You Are Not Me -- Some people attack others when they aren't sure of their own identities. It is a hatred born out of confusion, one that cannot be resolved without root acceptance. This is a special piece, and it is in the form of a podcast segment.
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To the North -- Leaving home gives mixed feelings to all young adults. The feeling of betrayal fights with a desire for freedom. Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s writing style, this piece explains how family members who try to distract themselves with hobbies have to face their true feelings.
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Not a Woman Voodoo Doll -- My feelings toward the women in my family stem from a couple root stories they have told me about themselves. Everything else is something I've made up to understand the past. In some ways, it's glorified yet still real. I feel a presence of these stories in my own life, and they let me bridge the information gap as a first generation South Asian American.
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Queens: A Hub of Color -- New York City is much more than its night life. It’s a home full of color and experience, with a focus on family and culture. I hope this gives you a glimpse into my neighborhood.
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Lights On: Fantasy -- Daydreaming is a skill that I’ve refined during quarantine. On some days, it’s a necessity as I attempt to get away from the repetitive nature of life. That may sound melancholic, but in today’s world, daydreaming is more common than it seems.
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Tangled Relatives -- To put it simply, families are complicated. There are difficult power dynamics and relationships defined by money. We have many problems, and sometimes, we all need to take a step back to cool down. Other times, we need to accept our families for what they are.
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Another Day, Another Light -- A lot of my writing starts off with internal monologues as they help me figure out what I’m trying to say. This particular one is from a time when I had to express myself through one image, and I found that the process of finding that image revealed more about me than the image itself. My short tangents and flurry of thought make for an interesting walk through my mind.
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The Gift of Company -- There are moments when the world can feel overwhelming, when even a complete stranger can be a source of comfort. You may think “stranger danger,” but this one woman very much reminded me of my mother with her kind and heartfelt words.
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A Nightmare Comes to Life -- I’ve visited the hospital far too many times for a young adult, whether it be for my parents or my siblings. This one instance was particularly frightening for I could not recognize the person I hold closest to my heart.
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A Different School Night -- School nights in my house are very repetitive: come home, do homework, take a shower, eat, watch TV, brush, sleep. However, this one night brought on an unexpected change. We tried to remain unfazed, but our hearts said something different.
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Overworked and Indoors -- Inspired by the Laramie Project, I present a monologue about the pandemic, featuring my uncle. Though he does not say much, it’s what he chooses to say that matters. During this difficult time, we’ve all had to set our priorities straight, and what my uncle mentions in his interview definitely hits hard on how we’ve all been feeling.
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Nanumoni -- Bangladeshi grandmothers are most definitely superheroes. They stay strong for their families and do the utmost possible for them. As I say in my piece, if I could inherit one thing from my grandmother, it would be her capacity for love.
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Truly A New World -- My Baba is the most respectable person I know. He has worked for several years to get to where he is now. He has supported his family and has sacrificed his desires for the better of everyone else.
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Whole -- Steppenwolf is a novel about distortion. Using my own experiences as well as figments of my imagination, I have emulated the style of the novel to show two things: that I have many sides to myself, and I aspire to have a stronger relationship with my family. The main idea here is that I can embrace all sides of myself and have an idealized version of my life in my head to make it easier to live. It is quite melancholic but realistically something experienced by many people.
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Separated by a Cup of Chai -- Chai is a pastime in South Asian culture. It is a time for the family to gossip and spend time together. I have always felt a little distant from my culture, which is reasonable considering my American background, but Dunkin’s chai lattes have been a way for me to feel immersed in my culture. While they may not be the same, I feel a sense of comfort with my hot lattes.
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Forgotten yet Found -- Dependence only worsens the fear of abandonment. It makes it such that we only feel safe with one person, and once that person is gone, we feel broken. In an effort to stop that from happening, I tried to distance myself from my parents. They tended to focus on my younger siblings anyway, and I started to feel forgotten. I only remembered the negative experiences, but when I did remember the positive parts, it showed me that there was a reason why I didn’t want to let them go: they were always there for me. Feel that realization as I describe my walk through Central Park.
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Vincent Marsanico: June 1st, 1927 - February 9th, 2020 -- Vincent Marsanico is a person that I will always hold close to my heart. He was a neighbor who I considered to be family, so much so that I called him Grandpa. Grandpa remembered my birthday and every important day in my life. His death felt quite surreal, and I chose to write about his funeral from the perspective of an outside character. By writing it from another point of view, I have been able to process the matter and express my frustration as well as my acceptance.
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A Conversation Much Too Young -- My sister was only nine years old when we first talked about sexism. I hadn’t realized how young we all experience it, but after what was a rather busy day, that conversation with her brought me to understand that we would have to speak louder. Girls would have to stand up for themselves, and we must continue to stand up for others who do not have the same opportunities.
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Speak Bangla, But Speak It Louder -- Language has always been very important to my family, which is why I was enrolled in Bangla school. I hoped to embrace my creativity, but as a girl, they kept me quiet. For a long time, I thought that I should always strive to be quiet. However, it was too much to suppress myself. When high school began, I used my own voice. I continued to speak Bangla, but this time, I spoke it louder.