I hardly had any friends. As an introvert, I can personally confirm that we prefer climbing a mountain with a bucket of water on our heads rather than attempting to socialize and forging new friendships! Maybe that’s why we struggle to let go of friends too? Well, I didn’t really climb a mountain, as I climbed the flight of stairs leading to the “FARRADAY WING” of SSE and decided to bet on the little interaction we had at our school as build to build friendships. Shehla Amir, a senior from school, whose misplaced ‘PREFECT’ badge I had earlier found and returned was sitting beside Abdullah Shehzad who shared these similarities except for the fact he was one of those who once tried to bully us when we accidentally interrupted his snooker session at school (hoped he wouldn’t remember it).
Personally, I am not very fond of befriending my juniors as, despite their ages, there’s an automatic stereotype which makes me assume they will be immature and no-way near the ‘level’ I am looking for. However, the two sitting in the Discussion Room of SSE, fortunately, didn’t believe in the idiotic approach I had adopted and welcomed me. Surprisingly, they weren’t the most talkative themselves and I felt that this was the introvert’s paradise we all dreamt of and two weeks into the future, they were busy nodding their heads in approval as I kept on elaborating on my tales while they silently admitted they had found a new friend. This little interaction paved way for me to establish firm roots in SSE and building bonds of friendship which I hadn’t imagined before!
The Econ Major, who was hanging out with peers a year ahead of him, made SSE his ‘first home’ at LUMS. While joking that the structure of the building resembled a factory from the outside and a hospital from the inside, the people inhabiting that massive structure were the real deal! Honest, genuine, caring, loving, and completely different from the students of the other schools at LUMS. Therefore, it won’t be much of a surprise that I had more friends from SSE than my own school or even SDSB as for some reason there was a lack of trust and you kept doubting their intentions for befriending you.
Although my initial friendship was with two students of Electrical Engineering, I was gradually introduced to the wonderful CS batch, home to some lovely personalities. Harum, Hira, Malik Ali, or Raheem, every single one of them was unique and offered support in their own ways. Wasn’t long before the whole SSE batch of 2021 recognized me as their un-official member and treated me as one of their own. However, there were always some who weren’t aware of my academic background and would be shooked at realizing I am not one of them.
My love and admiration for these people compelled me to join SPADES (SCIENCE SOCIETY), despite the fact that I was miles away from studying anything related to science. As expected, even my parents questioned my commitment to this society however, the wonderful people running the society only cemented my place at this place, and frankly speaking, I had never imagined spending three straight years at this place. Have you seen Batman Begins? Remember the scene where Jim Gordon wraps a coat around a young Bruce and tells him the world isn’t over? Well, my favorite Director, Muneef, emulated something similar to that on the closing Ceremony of PsiFi and I can proudly say I fondly cherish his help and his influence on my university life. Sharing the same school as Muneef, Malik Ali, who’s one of the most intelligent lads I have come across, also enlightened us with techniques on how to ace exams at university which is extremely rare at my school, where students intentionally understate their efforts to pretend they are clueless about the examination. At SSE, everyone works together to solve assignments however at other schools, even friends hide their work just to ensure the mean of the class remains low. The society also helped me interact with the two Academic Heads, who were also from SSE and were without a doubt amongst the sweetest people at LUMS. Hamza Ather, a person who was the teacher’s favorite throughout my school life, and Amina Shaikh, who didn’t have the best first impression of me (Hint: JAMIN JAVA). Despite the difference in hierarchy and ages, I would be absolutely blissful after bumping into them at the campus as it’s very rare to find seniors who would show kindness to their juniors.
At times, the SSE students would move across the Khooka and take courses from our school, and their presence was fairly prominent, and they offered a different perspective to classes altogether. Ali Samiq, an EE student, is a true example of this. He decided to audit a Political Science course from our school. Have you seen a student eager to sing in classes with a full audience and the presence of an instructor? Not too many people can do that, right? Ali didn’t care as he lived his life the way he wanted, expressing himself in the way he wanted, irrespective of what others thought of him and didn’t shy away from expressing his conservative views (which I agree too but was scared to tell them), inviting unjust attacks on him which he happily accepted with a smile. His presence left an ever-lasting effect on the instructor who offered him a job as her RO irrespective of his academic background and I was left amazed by his sheer brilliance.
We all have something to flex about, right? Well in my freshmen year, I would be over the moon by the fact that I am the only ‘freshmen’ to be invited to ‘sophomore’ plans and it felt like something to flex. On all birthdays, restaurant outings, etc, I would be invited and I used to go there and get treated as a younger brother by everyone! Imagine, you are sitting in your boring class and your mobile beeps. You check it and realize Abdullah Shahzad is inviting you to a Pizza Party at Broadway as they have a massive discount. Abdullah would bring his Prius and play his “heart-broken” music playlists that disgusted everyone else sitting in the car. Eventually, Shehla would connect her Bluetooth and showcase her extensive English songs list that weren’t mainstream but were aesthetic! Once at the restaurant, Abdullah and I would have a mini-competition to check who eats more (Paisay Halal kon karta hay) and would end up eating more than our ideal capacities. Words can’t describe but such spontaneous plans with so much enjoyment are much underrated.
Next up, its time to talk about my love for doughnuts. The semester is about to begin, you’re visiting LUMS with your non-LUMS friend and are casually selecting your pasta from Jamin Java. From the corner of your eye, you spot your friend from SSE, someone whom you haven’t talked to for over the last three months and she’s sitting alone with a whole box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and your inner-self is urging you to forget the friend you came along with, and hurry up, strike a conversation, and ask if she can give you one! Easily got over the first two steps as I asked how her holidays were and how was her travel back home but for those who think I lost my dignity…….I didn’t ask for the doughnuts. Humbly left and on the following day, narrated this account to Shehla and eventually to Hira herself and she replied, “If you had asked, I would’ve definitely given you one”. Yeah, she scrubbed salt on my wounds…….sucks to be an introvert with zero interactive skills. Anyways, from that day onwards, she became a good friend too and I would regularly find her alongside her group at Jamin, trying their best to tackle their coding issues and I would casually sit there and just check if her laptop has a new sticker or not.
“You won’t believe it but he’s your male version. He’s your lost brother?!!!”
So Harum was well accustomed to hearing this and I would be greeted with a somewhat similar statement when most people began comparing us. Harum, another CS student, is another friend who would be fondly remembered when they finally graduate. Sharing somewhat similar traits, especially our love for talking when surrounded by friends, our friendship was quite unique to some extent. Whether it is bitching about people we’re mutual with, helping me write a prank love letter or mutual love for going back home as soon as classes end, it was a roller-coaster ride. She was a TA and I would sit with her at times during her office hours and would just laugh at how the kids drained her energy with some silly questions. Main Highlight: fighting over getting me to wear a crown! Would probably remember her every time I come across a male’s gym.
Moreover, their remaining group was also filled with some excellent people. It was so easy to strike conversations with them whether it was by telling Mahnoor that her hometown is hosting a Chocolate Festival (which she would be clueless), telling both Harris Butt and Saleem that I would be voting for them in the upcoming elections, watching an ever-smiling Sahim crack his jokes or even invading their lab (with all their fancy apparatus and devices). At the lab, you would get to see most of the SPADES members and would be greeted by almost everyone starting from Aiman to Kamran. Wonderful people, to be honest, as normally Labs are fairly exhaustive yet they always met with a smile and a high level of enthusiasm. Furthermore, being a Manchester United fan, visiting Kami’s hostel room felt like entering Paradise as his wall was oozing with Manchester United’s heritage and class.
There are two people whom I believed were hard to ever see alone. Matloob and Hussnain! The two lads whom I had befriended at a trip to Old Lahore, were adorable and by far the easiest people to approach for a conversation and their jokes would lighten up your day. Matloob’s beautiful dismissal by a 9-year-old kid and Hussnain’s habit of pronouncing my name as “Faiz” are somehow imprinted in my head and I can never forget them!
On a particular day, the EE department was showcasing the projects they had been working on. I was invited by Shehla, Abdullah, and Eesha as their project was also on display. I had been watching them working on their “Laser Engraver” for several weeks which included Eesha searching for Abdullah who would disappear and Shehla explaining the whole process to an Econ Major who had no clue what circuits she was referring to but expressed his 100% interest just to not let her feel bad. So here I was, looking at every single project as a critic, pointing out mistakes, listening to their mechanical language about which I was clueless. Despite my lack of knowledge or expertise in that field, I had a wonderful time as I saw their efforts being turned to something productive, evoking innovation. Unsurprisingly, I even took some of my friends to their exhibition to provide my friends with moral support.
My company with them entitled me to some activities I never would have tried before. Netball is a sport for girls?!! I mean there is no male-netball team at LUMS. But, since Shehla is a prominent member of that squad, for the last two years, we’ve been playing that sport due to their lack of participants and I have developed a love for some extent for that sport. Similarly, after every Graphic design I complete, I silently whisper praises for Shehla as acting as her apprentice for LSF made me familiar with some unique skills I may have never tried before! As for Abdullah, I think the statement “I joined and stayed at LUMS because of Abdullah Shahzad”, is enough to warrant me credit him for all the learning at SPADES.
As a freshman, I used to laugh at the prospect of having them leave me alone at LUMS. At that time, a period of 3 years looked like a distant memory but the bitter truth is that after the announcement of the fall semester to be online, reality hit me hard that I only have one more semester to cherish with all of them. Watching them turn up for all of my surprise birthdays at the campus was very wholesome! Life has different plans for everyone and it may not be a surprise that you may not even get to meet them later. Would I even go to SSE after they have graduated? Who will I happily tell about my struggles at my ECON courses? Although life goes on and you find replacements for those who leave, these people will surely be remembered for making SSE the first home for a socially shy, introvert who was struggling to find his feet in the new environment.
All the best for your future!
