Rameesa’s revisit to Logophiles: After a semester at Lawrence University

First Report (Borno): She entered attired in a shimmery yellow-green salwar kameez; perhaps the same attire she wore in her university, adhered with an affection for the country she came from. Perchance the way she dressed personified her as a person – confident and adorable. She clearly loved being who she really was.

             She shared her part of the journey as she conversed. She is currently working on the Honey Bee Democracy, which is a mandatory text in freshman year irrespective of one’s major at Lawrence. The very day she stepped into the Logophiles class almost everyone she knew (except her mom) was against the notion that such tough route should have been taken. She emphasized the crucial importance of confidence in one’s self and not to stress out when working on any material. Such a strategy helped her to always pull ahead of letdowns. And – results never correspond with the fact that whether one will be accepted for admission or not – “Leave the results as it is, it’s not the end of the world if your grades are bad.” The one determinant that can make you stand distinguished is you “Research Papers”, she said. A technical research (can be more than one) paper will justify your devotion to science major, arts etc. and a General research paper will emphasize your linguistic ability. “Research paper is prime, it separates you from the others,” she confirmed.

            The vast reading materials the Logophiles students (Block 55/ August 2014, September 2014 and October 2015 reading materials) enabled the students to take strides through in a few months may sound excess but all of it yielded in usefulness to Ramisha. All the reading materials have always managed to leave a certain impact on her writing. It drastically increased her reading–speed and analyzing–skill, which are solely required to excel in finishing assignments in universities. She always had a constant communication with the ex-students of Logophiles, who helped her overcome certain fears to realize the bigger picture.

            “Sir, dance and music kore laabh kih?” was the first thing she said when sir stressed the importance of either an instrument or a type of cultural dance. “I do regret a lot not emphasizing more on music,” she said today. She is currently practicing music to take part in theatre at Lawrence. And the key is to NOT overwork, enjoying to work should be the only strategy.

Second Report (Siam): Ramisha Apu came for a visit from Lawrence University during her winter break and she brought along with her a book, The Pagoda Tree. Sir was absolutely delighted to see this book and let out a few joyful sighs. She spoke about things she had going on at Lawrence University. She had become an International Ambassador for Lawrence, planning extra-curricular cultural events involving dance and music and mentioned a book she had been working on – Honey Bee Democracy.

            Ramisha shared how the wide diverse discussions she had had in the Logophiles classes helped her in university as topics could be grasped more easily due to previous knowledge on them. She emphasized the critical importance of research papers, much more so than grades, as the research papers are what makes an application distinctive. The two different research papers highlights both the applicant’s linguistic and technical abilities. The importance of one’s own culture was discussed and how it allows one to stand from the monotonous crowds in university. As an example, she told us that a teacher she had never talked with before had wanted to speak with her. She stated that music plays an important role in Lawrence University and then sir went on to describe the flower that was in the video they had sent during the admissions and said he believes it had played an important role and must have had an impact on the admissions committee. Ramisha told us that being confident in yourself is important and said a very inspiring line – Even though I might fail, I will still do it.

            The conversation ended with the revelation that we had been a part of what is called a ‘forum theatre’: we constituted the audience, Ramisha Apu and sir as performers and the space as a stage.