Uncovering It All

When I was first introduced to school at the old age of four, my mom told me three things: one, that I have to go even when I don’t want to; two, that if she got a call from the school nurse during the middle of the school day and had to come pick me up only to find out I was faking, she would be pissed (having previously learned from my two older siblings); and three, objectively the most important of all, that school would prepare us for the real world - though I would argue my mother’s anger still reigns supreme. And so, I walked into Kindergarten not knowing what hell I was getting myself into. Homework assignment after homework assignment, I’ve grown up alongside the developing school system believing that what I was learning would genuinely help me foster necessary skills for my future. Yet, the closer I get to graduating high school and entering college (thank god), the more I realize the school system failed me even more than my self-respect. Think about it, with all that’s g...

Why aren't I traumatized enough?   This question ran through my mind as I began to think about the topic for my personal college essay. Looking back, it's definitely a little crazy that I wished for something that could negatively impact me for maybe the rest of my life to happen to me, but what's shame when you're desperate?      Although I finished my essay a while ago, when given the opportunity to edit it in class, I revisited it. And, when I did, I became thankful that I didn't have anything to trauma dump about to an exhausted admissions officer. Why? Because I realized they don't care. They don't care about how my grandparents died when I was just a baby and how it affected me, they don't care about me splitting my head open because my older sister accidentally kicked me into our family gaming console when I was just a toddler, and they certainly don't care about my struggles with my identity after alienating myself with the hijab. Because to...

   I’m Arab. Of course I should know how to pronounce the word “Arab”, right? Well, I guess not, because somehow I was told how to pronounce my OWN race by a non-Arab. And not even that, but he didn’t even know how to speak the Arabic language whatsoever nor could he say the word “habibi” (Arabic word for My Love) properly. If you’re going try educating me on MY language, at least be able to say the most well-known word of it (if I could add an emoji, I would add an eye-roll).       Let me set the scene for you: it was my freshman year of high school. I was standing in line to get a school cookie, that, mind you, is actually the most disgusting cookie I’ve ever eaten. I’m with my two friends and this fellow freshman decides to join us. I already knew him as I occasionally tutored him in math. Somehow, the four of us get to talking about ethnicity. Out of curiosity, this boy asks me what mine is. Now, before I continue, I would like to address the fact ...

    I'm sure we've all seen the videos of men speaking into a mic with some inspirational music in the background and bold captions displayed across the clip changing with the pace of the words flowing out of their mouths. At first glance, you might think, "Wow, I'm about to hear something really insightful," but no, you definitely thought wrong. Because really, all of these men are just yapping for 60 seconds straight. It's humorous at first, don't get me wrong, but after seeing so many videos preaching the same gibberish over and over, it gets annoying. These men belong to the group that consider themselves "Alpha Males." With this, I will address the group that these men have affiliated into, and the self-coined term of "Alpha Male."      The dictionary definition, and I really mean dictionary, because somehow this term has somehow made it into the  Oxford Dictionary, is " a man tending to assume a dominant or domineering role i...

    Maus,  the comic book series written by Art Spiegelman, is a rollercoaster of emotions. From laughter to horror, the series deep dives into the truly terrifying story of Spiegelman's father, Vladek. The story doesn't spare any details, instead showing the world what really happened behind the gates of Auschwitz. The books contain small details that showcase Spiegelman's intelligence, and overall, is an educational and engaging book that deserves to be shared with the world. So, imagine my surprise when I find out via my English teacher that the book is banned in some parts of the U.S. and Russia. The reason why the books are banned in Russia is because of the swastika on the cover page and how it violates a law against Nazi propaganda. In the United States, the book is banned in a Tennessee school district and in schools in Florida. The reasons behind this action? Nudity, violence and profanity. Let's go over these reasons one by one, shall we?     The first...

         In my last blog post, I talked about a few of my issues with "The Great Gatsby." When I wrote the piece, I only intended to leave it at that, but as I reach the beautiful end of the traumatizing story, I realize that my anger runs deeper than just hate for the white rich characters in the story. No, my main issue isn't with these people (although they are quite insufferable), but with the narrator, Nick Carraway. Yes, the main point of view is quite literally the most disgusting and loathed person in my book. In this post, I will list a few reasons on why I despise him so much, and why that anger led to my ultimate hatred of "The Great Gatsby."                  1.  He is actually such a bad narrator:      Genuinely, Nick's perspective annoys me so much in this story due to his unreliability as the narrator. He claims that he is an honest character, yet not even two chapters in, he sit...