Essays That Worked!

Ramza Shahid '13
DeWitt Clinton High School, Bronx, NY

Her forehead lies resting on the rug. Her hands touch the floor while they are aligned parallel to her face and her knees bend inward towards her chest. Her eyes are closed but her mouth is whispering, whispering as though she is speaking to someone, waiting for someone to respond. Her mind is solely focused on each sound of the whispers that lay memorized in her heart. She is in the state of prostration – Islamic prostration – her mind, body, and soul all in submission to her God. This is a daily practice for her; about five times a day, every day. She has many other things to do, oh yes, but she always takes time out to pray. She is an intelligent young lady, many have told her, and has accomplished much in her young life. However, many things she cannot even imagine achieving, simply because of who she is. She is a Muslim female, who has to abide by her religion and culture, no matter how difficult life becomes.

Slowly, she rises from the state of prostration to sit up on her feet, while gently placing her hands near her knees. Her lips are still whispering, still moving. Her head is covered with a piece of cloth significant in her religion. The first time she had covered herself with the cloth in public was in middle school. Although her elders encouraged her to continue covering, the decision was ultimately her own. She believed it would represent her. And it did, but it also made middle school more difficult; the constant derogatory comments, such as “Osama’s daughter” and “terrorist,” as well as the taunting stares, were inevitable. What made it even more difficult was adjusting to her maturing faith, her maturing age, and her maturing educational level, all at the same time. She began to take religious classes and explore her religion further. At first, it wasn’t hard to balance the time she devoted to school and the time she devoted to her religion. High school, however, changed everything. She had a heavier load to carry in high school. She took challenging courses, but she also actively participated in Sunday Islamic school. The work load, along with stress, augmented, but it only forced her to work harder because she had ambitions of reaching her highest potential in all that she does.

She bends over while keeping her hands near her knees – still whispering. She sits up, and then goes into prostration. She sits up again, whispers some more, and begins to conclude her prayer. When she finishes performing supplication to her God, she heads to the kitchen to prepare dinner – a traditional Pakistani dish. Not only does she have to pray and follow her religion, but she also has to keep her culture at heart. Instructed in her duties as a young Pakistani Muslim girl, she was to obey her parents and elders, even though she lacked an understanding with her parents. She had to begin learning how to cook the basic dishes during middle school.

She had to give up sleepovers because they weren’t seen as the “proper” thing for a young lady to do according to her cultural beliefs. She had to become accustomed to her parents being “extra overprotective” and to staying home more often rather than going out with friends. She couldn’t commit to extracurricular activities, such as weekend community service and sports out of school. Her routine eventually became simpler, from home to school and home again. Her world became increasingly contradictory because of the two opposing environments she called home – her religion and culture versus her academics.

When she finishes preparing the food, she washes the dishes and gets ready to tutor her two younger brothers. Her younger brothers enjoy being the younger men of the house as they are not held responsible for the housework, but since they struggle with their studies, she, being the elder sister, has to spend hours of her time tutoring them. However, not only does she have a responsibility over her brother but also over her parents, who are challenged by the English language. Her parents have limited education because they didn’t even complete high school in Pakistan. Her mother knows how to read English but can’t speak it, while her father can speak English but cannot read it very well. As a child, she couldn’t take full advantage of her education because her mother didn’t know how to help her with her homework, attend parent nights, or provide her with other helpful tips. She has to help her father completely comprehend his mail, his bills, manage his online accounts, and write letters for him; she sacrifices her time for her family so that she won’t be disrespectful to them nor to their traditions.

She then begins her homework or studies for her AP classes during the time she has left over, while recalling how hard she worked to attain the status of honors since the sixth grade, when she was mistakenly placed in ESL and not placed into an honors class until the eighth grade. She realizes how life continued to be complicated well into high school, when her final decisions about her life’s path began to take form. She developed a sense of confidence and maturity. The world became clearer as she noticed some Muslims degrade their religion's values. She promised not to be one of them because she respected her religion even though it challenged her. She respected her culture even though it was different than the American culture she saw around her everyday. She maintained parts of both cultures in her life. She had high expectations of herself and didn’t let these challenges take control of her; rather she created balance between them and converted her obstacles into cherished parts of her own identity.

Last Modified: Monday, July 27, 2009 13:40