Merhaba everyone!

Hello you out there, I hope I will not bore you with this little space, which I was given and allowed to fill with a little story about my life.

Starting off with my name would be the correct thing I guess. However, this might cause you some troubles already! There is a big confusion, or let’s say mystery going on about my name here on campus. No, I am joking. But yes, it is true that people have difficulties pronouncing my name correctly. I was born on a rainy Monday in the year of 1989, somewhere in a hospital in the middle of Germany. My parents named me Büşra because they loved its meaning: Bushra comes from the Arabic language and means a good/joyful message. Isn’t that a nice meaning? I think so, too. But it took me some time until I started appreciating it.
(Pronounce it Bueshra or Bushra; for further help in pronouncing my name just contact me and I will try to teach you).

My childhood passed by very quickly. Now, sitting here in my sweet little room in Mercator A324, looking out of the window, I am thinking: What has happened in my life all the way until I got accepted into Jacobs? Well, some cool, interesting, adventurous, crazy, sad, not so cool, melancholic, tragic, exciting, positive things. Basically, how life is in general. Cool is definitely the fact that I am not a typical German. Born in Germany but with a Mediterranean mentality and having parents coming from Turkey is not a bad thing at all. Thanks to them I am able to speak some Turkish, a really eclectic language with so many üüüü’s. Some people might remember the Turkish Country Information Day organized by the Turkish Community in Mercator last fall. Besides music, dances, a skit, we also tried to teach our fellow students some Turkish survival language tips à la “Bir Döner, lütfen” (A döner please) or “Seni seviyorum” (I love you).

People always ask me where I am from. To be honest, I still don’t really know where I belong. I guess my case fits very well into those over publicized newspaper articles “Torn between two cultures”. Ok, I have a German passport and I am a proud German citizen but am I therefore German? What about my Turkish decedents? Being caught in the middle is not easy, but I don’t see this as a disadvantage. It makes me in a way distinct and this is a positive thing. If there is one thing in life, which I have learned for sure, then it is the fact that if you want to make a long lasting impression on people and if you don’t want to be forgotten: be different! Be distinct from the crowd! It really works. Regarding this topic, there is also a great book called “Third Culture kids” by David C. Pollock, which I recommend you to read if you feel torn, the same way as me. :)

Jacobs is indeed a great place that enables your personality to grow and become stronger in many ways. At least, I experienced this throughout my first year and I am still experiencing it. Living in Mercator College especially gives me the opportunity to live, have fun, chitchat, complain about academics, dance, exchange books and movies, have dinner and laugh with people from all over the world. It has become my second home. But psshht, I shouldn’t tell this to my mom. She can’t and doesn’t want to imagine me to like any other place more than home! :) Turkish mentality. Anne, don’t worry, I miss your Sarma and Manti too much to like any other place as much. At this point, I want to send out hugs and kisses to my mom. She is my hero. I cannot thank her enough for her support and patience throughout my life. Everything I’ve got, I owe her. Also, a big THANK YOU to my big fat greek family (you guys know who you are) and all those associated with it. Ok ok, I should stop being sentimental now.

Unlike a lot of people here at Jacobs, I myself haven’t been around the world too much, so don’t expect interesting adventurous stories from exotic places. However, there is a nice German saying “Was nicht ist, kann ja noch werden”.

My whole life, I grew up and lived in and around Kassel, the beautiful documenta-city in the middle of Germany. I went to normal public schools and finished my high school education because I always wanted to study. However, unlike my parents, I didn’t want to become either a doctor or a lawyer (All Turkish parents somehow want their kids to become doctors and lawyers). After some application processes, a couple of university visits, hours of thinking and deciding, packing, I ended up here in Bremen. What do I study? Integrated Social and Cognitive Psychology. Psychology was always what I wanted to study and I am very happy with my major choice even though it implies a lot of Statistics and difficult Quizzes (eww!). Let’s see what I will do in future with my academics. Doing research is very fascinating to me, so I can imagine myself working in a fancy psychology lab, letting participants fill out questionnaires.

Almost every summer, I travel with my family to Turkey to visit our relatives, my dad’s part. They live in a small village in the mountains of Adana, close to Syria. My dad always says that we have some far away Arab origin. And my mom’s family is actually Kurdish even though they don’t speak their language anymore.

By the way, have I mentioned that I have the best roommate ever? Together with my crazy hazy roommate Pareezad from Pakistan we are making a cool contribution to a Middle East atmosphere in our floor, Mercator A3. Simply have a look at our door decorations, which I myself painted. I love art and painting and even had special art lessons for over 4 years. I had to stop before I came to Jacobs but whenever I find some time, I still try to be creative. It gives me a lot of energy and I compare it to meditation. So, if you feel stressed out about anything or just seek to talk and have some Aramark tea, just drop by our rooms. We love having people around and rather socialize than study.

And last but not least, my recent favorite quotation:
"Love your Enemies - It will drive them Crazy"