The beginning of the UGRAD experience can be an emotional time. Leaving the comforts and familiarity of home only to arrive in a different world with a different culture, ideas, and expectations can prove challenging. One NESA UGRAD from Bahrain, Deena Al Saweer, documented the excitement at the start of her UGRAD journey to Wayne State University and shared it with us on our Tumblr site via video.
Deena Al Saweer
So, I’m not the greatest photographer in the world; in fact I may be one of the worst. One way I am able to communicate my story and emotions is through videography and music. A picture is worth a thousand words, but a video with the right music could lead you into another world.
Leaving my family was extremely difficult but also something I wanted to do for one reason: to discover who I am in a more pure form, without the house I grew up in, the parents who have instilled their own characteristics in me, my brothers who bring out the spoiled sister in me, my grandparents who over-feed me, and my aunts & uncles who over-spoil me. Underneath all of that is another person that cannot come out unless stripped of her usual surroundings.
America is a welcoming place that I was eager to come to and go on this journey in. This video better explains my journey thus far.