Dear Past Hussain,
Welcome to life after high school!
As you take the 747 from the airport to downtown Montreal, I have a couple of pieces of advice for you. Firstly, stop craning your head to peer up at any building higher than three stories (don鈥檛 worry, I don鈥檛 blame you鈥撯�揜egina isn鈥檛 exactly known for its skyscrapers). Secondly, relax. Don鈥檛 worry so much about being away from home (you鈥檒l be back in a few months for Christmas), having to learn how to cook (the rez meal plan has your back for another year at least), or even being alone in a city where you don鈥檛 yet know a soul (that鈥檚 going to last for another 15 minutes until you walk into Douglas Hall and meet Gabe, Ben, Mako, Morgan, et al.鈥撯�搕he people you鈥檒l spend the most time with for the next four years).
There鈥檚 a lot to look forward to, and some things you鈥檒l need to steel yourself for. The good news first: your university years will be the time of your life so far, with the people you鈥檒l meet, the classes you鈥檒l take, and the memories you鈥檒l create being unlike anything you had anticipated. From the evenings spent at MSA & TMA barbeques and if峁乺s with Momo & Mustafa, to weekly coffee hours and the occasional movie screening with the WIMESSA community, you鈥檒l have no lack of good times to reminisce about later on. Now here comes the bad stuff: tragically, all of that will be cut short by a lengthy global pandemic, and you won鈥檛 get to go to Menton after all. If it鈥檚 any solace, the time you would鈥檝e spent on sunny Mediterranean beaches will instead be occupied by long nights spent on Warzone with BKLYN110 and sxazzz. This will culminate in daily uploads to your fledgling YouTube gaming account, which never did end up crossing that elusive 35 subscriber threshold.
In all seriousness, uni life will eventually bounce back. You鈥檒l be WIMESSA President in senior year, where your merch designs will receive widespread acclaim, and your beloved Be艧ikta艧 U21 squad will be enshrined in the immortal glory of an intramural title win (no thanks to John鈥檚 goalkeeping). You鈥檒l invert the usual character arc by moving back into the bubble of the 捆绑SM社区 Ghetto for your last year, though it won鈥檛 help you get to many morning classes on time. The freezing walk up the hill to the 捆绑SM社区 gym will be shorter now, though I鈥檇 recommend more leg days. Finishing up your degree with a 20,000-word thesis on medieval Islamic philosophy in the hallowed Octagon Room of Morrice Hall, you鈥檒l wonder what made you willingly pick such an arcane topic.
Above all, though, as your final months in Montreal roll around, you鈥檒l be able to look back on the (admittedly stop-start) past four years of life with a gradual appreciation of just how special your time on the slopes of Mont-Royal really was.
Yours Truly,
Future Hussain
Hussain was born in Pakistan but grew up mostly in Saskatchewan before coming to Montreal to study at 捆绑SM社区. After graduating, Hussain plans on attending Harvard Law School to start working towards his JD. We wish Hussain all the best on his journey!听
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