Sami Moog

Sami Moog is a 2007 graduate of  McLean High School. He now studies dentistry and journalism at George Mason University. This is his blog and his life in McLean. Here’s the link to his earlier column.

Finally school has started. August 30, 2010 marked the end of a wonderful, yet drawn out, summer holiday. Summer break is always the best, but four months of bumming out is a bit much for me.

I feel separated from the ‘real world.’ The seemingly endless weeks of sleeping all day staying up all night really take their toll. It is nice, though, to feel so good when summer comes, and even better when summer ends. The start of the new academic year is bittersweet. All of my best high school friends, (closer than my Mason friends) leave for their universities, then  I go back to George Mason and see all of my good friends.

I also love the hope that comes with the start of a new semester — I always anticipate straight A’s. I have never achieved a complete 4.0 GPA.  I usually get a 3.4 or above. Yet with each semester comes another shot at that perfect score.

Ramadan. My once amicable relationship with Ramadan has not been what it used to be. I have not fasted many days this year.  I am very disappointed about that. Tonight is the 22nd night of Ramadan. Ramadan is supposed to become more and more blessed toward the end of the month. Hopefully I will fast during the next eight days.

Tomorrow I will probably go to an Iftar, or break-fast dinner. The Afghan Student Union, or ASU, is a George Mason student organization.  not limited to Afghans only. Friends invited me to join them. I will bring the traditional break-fast food — dates. The traditional method of breaking one’s fast is to eat a handful of dates, maybe four or five, with water, pray, then eat the Iftar dinner. This is the way I always break my fast, although most people simply gorge themselves, which is understandable especially in these long hot summer days.