Who am I and What am I doing here - Dina

I am Dina Seremet. I was born in Salem, Massachusetts, the city of witches. Salem is well known for being the Halloween town of New England, but I didn’t live in Salem. I grew up in Swampscott, Massachusetts, a small town on the ocean. However, in seventh grade, I moved over to the town over, our rival town Marblehead. Now, these two towns have a lot of hatred towards one another. We have an annual Thanksgiving football game and powderpuff game where the rivalry is put to the test. Both of my parents are Bosnian and came to America in the late 90s. Bosnian culture is a huge part of who I am. It was actually my first language. In fact, I went to preschool not knowing any English. It was a little bit of a struggle. I go back to Bosnia every summer to spend time with my family because almost all of my family still live in Bosnia. It is always an eye-opening trip. Unfortunately, the country is still not fully repaired from the war and there is quite a bit of corruption. 

Since the age of two, I have been dancing. It is a huge part of my life and helped shape me into the person I am today. Without it, I could never imagine what I would be like. I was a very shy child up until about sixth grade. Often times, I was too nervous to even ask a question in class. Luckily, dance helped me become a lot more confident. Speaking in class and presenting in front of others became a lot easier, especially after I started dancing at competitions. I also have been playing piano since the age of five. This activity was quite difficult. It was very time-consuming. My piano teacher always challenged me with difficult pieces. However, through dance and piano, I learned excellent skills that I continue to use every day.

What am I doing here? That is a good question. Well, if I am referring to “here” as Northeastern University, I am trying to take advantage of everything this university has to offer. I want to get as much as I can from this experience. I want to take as many challenging classes as I can that are of interest to me. I am hopeful that through this I will be able to further my education. I want to participate in clubs and get involved with the university. I am hopeful I will gain a very strong base in the sciences to prepare me for medical school. Perhaps if I refer to “here” as on Earth, I am trying to make some type of impact on the world before I die. It doesn’t need to be big. Anything counts in my book. It could be as small as continuing to give back in my local community through various volunteer opportunities throughout my life or possibly saving someone’s life as a doctor. I think that we don’t truly know what we are doing “here” until we reach the end of our lives or even ever.