Only at the very beginning of my freshman year at Queens college, I would think that I would still be feeling my way around. But to my surprise, starting off here was barely an adjustment at all. I feel right at home here at Queens, and I love it. The classes, the professors, the advisors, the campus, the student activities, the daily football games at the Quad–just about all of it. And for the first time in a long time, I am looking forward to a full week of school (something I could never picture myself saying before I got here.)

With all of the Jewish holidays, the schedule has been pretty broken up these past few weeks. Thankfully, there were no classes during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. But the holiday of Sukkot is this week, and school is going to be in full swing. And after seeing some of the quizzes, tests, and assignments coming up, I began to worry about having to miss even more class for yet another holiday. There was already a fair amount of time off for the holidays, so I wasn’t sure what my teachers would think when they noticed that I would be missing even more. Trying to be proactive, I among friends nervously approached my professors to explain that I would be absent for some classes, which in many cases meant missing a quiz.

And to my great relief, all of my professors have been graciously understanding and accommodating. I walked away gratefully, and right then I felt a real sense of belonging. I’m in a place where I don’t have to compromise who I am and what I stand for in order to succeed. And that just about sums up my first impression of Queens College.