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Defining the Fire Within
 Faika Tabia '21“I always tell others to be themselves and disregard any negativity, but in truth I was being sort of a hypocrite. I always had an issue with people underestimating me, starting from my own parents to friends and other family. People would always tell me I can’t do this, I can’t do that, I’m not strong enough, that I’m not good enough. I never really believed in myself to begin with, and all that negativity didn’t help. The worst thing was my own immediate family giving up on me, which was..." |  Radia Basher '21“Consistency is something I strive for in life. Whether it’s good health among family and friends, being financially stable, or sticking to a plan for the future, being grounded is essential. But October of my freshman year I was thrown off balance. When I was walking to my vallo bus right after school ended, my dad texts me that my grandpa passed away, and a wave of emotions flooded my mind and I exploded. October was very rough with this news and my ammu rushing to BD leaving my baba to be..." |  Sajjad Khan '21“I learned from an early age that my friends in my neighborhood, or even my family, would judge me if I cried in front of them. Eventually, the idea that crying is unacceptable was drilled into me and I felt like if I cried, I should be ashamed. A couple years later, people would make fun of me for the way I smiled in pictures or just the way I looked in general. It got to the point where I wouldn’t post pictures with me smiling and I constantly felt insecure about my looks. It wasn’t until..." |  Alvi Ishraq '23“In my elementary school years, there was a time where I faced one of the biggest obstacles in my life, my ability to communicate. When I was born, I always had a problem understanding others and being able to speak to them, it was always a struggle for me. Whenever I would go to school, I would try to socialize with people who I think were willing to accept who I am. But that wasn’t the case, and I was being picked instead..." |
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 Madina Monowara '20“You can grow from fighting through your own life challenges but some of the most life changing moments can happen watching other people going through their own adversities and overcoming them. Her dad was everyone’s friend. Working long hours to support his family took up much of his time but he was one of those people in your community that everyone knew they could go to when they needed help. Then he got cancer. Watching him slowly die was hard but watching the way it destroyed everyone..." |  Maheen Rassell '23"An obstacle that I have faced in the past has to do with my identity. My parents are from Bangladesh and this Bengali culture is something that I grew up with. When I went to elementary school, I was embarrassed by my culture. During lunch when I brought something like curry to school and everyone would make fun of me. I would hide my food or not eat it at all to avoid being singled out. However, as I grew up, this embarrassment diminished because I started to embrace my culture..." |  Daiyan Tajwar '20“The first term of tenth grade for me was an imperative period of growth. My father was out of work for a few months due to medical issues and financially we suffered. We barely managed to pay rent and electricity bills, so everything else was out of the question. Eventually my mom took the initiative to run the family by working part time. She worked countless hours and was stressed out, yet always kept a smile. She didn't look fazed a tiny bit..." |  Labiba Aziz '21“The decision to wear the hijab came at a very young age for me; I was never strictly coerced by my family to do so and I rather appreciated the way my older relatives would don the beautiful fabrics. My optimism surrounding my newfound decision, however, slowly began to take a turn for the worst when my classmates questioned my choice to wear a headscarf. I was constantly ridiculed by my peers, who often ignorantly claimed my headscarf was a sign of oppression that they believed Islam so..." |
 Raida Chowdhury '22“2017 was a hard year for me. There were many problems in my life that were out of my control. Because of this, I was unmotivated in school, my grades were slipping, and I became distant from my best friends. I had so many negative emotions bottled up and no source to release everything I felt. That year my family decided to go to Saudi Arabia in April. Religion wasn’t a big part of my life before I went, but my huzur told me praying was the best way to let out negative emotions. I prayed..." |
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