UB BOUND
Bound
TO BE CRAZY
Wo rds & P h o t o s b y V al e n c i a Qu ah “Some people never go crazy; what truly horrible lives they must lead.” — Charles Bukowski
I
think crazy gets a bad name. Conventionally, crazy connotes instability, sizeable phenomena, and even some degrees of wildness. But it’s not to say that any of these characteristics are bad. I believe life is often created and molded through these moments, and that was exactly how UB Bound is to me. Throughout my UB Bound journey, I was thoroughly blessed with an amazing family of friends, two Singaporeans (Natasha and Felix) and an exchange student from UK (Melina) who lived down the hall. Of course, it didn’t start out wholesome from the get-go and this was one of the first crazy things that happened. Now imagine three Singaporeans attempting to check into their dorms early, with no clue whatsoever how to navigate our Minecraftlooking dorm complex, in the beautiful mid-winter gusts with their lives’ worth of suitcases. We looked ridiculous. And it was perhaps so that Aquila, a well-meaning cleaner, walked us to our room with CRAZY energy, settled us in, and introduced us to a friend down the hallway. By another stroke of crazy, my extroverted buddies and I decided from then on that we should always just go to Walmart together, cook dinner together, stroll into our Orientation sessions late with style, have dance, gym, and martial arts sessions all at once in our common lounge, and INVOLVE THE WHOLE FLOOR. Trust me, it’s crazy. We learned and grew together. I never liked cooking, so I learned to assist Mel and Nat. Felix didn’t know how to laundry, so she learned what shouldn’t go into the dryers. Mel learned that her footsteps are more like floatsteps and she’ll scare the hell out of us when she enters a room without speaking. Nat and I learned to do the dishes before *coughs* somebody gets mad. It was a whole process and we got frustrated — even passive-aggressive sometimes (c’mon, we’re all girls, haha), but more importantly, we learned to be adults and a family who’d watch out for one another, protect and respect spaces, be vulnerable and open to new experiences and people we meet. As a highly introverted cat-human who is used to solo traveling, the constant interactions with this bunch felt absolutely crazy. I mean, we literally see one another every minute of the day, apart from lesson times and shower times, there. We were inseparable. This was something I never thought I, of all people, would enjoy. Yet now, as I’m writing this, alone in my apartment, I miss hearing the screams, the laughter, the clatter of dishes, and the rustling of clothes.
8
So crazy number 1: Finding a family and community halfway across the world The next crazy thing was the crazy amount of things to do, all the time. I quote Mel: “It feels like from the moment we landed in Buffalo, we never stopped moving?” The truth is, we didn’t want to stop. There was always something going on somewhere: Health and wellness week, Escape Room sessions, therapy dogs, basketball games, job fairs, silent disco, dorm events, birthday celebrations, festival celebrations, ski trips, concerts, shows. Not only was there a constant number of activities, they were so diverse and so inclusive that there would definitely be something for anyone. Additionally, the main difference between events here and back home is that people actually participate in them! UB has a phenomenal spirit and since most of these events are free, undergrads flood them. What’s more, clubs and societies host events too, and the best way to make friends and learn more about the American culture is to befriend Americans! By the end of our Spring semester, our little four-women family grew to about 20 with people from all around: our entire floor, people we met and connected with from various clubs and societies, and friends of friends! We learned about America and told them about Singapore! We did hotpot sessions and BBQs, but more often than not, we were running all around, doing anything and everything.
