For a year, I have desperately tried to continue my university studies in Gaza to give myself a sense of meaning. I started my bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) in 2021. I was very proud of myself for making it into the field of study that I had always wanted to pursue.
My life seemed all set for the next five years. I was going to study hard, try to pass my exams with good grades, intern at a well-known engineering office, and then apply for a master’s degree. Everything was going according to plan until October 7 last year.
That day I was supposed to submit a university project I had lost a lot of sleep on. The bombing started in the morning but I didn’t pay attention and I kept working on the project. I was used to Israeli attacks on Gaza.
I had lived through half a dozen of them. Then I received news that university classes had been suspended. Again, I thought things would be back to normal soon, so I finished the project and submitted it.
The next day, on October 8, I was supposed to discuss a group assignment with three other classmates. It was slated to be our last discussion to wrap up the project before submitting it on October 10. Instead of talking to my classmates, I received the news that one of them, my dear friend Alaa, had been killed by an Israeli air strike.
Instead of finishing the university assignment, I mourned my friend. On October 14, I bid farewell to my home in Gaza City as my parents, siblin.