If you ever are privileged to interact one on one with an individual like Navin, consider yourself lucky.

Like myself, he thrives in small group conversations. It takes a while to coax him out of his shell, but once you do, you will be glad you did. He has a hidden layer of craziness underneath, did you know?

Beyond this, he is one of the most easy going individuals I’ve ever encountered. Super go-with-the-flow, taking life as it comes.

That’s because this Bronx native grew up in one of the world’s most magical cities, though he shrugs it off like it’s no big deal. But I envy that he has grown up taking a subway to school everyday in a town where daily happenings constantly make the news, and the best and only way to get by is to accept and adapt to change. 

I met Navin two summers ago at debate camp; we were also in the same lab two years in a row! The picture is from the summer before our senior year. I was having a long hair phase and so was he, apparently.

I remember some inside joke that we had about rubbing each other’s stomachs. It’s been a while since that was referenced so I think I’ll bring it back up today.

On a campus like Northwestern’s, you try to have a purpose for travelling from one end of campus to the other, because the walk through the wind and snow can seem like a millennium.

But Navin and I seem to have no trouble making time for each other even though we live on opposite sides of campus. I wish I had more opportunities to rub your stomach.

I don’t really have any concrete evidence to back up my next statement, but it should be known that Navin has a very strong group of people who support and love him and want the very best for him, and I’m honored to be one of those people.

Happy Birthday! Here’s to more frat parties and one-on-one lunches. I’m so glad we’re going to college together.