My Second Year in an Upstate New York College as a Muslim

 Hello everybody, Hidaya Ali Syed here. First, I must apologize for my lengthy absence. A lot has happened in my life since the first installment of this series. That is, in fact, why I am here today. 

    My second year in this college, the college I currently attend, did not start off very well. Sure, I had a mostly good summer, but towards the start of the second year, things fell apart quickly. My roommate from the first year, E, had gone radio silent on me when it came to picking a room. I constantly messaged her, begging her to choose the same room as I had, only to find out she had failed again and was not allowed back to the college. I immediately got randomly assigned with a freshman, G, and that was a bit of a setback. Especially since I was now a sophomore. But no matter, I can manage. Shortly after getting a minifridge, I finally settled into my new dorm. I tried to be as nice as possible to this inexperienced student that was my roommate, showing her the ropes. And at first, everything was normal. I encouraged her to go and find new friends, and her being the magnetic person she is, managed to find other friends. I got to know a couple of them. Were there things I could have done to be better as a roommate? Of course. I could have bothered to be a lot cleaner, amongst other things. But that's only a part of the year. What about my classes? Well, I took the hardest class in my major, Plant Pathology. Plant Pathology is basically the study of plant diseases. Hailed as one of the hardest classes in my major, I decided to take on the challenge. And boy did I fail this challenge. I managed to get a C, but only with a curve. Now, what does this all have to do with being Muslim in upstate New York? Simple; It doesn't. But that's what this next paragraph is for.

    Being Muslim, especially in upstate New York is a challenge. Luckily, I had a handle on it now, being a sophomore. I ate the food I brought from home and tried to finish it as soon as possible so I could take the empty Tupperware back home and get a refill. And when I finished, I finally went out and got either fish or protein snacks to fill in the nutritional gaps in my diet. With the food issue out of the way, now come with the way people treated me. 75% of the people I met were very tolerant about my dietary needs. That 25% though? Made me feel incredibly isolated as a Pakistani Muslim. This is where my roommate G comes back into the story. There were many times that she would come in with her really loud friends, laugh at me just sitting there and make fun of me. In between college semesters, we usually have a month-long break. Before leaving for the break, we usually have to defrost our minifridge 24-48 hours before leaving. One problem: G still had food in my minifridge. I told her to eat her cream cheese wontons, (gross.) Take them with her, or throw them out. She did none of these. I unplugged the fridge and as a result, the cream cheese wontons ended up making the minifridge and our room as a whole stank. Because of this, I had to go out and get different products to take care of this smell. Then one day, coming back from a night out, I found a note on my door. Hidya, U STINK. TAKE A SHOWER. After crying a little, I took down the note and picked up a post-it, then wrote "Learn how to spell." and then stuck it on my door. Even though it hurt, I still think to myself about how my door had three door tags with my name on it. This person, whoever they were, couldn't bother to spell check my name? After this incident, I became very paranoid of the people in my building. Every time I passed by somebody, I looked away from them, not even smiling. For a while, I lost my spark. I didn't want to talk to anybody. It didn't help that G and her friends were everywhere. If I stuttered in front of her or her friends, they would immediately start laughing at me. I may have been kind, but I wasn't blind. And these following days I have never felt more isolated. I was the only Muslim and the only Pakistani on campus. I was culturally and religiously isolated. Somehow, I was able to push past this obstacle and move on with my life and move out of that dorm. 

    Of course, it wasn't all bad though. I met some amazing people that year and managed to land a job on-campus. These people ended up being some of my greatest friends. I plan to update the third installment of this series in early May and then my last semester in December 2025 or January 2026. Until then, stay good and stay well. Hidaya Ali Syed signing off.