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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Humans of Tufts: Megan Starses ‘24

Camilla-Samuel
By Camilla Samuel

Sophia Grekin: I'm going to start you off ... tough. Can you tell me about the saddest moment of your life?

Megan Starses: I've actually never had to think about that. Well, actually, I do have a moment. It's very random though. It's because we had to do this for a creative writing thing, and she was like, think about the saddest moment in your life and write about that.

This is so funny that my saddest moment came from when I was like three or four, but I went to a school, like a Montessori school, which is where they ... have a different way of teaching where kids kind of just aren't taught by teachers every day. They do exercises and move through stations. [At] one of the stations, we had to memorize a poem and I was about three and they had like three or four [poems] and they had students go up and recite a poem in front of all the parents because they invited them. And I was extremely nervous.

I was three or four years old having to get up on stage and recite something I had memorized. And I ... locked eyes with my dad and he was just smiling at me, encouraging me. For some reason that triggered me in some way. It was very strange. I was just so nervous that ... him smiling made me start laughing.

So I f----d up the speech or the poem. And I said in front of everybody, "Daddy, stop making me laugh." And then all the parents kind of glared at my dad because they thought ... he was doing something to purposefully distract me.

Just imagine you're just cheering on your daughter and your little girl is just yelling at you to stop making her laugh in front of all these people when he just wanted you to do well.

[It] probably just coincides with the feeling of wanting to impress your parents and then just feeling like they're disappointed in you.

SG: Did you end up presenting?

MS: I finished it and then my teacher was like, "You need to tell your dad you're [sorry]."

SG: Does he ever [mention it]?

MS: He did, and I told him I was sorry for it.

SG: It's funny how lighthearted things can be but also [have] such a flip side.