A community that I identify with is my neighborhood in my hometown. I was raised in Queens, NY. Ever since I came to this country, I never went back until last summer. I went to Bangladesh last summer for only 6 weeks. While I was there, I felt like I belonged there. Yes, a lot of people were confused when they saw a little 6 year old going abroad with her family, and now they see a girl that they want their sons to get married to. Both sides of my grandparents’ houses were not that far, it took only 2 minutes to go from one house to another. But, for me this 2 minutes became 10 minutes because everyone stopped me on my way and questioned me about myself and our lives here in America. One interesting question I was asked was “Do you speak Bengali with your classmates and your teachers?” When I answered them and said, no, English is our main language there. They used to make me speak in English with them even though it’s hard for them to understand the language. Everyone was really friendly there, I felt really comfortable around them. I felt like that whole town was a home for me and that I’ve been there ever since, and they are a part of my family.

As a student at New York City college of Technology, I’ve been all over the place the past year. As a daughter of South Asian parents, and as I originate from a South Asian country. I was used to hearing that there’s a limit to what career path you want to go to. Since my family has been all over living abroad. My older uncle (my dads older brother) had lived in England for 8 years and currently he is living in Australia for more than 20 years of his life. And my dad’s fraternal twin has been living in Canada for the last 12 years. They set no limitations for their children when it comes to career. They were pretty flexible and said, “pursue, study whatever you like, don’t listen to other people, don’t be a doctor because someone told you to become a doctor. When I started my college journey, and saw the different majors, I was a kid lost in the woods, I didn’t know what major to go for. I have changed 4 different majors the past year and now I’m on my 5th major and I’m planning on sticking to it. The first major that I started off with was Data Science, this is the major I applied to from high school because during my college application, I barely received help, no one told me what to do. I was pretty much dumb, I just wanted to apply to a 4 year course and that was it. After I started attending college, I realized that my classmates were discussing how they are unhappy with their major and asked my advisor if they could change their major. My advisor said yes, you can change it and he showed us how to change it. This is when I went ahead and changed my major from Data Science to Computer Science, one of my Bengali classmates stopped me because we became good friends in that class so he knew that I wanted a 4 year course. He said “since you want a 4 year course, Computer science isn’t for you because this is a 2 year course, you should take computer engineering, that’s a 4 year course”. I went ahead and changed my major to Computer engineering Technology. When I was taking the classes I realized that I don’t like it. So I majored in Facilities management in my 3rd semester in college. I realized that I don’t like this major either because as I was taking the classes, I also researched about the job options and saw that this doesn’t give you enough options. I started looking at different other engineering majors and got interested in Mechanical Engineering Technology. I looked at job options and learned that this major is flexible and that’s what I wanted. So I started pursuing this major and want to end up with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

I really felt like an outsider, I felt like I don’t belong here, college isn’t for me. There are so many options for me to choose, and I like all of them, I want to pursue all of those majors. But now that I have finally declared a major, I know what to do and I will get my bachelors in Mechanical engineering.

Being part of a discourse community can be enriching and stimulating as it provides access to diverse perspectives and deepens knowledge. It also refines critical thinking and communication skills by analyzing information, synthesizing complex concepts, and expressing oneself in a persuasive and compelling manner. Being part of a discourse community fosters a sense of belonging and camaraderie, offers networking, mentorship, and career advancement opportunities. Engaging in thoughtful and collaborative discourse with others can enhance intellectual growth, communication skills, and community.