maisune's petals

maisune's petals: reflections, updates, announcements, things to share

When I was in college, I used to respond to every "Happy New Year" with "I don't observe a solar calendar." I thought that was the best way to honor my identity as a Muslim and point out that there are multiple "New Years" for people around the world. I don't know exactly when I stopped doing that but I know it has to do with becoming carefree and more gentle. My harsh response to the greeting was due to my inner frustration towards the U.S. not observing Ramadan, Eid, and the Islamic New Year, which all follow a lunar calendar. We live and we grow. My younger self would be annoyed that I wrote a reflection acknowledging 2022 and setting a goal for myself in 2023. But that's the fun in growth. I chuckle at a 17-year-old maisune and she cringes at me.

Happy New Year! I began 2022 promising myself I would achieve everything I set my mind to. I entered 2023 repeating to myself, "Don't plan everything." The most joyous experiences I had this year were completely unplanned and I highly doubt they would have been as breathtaking as they were if I even tried to plan them. I made a lil' list of my favorite moments and experiences from each month.

• January: attended the iconic World Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates after two years of pandemic delays
• February: inherited supervision of 17 student staff members, granting me a new total oversight of 30 staff, 20 residential halls, and 1500+ residential students at Brown University
• March: visited our nation's capital, Washington, D.C., and the Library of Congress for the first time
• April: celebrated Ramadan and Eid-Ul-Fitr with family back home in California and new found family in Rhode Island
• May: co-hosted Commencement and Reunion Weekend activities at Brown for Classes of 2020 and 2022
• June: welcomed a new Area Coordinator team and had my first, lovely New England summer with new colleagues and friends
• July: began learning the French language and developed a professional proficiency by October for my first ever trip to Paris
• August: welcomed back over 5000 residential students to Brown and co-led student staff training for 105 Community Coordinators
• September: soft-launched my young, charitable foundation The Beauty of Intelligence by administering our first scholarship in collaboration with the Maywood Education Fair and California State University, Fullerton
• October: developed a civic engagement training for student leaders and staff under the Division of Campus Life in collaboration with the Brown Swearer Center for Public Service
• November: hosted my momma :) for her first ever trip to the East Coast covering Providence, Boston, Newport, and New York City in 6 days
• December: joined the Bibliographical Society of America to dive deeper into my love for books AND watched my first ever World Cup rooting for Morocco (Dima Al-Maghreb!)

Alhamdulillah for both the stressing and blessing of another year around the sun. I stopped setting resolutions when I joined the field of student affairs because my "new year" feels more like August. Still, staying between the margins of the unknown served me well near the end of 2022. I shall begin 2023 still repeating to myself, "Don't plan everything."