Introduction
My past two years at freestyle have been remarkable, almost like a scene out of a movie. Attending Freestyle was the most magical part of my day and a place where I could step out of my comfort zone and just create. To culminate my time here I will be displaying my freestyle highlights from each class.
English
English with Mr.Greco was where I fell in love with words, he taught me that there was another way to view the study of literature. Throughout my English career my two favorite projects have to be my podcast and my lyrical essay. They are two very different projects however I think they display the range of projects I have done in English.
The Podcast
The Lyrical Essay
Second Life, Stories of a Muslim American Childhood
A sea of light brown coats your body in an unchanging color. Like a branding, so people can attach distinguishable characteristics to the presence of such a color in the sea of colors that make the wheels turn. A color that brings about several preconceived notions and never changes whether heavily exposed to the sun or not. Despite this, you were always told to lather
yourself with sunscreen whenever you went outside in the “motherland”. A sea of white placed directly on the sea of brown to “protect” you from the dangers that come from overexposure. You never negate ideals of science in that you know that sunscreen really works however you always feel separated from all others no matter how much sunscreen you put on because of your innate need to hide your identity. You always feel as if you need to lather substances on your skin to cover up who you really are. This need wasn’t there
when you were ignorant to the reason for
this need. Although you weren’t alive,
September 11th, 2001
brought about
a need to conceal your true
identity in fear
of the revenge
that some may ensue because of a misunderstanding
in a religious text that few acted upon
to torture the lives of a place
that you adore. This brought about two realizations
in you.
- People will hear only what they wish to hear
- If you do not appeal to the wishful hearing of some then you put yourself in mortal danger
So before you continue you want to say sorry mom, sorry dad, and sorry little brother for if some continue to read they will soon realize this isn’t the paper that is going to let them hear what they wish to hear rather it is one that may speak what they do not wish to hear.
The Pledge of Allegiance
Oftentimes because of your lightly brown nature, it is assumed that you would always be among the intellectually superior and that scriptures will always be your hands’ obligatory companion. While you may be lucky enough to have fallen in love with academia the place that provided so much of your love confirmed your two beliefs.
“ I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America”
You bow down in respect to this piece of cloth forever there to serve this intimate object’s needs defined by those who claim to understand this object. An object that was flown over the heads of people who claimed to have wanted freedom for all and a place where all have the right to be ambitious and a place that your parents dreamed to have their children bow down to a flag that had more opportunity to bring about change than their flag did. As Father sat at his desk with his walkman created by people who bowed down to this object listening to John Denver depicting the nature of the land that this flag belonged to he thought that things would be as he was told. He thought that he would be thought of as the exact same as the people who lived with this flag flying above their two-story homes. He dreamed of this false reality until he finally flew to Atlanta, Georgia, and noticed that he didn’t only “pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America”
Eid Al Fitr
“La illah ila Allah Muhammad rasul Allah” “I declare that there is no god but god and that Muhammad is the messenger of god”
As the first of your people marched and chanted these words throughout Mecca with pride in their hearts they never could have imagined that their progeny would experience their Abbasid allies degrading them for these chants. After all, did they not believe in their god and their son of God as well? As you place your head on the ground chanting these words you wonder how you will be judged if you are seen pledging to two contrasting yet similar beliefs.
The Pledge of Allegiance
“And to the republic for which it(the flag) stands one nation under God indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”
Your first reality was starting to form as you hear the hymn of your class chanting these words all you can do is stand with your mouth shut. As the days go on you realize you are leading two lives and that you not only can’t relate to this flag but also not to the foreign words chanted throughout the prayer hall. You hope you can keep this stunt up for your entire academic career but you know it can’t last forever.
You smell the Biryani cooking in the kitchen convincing yourself to let go of the dream of being able to relate solely to your teachers at school or your relatives across the waters. As you are told to get back to your math practice you think that you can’t figure out the answer to the more important problem. While your body is draped in a light brown and you pledge to two lives what life do you want to live? And what life will the world let you live? As you hear your classmates dreaming of becoming president one day you know that this reality cannot be true for yourself. As your parents and family ask you how you will carry their name heading into the future you know that you may not be able to muster up the courage to face the world In your lightly brown upper layer.
We say we can all dream
We can all have the right to be seen as equals
But as long as you pledge your life to two ideals
You can never fully reap the benefits of one world
While you classify yourself as fully American you never feel as if you are an American, as you read more about the history of your nation you can’t help to notice the parallels between the people that your nation broke free from and your own motherland. As the Turks obliterated Constantinople in the name of religion you look towards the Crusades in the same way. Soon the works of Shakespeare look to be the same as Rumi, the Blue Mosque and Sistine Chapel look to have the same grandeur. As your parents and teachers expose you to the world, the oppressors depicted in your US history book seem to be just like the names glorified in your Saturday schools class. This brings about your second realization.
The Pledge of Allegiance
The day finally comes, your teacher has finally caught you in the act. As your class chants the pledge of allegiance with pride in their hearts and you stand in silence unable to bring yourself to speak the words you hear an authoritative voice. As your principal peeks his head out from the shadows of the doorway your ears start to blister as you walk into the principal’s office he tells you that you are not alone. That he too faced the same dilemma while growing up. As his father was taken from his home late one evening for a crime he didn’t commit simply because of the color of his skin he too had the same questions on what life to live. He told you that it is possible to lead a third life that encompasses both of your other lives.
One centered around your first love, academia.
He said that your all-encompassing world is hidden in the bindings of the scriptures that conflicted you in the first place. Because at the end of the day you will find happiness as
You will only read what you wish to read
Digital Media
While English is the place where I learned how to create Digital Media is where I learned how to display those creations through a variety of mediums. The project that I most enjoyed in Digital Media was the Photoshop watercolor project where I did a series of pieces on my family.
Film
Film was where I learned how to fine-tune some of the skills I learned in Digital Media. In Mr.Taylor’s class, I was exposed to the “real world” with tough deadlines and brutal critiques. However, through all the toughness, my documentary and video essay stood out as two projects which turned out to be my best work.
Documentary
Video Essay
Concluding Statement
These past two years have been life changing Freestyle. Thank you for showing me who I am and who I can become much love and respect. – Arsh