The Tarot Card Essay Anonymous

Right now mothers across India are leafing frantically through the US News Rankings, trying to advise their children on where to enroll. Mine chooses to place her faith in a more traditional approach- the family tarot card reader!

I was resistant initially, but Ma explained: “Tarot isn’t telling the future. It provides you with images to interpret - to find what you are looking for.” Half-curious, I drifted along with her. The room was dark. Aseefa shuffled a deck of semi-worn-out cards. She pulled out four pieces and placed her gaze on me. I leaned forward, trying to scrutinize them: the World, the Wheel of Fortune, the Hierophant and the Fool.

They all seemed dramatic, momentous - it made me nervous. Staring at The World with its various elements, an image appeared through a purple haze. Where could I find the world in one place, or one place around the world, as much as at NYU? With three campuses across three continents, opportunities for a semester away and a chance to explore the world of business, I knew Stern would connect me to everything global. I imagined myself at Washington Square Park, overhearing a Venezuelan aunty talk about hyperinflation or a Frenchman complain about how he missed baguettes. I picture New...