A light heart lives long (Staying Positive by Thinking about Tufts)

Colleges & Universities Tufts University
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<p>Believe it or not, this period of time is just as stressful for admissions officers as it is for applicants. I am, however, a firm proponent of enjoying even the stressful times, and so I come to you in high spirits.</p>

<p>To ease our collective stress, let’s collect our positive energy by sharing some of our favorite Tufts related experiences. Allow me to begin.</p>

<p>For my birthday, during the summer before my senior year, my friends surprised me with a Nintendo DS and a bucket of paint. And so off we trode, to the cannon atop the hill, where we gathered in merriment to paint the cannon and celebrate the anniversary of my birth. Of course, per the rules of cannon painting, I stayed to guard the cannon until morning. At around 11:30pm, a group of Spanish exchange students showed up to paint over me. Myself and my friend Nancy stood strong against 30 Spaniards who didn’t really understand why they had to turn back (and we a little cheesed about it). SO much fun, and having to defend the cannon made painting it more meaningful in the first place, don’t ask me how. Best Birthday Ever.</p>

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<p>LOL, cute story, but these are moments we can only have if we actually get in. I still sit here still waiting on pins and needles!</p>

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<p>If your aim was to shoot an arrow through my heart… Bulls eye!</p>

<p>;_;</p>

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<p>Dan - I just wanted to say, before stuff really starts hitting the fan, that you have been a profoundly calming influence in a very difficult time. I really wish that admissions’ reps from other colleges were on these boards. No matter… it makes me want to send my daughter to Tufts. Thank you!</p>

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<p>Recent Tuftsy moment:</p>

<p>I decided to host a party for people attending the EPIIC Symposium at my house. I figured, it was the day after my birthday and I’d be responsible enough not to drink, so that when inevitably TUPD came to stop the fun they’d have someone sober to talk to. As a result I was of perfectly sound mind to enjoy the following:</p>

<p>appx. 40 EPIIC kids + appx. 40 students from China, Singapore, South Korea, Israel, Rwanda, Haiti, Nigeria, Mexico, Brazil, Peru (hmm, I’ve only listed 10 countries but I know there were 11…whoops) + appx. 15 cadets from West Point, air force, naval academies (who were grateful to shed the uniforms they had been wearing all weekend)</p>

<p>^^This ridiculous crew were all in my basement. Everyone was telling me happy birthday, even the internationals that I hadn’t been personally acquainted with. There was a friendly game of EPIIC girls vs. Singaporean boys beirut, and every time the Singaporean students (who were mostly Indian or Chinese) sank a shot, they’d all start singing Bollywood music and dancing like the Bhangra team. I’d move over to where a bunch of people were dancing, and I was dancing with fellow EPIICers, and people from South Korea and Nigeria.</p>

<p>Now - where the hell else does that happen? lol.</p>

<p>I had hosted 3 guys, and the one from Israel made a point of telling me that he and the rest of the Israeli law students were really impressed with the student body at Tufts, that they broke the stereotype of “dumb Americans” in all the right places and were smart, internationally-aware kids. (He had the chance to attend a Poli Sci class called “Israeli Domestic Politics,” and was totally blown away that an American college was actually teaching a class about politics in his country).</p>

<p>Oh, I heart Tufts so. I’m facebook friends now with a bunch of the internationals (we’ve started calling them the I-kids) and cadets. The symposium was soooo much better because the kids were asking such incisive questions, which we, as students that had only READ about these experiences, rather than lived them, could not have come up with. </p>

<p>That’s my most recent “AHHH TUFTS!” thing.</p>

<p>P.S. If you’ve been on a Tufts tour lately, you may have seen me…I was the girl in the Information Booth in the campus center going “HI, TOUR!!!”</p>

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<p>My husband went to Tufts, not I, and has repeatedly said how much it changed his life. He tells the story about the shower that went cold every time someone flushed the toilet in his frat house!! Ahh… comforts. Thanks Dan for taking the time to keep us in the loop. Our D has applied, so we’ll see how this all unfolds.</p>

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<p>Dan, would you mind offering me more ideas about life at Tufts</p>