Hot Rum Tea And Reflections
It is the first snow day in Blagoevgrad and AUBG students are rushing to hide somewhere warm to enjoy lunch with a friend. Preslav Vachev is enjoying his fruit tea which he mixes with rum at the nearby restaurant. This is his favorite winter-time drink, especially when combined with playing the piano or writing poetry. He stirs the drink and notes it is always better to drink your tea with dark rum, not white. It adds to the experience.
Vachev is one of the senior students who people recognize the most on campus. Coming from Teteven, Bulgaria, he is majoring in Political Science and Economics and also minors in Mathematics and Information Systems. Being an active part of StartUP Blagoevgrad and the current General Manager of Radio Aura, Preslav is a pro-active student who keeps giving to the AUBG community.
His journey in university began when we won a Speech and Debate Tournament in twelfth grade that was hosted by AUBG. Vachev’s first impression of the campus was so strong, it made him want to apply. ‘’They removed the SAT exam just when it was time for me to apply. I thought to myself okay, I am going to AUBG, the Harvard of Bulgaria, the elite.’’
He joined both of the clubs his freshman year and his dedication did not go unnoticed. He used to be the Vice President of StartUP which he shares was ‘’the greatest learning experience I have ever had in my life’’. This year Preslav is also the General Manager of Radio Aura. ‘’I believe I found the perfect balance when it comes to clubs. In Aura, I am the person who I am, and in StartUP I am the person who I want to be.’’
Now Preslav lives off-campus with his two best friends who he would like to live with forever. They met during orientation week and have been inseparable ever since. Daniel Phillips, who is one of his roommates says: ‘’Me and Preslav have kind of become like brothers the past four years. Every summer we live together and now we live together full time. Considering my mum lives in Kazakhstan, he always invites me to his house for celebrations with his family and we’ve even come to the point where everywhere we go, we choose the same thing, whether it be technology, food or destination. Gladly we don’t like the same girls.’’
Preslav takes one more sip of his tea and looks through the window as if he is reflecting on something. Reflecting is one of the things he wishes he did more often in the past three and a half years. ‘’Life here gets so hectic that I wake up and I know I have a long list of things to do. I never realized how important it is to sit back and reflect on everything that is happening to you. It is vital.’’ Vachev says he is happy with his AUBG experience so far because of the people he got to share it with. If he could go back to his freshman year, he would advise his younger self to worry less and do the things he feels like doing, not the ones he feels obliged to do.
He is not sure what the future holds for him but his short-term plans include going to Work and Travel one last time and then work for a company here in Bulgaria. ‘’There is no clear frame of the person who I want to be. I know I have my journey and I plan to enjoy the process. Nice talk with a friend, a warm night at home with the boys, generally spending time with my loved ones, this is what gives me perspective for the future.’’
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Emanuela Kerencheva is a Sophomore student at AUBG majoring in Business Administration and Journalism and Mass Communications. She admires everything the class of 2020 has done for the AUBG community.
