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Amira Al Amin and their friends will find any and every occasion to celebrate. Amira can often be found perched on the Kogan Sign in the center of campus greeting their friends and acquaintances with a bright smile and bubbling energy.

“Seeing your friends feels like seeing a celebrity. I love to celebrate the people in my life and be celebrated by them.” Amira said

Throughout the afternoon, people pile up by the sign—to talk, to laugh, to say hi, or to hop up and sunbathe for a while alongside others. Whether just passing through Kogan on the way to class, or looking for a midday escape from responsibility, the Kogan Plaza sign and Clock tower have become one of many unofficial meeting places for Amira and their friends.

“Coming together feels so second nature, it happens so organically, it’s rare that I plan a gathering—it feels like we are all so drawn to each other.” Amira said.

Creating bonds like this was a long process, which Amira was not exactly prepared for coming into college. Coming from a predominantly white area in Ohio, Amira knew deep down they were ready for a change of environment and company. Coming to college in DC would be that opportunity to start fresh and finally meet people who shared in their Black and queer identities. Amira was able to start meeting people in the GW Class of 2023 Facebook group chat where incoming students would post short bios about themselves to try and connect with other peers. Amira posted in this Facebook group, not expecting to meet two lifelong friends from it.

“I met my friend Eduardo in the facebook group chat that was set up for the class of 2023. He followed me on instagram and dmed me, and we just started talking and facetiming,” Amira said, “at first I thought he wanted me…but then I found out he was gay.” Amira laughed recalling

“I met my friend and roommate Kiera the same way, we started dming on instagram after I posted a picture of Pharrel which she responded to, this started a conversation about our music tastes and interests, and we’ve been friends ever since.”

Making friends like these early on who Amira felt they could identify with really set the tone for the types of relationships Amira wanted to welcome into their life during college. For the first time they were exposed to the possibilities of what true connection and understanding could do, how it could open up their world view and teach them more about how to love others and appreciate life.

After coming to GW in the fall, they met a lot of people but when freshman year came to a halt in March 2020, a lot of these new relationships were forced to a halt. The interruption of their freshman year due to COVID gave them time and space to really reflect on the friendships they had started over 3/4ths of a freshman year—were these friendships really meaningful, were these the communities they wanted to be a part of?

“The only friendships I really maintained from Freshman year were Eduardo and Kiera…friendship was so vague then, a lot of people at GW were very friendly so it felt like everyone was your friend. But after we went home because of COVID, a lot of those friendships did not hold up.”

Sophomore spring semester was a chance to start over, this time being far more intentional about what kind of company they wanted to keep. During this time Amira started to find their people. Getting close to people like their friends Lydia, Jovwan, and Mei during that period is when “college actually started to feel like college.” Amira built most of their strong connections over sophomore and junior year.

Community was so key in making Amira’s college experience feel real and meaningful. In their experience, the university did not provide many spaces formally for Amira, other students of color, or queer students to come together and meet one another. It was the interactions which happened outside of class, work, and student organizations that made these relationships possible. Just simply being in their dorm room hanging out with friends is one of Amira’s favorite ways to gather.

The old, stained blue furniture and carpet which fills most GW dorm rooms became the arena for the birth of many of Amira’s friendships. Kickbacks, game nights, dinner parties, late night study sessions—with each gathering the relationships grew and deepened.

“When we come together it’s always a lot of banter–we’re always doing bits, making eachother laugh. I feel emotionally full after gathering with friends,” Amira said. “We can have deeply introspective conversations, but also silly ones—there’s something to gain from both I think.”

There is great value in standing in the clock tower with your friends soaking in sun on a random afternoon, and in sitting in the led lit living room of a South Hall dorm room. Life long connections have been built in these settings, and memories which will never be forgotten.

“It’s so easy to be around them, when I’m with them the air is sweeter, the food tastes better, all of that.”