Hi, My name is Nuzhat Shorna. I know, it’s kind of hard to pronounce and I’ve heard it butchered so many different ways that I’m kind of considering changing my name. Not really changing it, but maybe switching the order. You see, all my family and close friends know me as Shorna and I’ve been raised hearing myself referred to as “Shorna” but then I started going to school and all of a sudden, I’m Nuzhat. Anyways, I’m kind of rambling, so like I said, my name is Nuzhat, and it’s pronounce like New-zhat or Noo-zhat. NOT Nose hat like most people pronounce it. I actually wrote my college essay on my name.
I was born in Bangladesh and emigrated here with my family when I was just 7 years old….and I’ve been living here ever since. It’s been 10 years and already I feel more American than Bengali.
A little about me: I’m very hyper and I love talking and taking naps! I think those are my two favorite activities in the world. Recently, I’ve discovered my new found love of Jane Austen. I LOVE period drama movies, I’m addicted to them. In the summer, I think I watched a different period drama movie every evening and then went to sleep dreaming that I was starring in one. Jane Austen is my hero–I look up to her like I’ve looked up to no one else I know of. I actually just bought a whole collection of all her books, so I’m excited to read that. One of my pet peeves is when people (especially BOYS) automatically ASSUME that Jane Austen writes “chick lit”. I’m not going to get into a whole discussion about this, but it is the most upsetting thing in the world to me. Jane means a lot to me and I’m just very passionate when I start talking about her books.
Another thing about–this might not come as such a big surprise considering my whole obsession with the Victorian Era and Jane Austen but I love tea. I drink tea about twice a day and I love LOVE coffee also. I think I’m what they call a “caffeine addict”. But I absolutely hate green tea, which is so weird considering that I love tea. I personally think green tea tastes like grass and I CANNOT bring myself to drink it. I’ve tried so many times but I just think it tastes disgusting. That’s just my opinion. Tea is another one of my passions–I would love to visit a tea garden one day.
I was VERY nervous about starting college because I kept hearing from all my friends who already graduated high school saying how they were NOT prepared for the workload. But I’d promised myself that I would not stop working hard when the workload got a little challenging, which was what I always did in high school. It’s been 3 week already and I’ve been true to my promise. Sure there are days of the week where I’d much rather be sleeping or watching TV than doing homework but my promise to myself kept me going.
I’m excited to see what else college has to offer for me. I would like to get involved in clubs and extracurricular since in high school, I hardly ever joined a club. I preferred to get my community service hours by myself but after 4 years, I’ve realized that it gets kind of lonely.
Hi Nuzhat,
I loved ready your post – It was very real and personal! It also left me with tons of questions, such as:
Have you ever thought of changing your name to Shorna?
How has being born outside of the US affected how you are?
How are you more American?
What about period dramas do you live?
Do you think your hyper because of your “addiction” to caffeine?
Setting goals, and holding yourself accountable to them, are some of the key elements to being successful in college – keep it up!
College is definitely the time to get involved. While Independence is definitely a great life skill – you also have the potential to learn alot from your peers! You should consider going on an alternative break or becoming part of a civic team/community service club.
See you in class!
– Natalia