To Those Who Saw Me Cry, Laugh and Most Importantly, Happy

By Maryam Fawzi 

Senior English Editor 

It’s a challenging topic and even more so to define, let alone achieving it – which is definitely an accomplishment of its own.

Since I do not identify as an expert on happiness nor am I happy enough to ramble on about how to achieve it, I decided to acknowledge the people who brought happiness into my life, starting with professors.

At university, there are some professors who have unwittingly absorbed these traits and use them generously. There are the understanding ones, like Richard Byford, who understood that I was not emotionally okay to write a reflection paper after a car accident, even though I was physically fine and it was a minor incident; regardless, he understood my fear and inability to work.

Amr Abulnaga was also understanding when I missed three classes in a row because my uncle passed away. In fact, he didn’t even care about the classes I missed; he was just genuinely concerned. Compassion and empathy definitely go a long way.

Emotional understanding is not the only trait of happiness: being able to portray positive emotions and breaking the ice between teacher and student is necessary in order to go further than just knowing the person on an academic level. My grades do not matter and I won’t even remember them in a few years. I will, however, remember the ties I had with people and the emotions they brought with them.

There’s a long profile available about how Fikry Boutros is a great person and professor, but I also have my own thoughts. He isn’t only a person who always carries a smile on his face; he takes the time to know his students, to integrate them in the discussion and make sure no one is bored in his classes.

My first A was with professor Fikry in his introduction to linguistics class, and when I told him that, he was shocked. He told me that’s impossible, I seem like a straight-A student. After that semester, after he believed in me, I actually did start getting an A in my courses regularly. He doesn’t know the impact he made, it was so effortless for him.

Another example is Mervat Abou Ouf, who wouldn’t see me without hugging me, even though she doesn’t remember my name. She noticed when I cut my hair, she always tells me I look great even when I haven’t slept in over 24 hours. She makes her students feel like she is genuinely happy to see them, like she genuinely cares about their personal wellbeing.

However, the balance between learning and personal ties is definitely important, which Reem Nafie has mastered. Her astounding memory gives her the ability to remember everything her students tell her about themselves. She even went as far as to get each person in my class a personalized gift based on our likes and dislikes. 

At the same time, she also made sure she put extraordinary effort in having us leave class with extra knowledge and practice. She altered her whole course plan to accommodate our knowledge as a class and make sure each student had the chance to understand the material.

Last, and most definitely not least, Firas Al-Atraqchi, who has asked me not to include a paragraph about him in this opinion piece. I will just say that words will never suffice for the help he gives everyone. 

It all started by having someone believe in me. Dania Akkawi, my editor-in-chief, apparently had my whole future planned in The Caravan before I even knew what I was doing in that class. She’s not only a cute person, but she thinks everyone and everything is also cute.

She spreads happiness everyday by radiating this ray of positivity that I don’t possibly know how she maintains after the endless hours of work. And honestly, her strength continues to impress me, even if it’s after a bit of freaking out.

I can’t help but turn into Dania sometimes and my brain can only think ‘she’s so cute’ when I see Nada Wahba, the online senior editor. Her cuteness immediately makes everyone happier, even when she rants about her anxiety or her annoying classmates.

I barely knew Nada Wahba three months ago, even though we’ve taken two classes together, but somehow we both suddenly got really close. Anyone who knows this girl is honestly lucky. She just radiates warmth and good energy.

While I am very proud, I am also extremely jealous of Nada. She gets to work with my favorite work partner. Salma Ahmed’s reign as editor-in-chief is about to begin and I would have loved to see my boss thrive, because she will obviously do great things.

Don’t let her red hair fool you, Salma is not as feisty as you might think. She is incredibly pure and she’s willing to help anyone who needs it. She’s the main reason I want to stay, just so I can keep working with her. I think I’ll miss her the most.

Just as much as I will miss Bedour Hafez, the social media photography director, and her sincerest hugs. Some people hug and let go after a second, but Bedour actually takes her time. Whenever anyone needs a hug, she’s right there, providing a hug as long as anyone needs.

Another pure soul is Eman Kharoshah, the managing Arabic editor who has been dealing with my horrible Arabic writing for a year. Her biggest concern will forever be what we’re eating today and she’ll soon return to worrying about the issue and the work she has. Let’s face it, food is definitely a big source of happiness.

I’ve seen her be independent all semester long, and she wouldn’t even complain. Her constant happiness may even help me forgive her for not liking kittens.

Another cat-hater is Sherif El Hakim, the online managing editor, and while we’re constantly picking on him, we’re always saying how much we like him as soon as he goes away. He’s always carefree and taking everything lightly, he just makes you feel like the world around you is okay. In a female-dominated newsroom, Sherif was the exception.

These people have made the newsroom my home, not just because I spend more time there than in my actual home, but because of how close we’ve gotten. Each one made me much happier, whether they realized it or not.

However in the world outside The Caravan, I was lucky enough to have an army of people making my life a lot happier. And without the motivation they’ve given me, I wouldn’t be graduating this semester.

My main supporter since day one has been Ahmed Tolba, one of the first friends I made at AUC. He always tries really hard to understand the world of journalism that I am in, and as an engineer that was obviously difficult. The issues I have may be uninteresting, but he still pretends like he’s immersed in what I’m saying. 

He has also dealt with a lot of crying, a lot of breakdowns and endless complaining, but he still never gave up on me or got tired of my emotional messiness.

My sister, Rabab Salah has also dealt with endless breakdowns throughout these past four years. Unfortunately for her, she had no escape.

She has the ability to turn anything into a joke, and not in an annoying off-topic way, but in a successful attempt to cheer anyone up. She’s energetic, persistent and always cheerful. I probably would’ve quit after the first semester if it wasn’t for her.

She also loves with her whole heart, and if anyone attempts to hurt one of her loved ones, her (incredibly) scary side will come out.

Another one with no escape is my closest friend Naamat Khaled. She spent four years being my number one fan, even in the littlest accomplishments I’ve had. She always makes sure to lift people’s spirits. She’s always excited about whatever anyone is talking about, she’s a walking bundle of joy.

The amount of things she’s done for me and the times she was there for me are endless. She’s grown to be more of a sister to me, and even her mother has accepted that she’s probably adopting me soon.

Yasmine Afifi is another bundle of joy who is almost always smiling. We’ve spent absurd amounts of time on campus and she was always the person who managed to entertain us. Her bursts of energy and spontaneity made AUC a much happier place.

Ahmed Soliman – or as we call him, Soli – is one of the most selfless people I know. He will never say no to anyone asking for help. He has never failed to help me or anyone who asked for it. He randomly does little acts of spreading happiness out of nowhere by getting his friends candy or Red Bull.

Another selfless person in my life is Reham Abouelwafa, who has pretended to have work just so she can sit with me and motivate me while I do mine. She’s pretended that she’s free countless times just to keep me company when I was upset.

Our car conversations and ranting sessions have kept me sane these past few years.

Kareem Sobeih always seems to notice if someone isn’t doing so well, without any type of obvious indication.

Recently, he just came up to me and let me know that I’m doing fine and that he’s glad I’m in his life. I don’t know how he even knew that it was a really bad time for me, I wasn’t talking about anything and I was careful to not give any type of indication.

Noura Samy takes the time to give people the advice they need. She will do her best to help anyone by giving her opinion. And let me just say, she’s very good at it. She would be an excellent life coach.

I’ve bothered her with so many problems over the years, and she’s never failed me.

My two other sisters, Fatima and Maisoon, have been my supporters from afar. Fatima would even read my irrelevant articles about AUC that she doesn’t know anything about, and Maisoon has been spreading my work all over her social media. They’re not only proud, but they make other people know it too.

I’m so grateful to all the people that make leaving AUC harder as well as the people who helped me get through this very challenging experience.

Thank you for making me happy.