Metaphors & Medicine

It's a four letter word that nearly every single person in high school is talking about right now: PROM. Yes, Prom. While to most high school students, prom is THE night to look forward to. Is it wrong to say that I,for one, look forward to graduation more? If you don't say you're going to prom, you end up getting a lot of "you're going to be the only one left out" or "when we meet a reunion in a few years and talk about prom, you'll be the only one who doesn't have any memories to share" or (my personal favorite) "you will miss out on so much". I beg to differ.  I'm sorry but what will I miss out on? Dancing? Sweating? Pictures? Hanging out with friends? Dinner? Am I the only one who realizes that these things can be done anywhere or at any other time but prom. But it's PROM. Maybe I'm being very critical here, maybe not. Some of you will agree with this, while others might disagree and beg for me to get to my...

"Be careful, guys, she might blow up the school." I remember my breath catching and my mind freezing up in utter shock for a minute when I heard those words come from a boy standing right behind me. We were in the unfortunately long lunch line at school and that boy along with his group of friends were standing right behind my friend and I, laughing their heads off about God knows what (I stopped bothering to listen after I heard "I'm already going to court because of that girl"). But their voices were louder than anyone else's around me, so I could still hear them despite my attempts not to. They were poking the people around them (including my friend and I) and were really annoying us. That was when I turned around in frustration and said, "Do you guys need anything?" They all looked at me and the one nearest to me in a blue shirt said, "No." I rolled my eyes and faced the front of the line again, my friend looking at me. And then...

"The number of those who undergo the fatigue of judging for themselves is very small indeed." -Richard Brinsley Sheridan As an American Muslim, dealing with criticism from people is something I brace myself for. No, don't think that is it something that I accept when I say that I deal with it. Rather I make excuses for those people who do judge me before they really know anything about me other than the scarf on my head. I convince myself that they are ignorant people who have no interest in getting to know me. They just want to judge me. So I just deal with it, not accept it and try to educate those who do ask questions about my culture or religion. I agree that I can help make a change in the world just by helping to create less ignorant and judgemental people.  A few weeks ago, I encountered such people. People who were willing to learn about my background. My family and I put together an exhibit about Palestine (FYI: Palestine is a country located in the Midd...