My Life:
The Truman Show
A memory book by: Sazzad Hossain

Who Am I?

Living within four walls surrounding my bedroom, I can see two twin size beds confined in a small corner of a petite room. Opposite that corner I see a dresser used as a stand for the lamp and the tissue box. To the right you can see a TV standing over an endless amounts of games organized in a, b, c order. Opposite that side you can see a table placed under a flat panel monitor being guarded by two mini-sized speakers. Across from them you can see a young male with low powered glasses typing. Hi! My name is Sazzad Hossain. I am a high school student born a day after the worst flooding to ever take place in my birth country Bangladesh. To many people’s eyes, I am an average student attending a small school located with in the city that never sleeps, New York City. But from my point of view, I’m just a kid trying to be standard teenager.
I do not agree with what others think of me. Who am I exactly from my view? I’m not really sure. All I know is that I am composed of many different types of characteristics. My mind is like a planet filled with many different people. Each person is a part of me and represents me in a certain way. I often choose one of those people to occupy my body, so I can test if it is really me, the person who I am and want to be. But I can never find that person. I search often but never do seem to find that character. So I keep looking and will continue looking until I find the real me.
From my surroundings and the events that take place, my life is like a T.V. show. Although it sounds ridiculous, it seems that every day, every minute, every second of my life is being recorded; and all people around me are “fake.†They all pretend to be someone that they really are not. They are actors and actresses playing a role in the production to create something real. And I happen to be one of those characters playing the role of stooge in the show. Our life is written down on paper like a script is written for a movie. We try to live our life just because we have seen someone being a certain way, or we have heard someone being different.
My goal is to be someone different. I want to be someone powerful, someone who can make a difference in the world. I have seen people such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President John F. Kennedy, Kanye West, etc. who are powerful figures and they became that way by being themselves. I want to be someone who is liked and looked up to because of who I am. I attend school to educate my self, I exercise to strengthen my body, and I go to the Mosque to pray to God so that I become the man of my dreams. I just wish I continue to believe in this so that one day I can achieve this goal.

Before I Was, There Were…

There are many people that are important to me. There are those who are here now and those that were with me back then. Growing up in a country nominated as the worst country of the year at the U.N. conference of 1999, I have been supported by many. My family and my friends were always there for me. Whether I was sick, or just lost, they would always be there to help. They were like my personal bodyguards who didn’t just protect me because they were getting paid for it, but they sheltered me because they loved me. Of all few people who I can list from the top of my head are my grandfather, my uncle and my parents.
The most inspiring person in my life was my grandfather (from my father’s side). My grandfather was the town mayor of Chittagong. Since my birth, my grandfather and I used to spend much time together playing card games while sitting on the porch on our identical hand-made rocking chairs. We were the same. Thinking of the moments I have spent with him makes me feel joyful. Living in a poor neighborhood during the early stages of my childhood, we have suffered a great money problem. The family of eight was living off one man’s earning.
I remember a time when we didn’t have much money to spend on fancy foods. I believe I was four years old. Once in a while (around once a year) my grandfather used to attend a meeting for all the town leaders where they had served “fancy food.†Thinking of the family, my grandpa brought some food when he returned home. All members of the household would gather and split the food. Although we split it equally, my grandfather used to give half of his to me. Although he wanted to eat it all, he did not offer but gave them to me. If I refused to take it, he would not eat anything for the rest of the day. That’s how loyal, loving, and caring he was to me. He was like a best friend that I will no longer see. When I was six years old, he passed away because of cancer. Everyday, every night I remember those precious moments that I have spent with him. Having a bad memory, not sure why but I have those memory stuck with me. If I could see him one more time I would tell him something I had never gotten the chance to say ‘good bye.’ He inspired me to work hard so that I can soon be able to support my son and my grandchildren in the future.
Another inspiring family member was my uncle, Pahalobi. Last year when I went to visit my family back in Bangladesh, I got to know someone who I have known all my life but didn’t really know. I did not actually know who he was, what he liked, and was he the man he was. All my life I was told by other family members that he was a “bad man.†That he didn’t care for anyone else but himself and that’s how it seemed when I first met him. But last year when I went to visit my uncle, I saw a different side of him. A side I had never seen before. It was as if he was the type of uncle that I had always wanted. He bought me whatever I wanted, he healed me when I was wounded, and he even spent time with me and my brother. He was an important person to me because he showed me that people can indeed change just like he did. It’s strange, the one time I got to know this man he ended up leaving this world. I just wish he could see how much he has inspired me.
My parents also are very influential people in my life. My father and mother survived the war of independence when they were little children. They lived through the great flood of 1988 and they survived raising three children in a foreign country. As a young girl my mother always wanted to be a doctor and my father a successful business owner. But both their dreams were gone when I was born, followed by my two brothers. From rising us both my parents have developed sicknesses. My father works with all his sickness (high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma) to raise money so he can feed the family and for me to go to college. My mother, also a diabetic and a person with high blood pressure, burns herself in the kitchen to feed her three hungry sons and a hardworking husband. For all they have done for me I cannot give anything better to them than the only thing I hold the closest to me; my love.
Without these influential people being part of my life, I don’t know how I would have survived. Their dedication, love, hard work has all been done for their son, grandson, and nephew. Although I have only listed three in this chapter, there were many more that had influenced me. There are my other grandparents (who I love very much), my aunts and uncles, my friends (some of whom have passed away), my teachers and my brothers without whom I would not be who I am.

Suddenly, I Became Me

Born in a country in terrible shape, my life has been difficult. As a young child in Bangladesh, I have gone through a lot. Sickness to hardship, I have lived my life knowing just how to get by. From all past events, I have hard time remembering any. I depend on my family to learn of my past. The person from whom I have learned the most about my past was none other than my mother, the women who carried me in her belly through the hardships for nine months.
After birth I have been lucky to be not effected by the terrible flood to take place in my birth city of Chittagong (8/15/1988). At the age of one I have gone through near death experience when I have been affected by back-to-back diarrhea. Although memory of that moment is not memorable to me, my mother remembers it as if happened yesterday. Waking up in the morning, I have been sickened by a dreadful poisoning causing me to have a change of look. My eyes deepened over the white colored, dehydrated face. Without any energy left and not being able to speak or be entertained, I lied on my bed for days.
After a few days, I have recovered. When it seemed that I have fully cured, the sickness returned worse than before. Then it returned again stronger and worse than ever. Not knowing what to do my parents rushed me to the nearest pharmacy about 2-3 miles from home. The doctors spending no time rushed me into a private checking room. While lying me down on bed, the nurse pierces through my skin a sharp pointy needle containing liquid that helped my body stay away from dehydration. Not being able to do anything, I stayed lying on the bed until I fell asleep. Waking up under a bright light, I noticed people staring at me as if I woke up after being dead for a week. I felt much better and was able to sit up and do all things I have normally done. After a while I get reunited with my parents from whom tears fell out like raindrops.
Knowing of the past is very important. Although no one can remember the event exactly as it is, it should still be cherished for what you do know. Pretending or making up your past is not the same as living it. If a person do not know of their past or cannot remember, they always have their family or their friends to help them. Life for example me, I have a very hard time remembering things. I have no idea of the events that happened in my past. But I learned of it from my family and my friends.

School Bells

As years go by, I start to grow. I grow both physically and internally. In the early stages of my life milk, vitamins, and good food made me grow physically; while education helped me grow internally. I got smarter, brighter and well prepared through education. At the age of six, my mother admitted me to Nahar Academy, one of Bangladesh’s finest elementary school. The tuff teachers, the over piled homework is why it was rated one of the tuff school. The school got students to memorize word per word poems, novels and historical documents. Its athletic programs pumped students up and prepared them to compete against each other in a tournament.
My years there are one in a million. Although my friends and I have been punished a lot, we have been greatly influenced by what we have learned there. In other schools in kindergarten teach them to learn the alphabet. However, in Nahar Academy they teach you how to read a book. In other schools they teach you the numbers. Where as in my school, they taught me how to add, multiply, divide and the functions of a fraction. It was a tuff school. If you go below an average of 75, you will be expelled. That’s what I went through.
An ordinary day there is tuff. I remember one time I did not do my homework for my math class. The teacher collected the homework from each and every student by calling them up from their seat. When she called me up and I did not have my homework, she pulled out a thick, well made stick and ordered me to place my hand over the table. She grabbed my hand with her left hand and started beating my hand with the stick. Trying to hide my pain, I closed my eyes. Tears fell down as I walked back to my seat with a red glowing palm. After this point, I did not miss any homework at all for that teacher even when I was absent.
After graduating from kindergarten, I met my first grade teacher. I was shocked to see that the same teacher I had in kindergarten was the teacher for my first grade class. In my mind I was thinking, “oh my god, not her again.†But she acted different. She was much nicer. She ended up becoming one of my friends. Its sounds strange but she actually helped me get out of problems that I got myself into. The year went by quick and I advanced to the next year in the school. The years that followed were overall the same. I guess all I did at that time was eat, sleep, study and play sports with my friends.

More School Bells

At the age of eight, I left my birth country of Bangladesh to a eugenic nation known as the United States of America. Unlike back home, this country contained different laws, beliefs and lifestyle. Behaviors and customs of its citizens were all different, that made it harder for me, a new comer, to assimilate to their culture. After arriving to this colonized nation, in 1997, I have worked hard to attire myself towards school.
A month before the end of a typical American school year at P.S.89 in Elmhurst, I was placed in third grade with many people whom I shared something in common; we all were of different ethnicity. From those with Chinese background to African descendents, we were different. Walking into the classroom, as I remember, was terrifying. Feeling like my heart was beating faster than a two hundred horse powered car, I walked in holding my aunts hand while looking around the classroom. I shut my eyes holding my aunts hand tightly, and suddenly she stops. I open my eyes to see why; it was then that I saw my classroom teacher talking to my aunt. After concluding the conversation with her, he comes towards me. To my surprise, unlike back home when the teachers assigned you a seat with a look on their face stating “get lost,†my teacher greeted me in a nice manor and asked me to choose any available seat. It was then that I learned a very important lesson. A lesson spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr.: “don’t judge a book by its cover.†I judged my teacher before I got to know him.
Before I took my seat, my teacher introduced me to the class and asked me if I wanted to say anything to them. Even though I did, my nervousness took over and I was unable to speak. I took a seat on table three. The tables were numbered to make the job of the teacher much easier during dismissal. My table mates greeted themselves to me and from that point on, tried to help me in anyway possible. This was the point when I started to feel comfortable around my new friends. The year went by, I made more friends. The school year ended and it was time to move on.
After the summer vacation, out of surprise, my principal placed me in fourth grade. With rage in my parent’s eyes, they complained why to the principal. At that time, my parents believed I was incapable of fourth grade. The principal’s answer was my age, I was too old to be in third grade and I must advance. My parents soon came to their senses and I went to my fourth grade class. The class was just like my third grade class, just with different people. Unlike in third grade, I felt comfortable on the first day around people. I made many friends that first day.
This was the year I was introduced to people such as bullies and my first crush. The girl was a Hispanic, blonde haired girl who was very smart. Her blue eyes and the unusual style of dressing, most of the time dressed in sweat clothes, caught my eyes when ever she walked by. Of course like in the movies, I was too scared to confront her of my attraction towards her, but I spoke to her often. I have had hard time speaking to people because of my English, so I attended ESL class to help me communicate better. This was the year that people in America, discovered my artistic talents. All of my class was told to make a drawing of Cinderella from the novel “Tales of Cinderella†by Disney Pictures. Out of my teachers surprise I created a picture of Cinderella doing all the dirty work for her wicked step-sisters. Afterwards the teachers sent the work of few students out to an artistic competition. Although I did not win, I was happy with my work and later went on to pursue a career in art.
In fifth grade, I moved to a new home in Jackson Heights, where I attended a school called P.S. 69. I met new friends and have become one interconnected with the community. My school was right across the street form my house, which made it easier for me to get around. To my surprise, one of my best friends from Islamic school, Minhaz Ahmed, was in my class. I could say best days I spent in fifth grade were playing in the playground with my friends.

I Grew Up Here

When I think of New York City, I think of the crowded streets in Manhattan trying to get to work, the 7th train filled with students rushing to make it to their first period class and the large skyscrapers with men and women wearing suits entering and exiting. Known as the largest city in the United States, New York City is the main center of world trade and finance and educational excellence. In addition, it is an international hub for advertising, publishing, entertainment, fashion and a creative outlet for the arts. The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island, all incorporated into a single entity, has almost everything that people want. From housing to jobs, it has it all. New York City is the only place in the United States that I called home. It is the city that offered me a home when I first entered this country and it is where I grew up.
I happen to be lucky to grow up in this diverse city that welcomed my family and me when we needed it. Coming from a third world country in terrible shape from politics and environmental problems, fleeing was the only option to many citizens of Bangladesh. After receiving permission to enter the United States legally, my parents gathered our belongings and headed to this supposed country of “land of dreams.†where all your wishes came true. The first day in America was terrible. After leaving our belongings in the apartment in Elmhurst, my family and I went to my cousin’s house for a dinner party. By the time we returned, all our belongings were stolen by a thief. Starting that moment, my family has suffered greatly. My father had to quickly find a job to feed and clothe us. My mother had to work hard to cook, clean and take care of my brother and me.
In 1999, along with my cousins, my family moved to Jackson Heights. Jackson Heights is one of New York’s most diverse and “free†towns. Diversifying people from Afghanistan to citizens from Yugoslavia, it allows its citizens the freedom to express themselves in any manner they wish. From wonderful schools, to the historic buildings, Jackson Heights has impacted many people’s lives.
First arriving in Jackson Heights, I attended P.S. 69 located on 78th street, 37th Avenue. From jungle gym to a tennis court, the school had it all. My neighborhood was very good as well. My neighbors would buy us gifts on holidays such as Christmas and would invite us to dinner whenever they hosted an event. After graduating from fifth grade, my family moved few blocks down the road to an apartment building. Thus started a new adventure.

Hide and Seek

Thinking back on the moments I spent with friends brings tears to my eyes. Majority of what I remember doing with my friends are playing strange but fun games, going to school and watching cartoons on the black and white television with my friend of five squeezed in one chair. Of all I can remember, playing games with my friends is the most recalling. Playing games such as hide and seek, cricket, punch that kid, street racing or just describing the clouds, playing these games were always fun when played with friends.
Living in a country populated with millions of cricket fans, my friends and I always enjoyed playing cricket. Everyday after school, my friends and I would rush home, eat lunch, change our uniforms, grab our sports gear and head to the Red Field. Red Field is where we used to hang around the most. Given its name because of the color of the dirt, it was a great field for cricket. Meeting up with rest of the friends, we would pick teams. Although often the teams would end up being uneven, we would not let anyone sit out. Beginning the game I would normally pitch first because of my ability to pitch well against my best friend, who is the best batter in the group and who always bats first. Being able to get the best player out makes the job of the fielding team much easier. At the completion of the game, we would sit down on the floor staring at the bright orange sun drowning into the street filled with workers returning home.
The best place I have played hide and seek was in my block where my grandfather’s building stood in Bangladesh with surrounding buildings still under construction. Having hundreds of different hiding locations, made the game more difficult but fun. Playing with a group of ten kids we would select two, instead of one to be “it.†Having two people makes the job easier and more fun than it is when having one person look for you. Often many of the “hiders†would hide in the construction zone, where the person whose “it†(tagged), would be too scared of visiting. Playing the game did not only challenge us physically but also mentally. We tend to bring out others fears and have them challenge it. Sooner or later they have to face it in order for them to have the ability to hide. To make the game more exciting we made a rule that if one finds another, they are not “it†until they are tagged. It is like freeze tag but a person discovered and tagged cannot be free.
Adding twists to games, in my opinion, makes it more interesting. Since childhood I have made many alterations to games that I play with friends to be able to challenge ourselves. Playing games with friends has always been and still is the most recalling in my mind because it is when I have had the most enjoyment. Regarding the fact that I no longer am able to hang around with my childhood friends because they are thousands of miles away, I’m still able to enjoy games with my friends in my new home country, the United States of America.

Let’s Go to the Movies

Throughout my life, I have watched many movies. Although many were English, I have watched movies from many different countries, from Indian to Chinese. Of all the movies I have watched, English movies were the most enjoying for me. As time advanced, so did my liking in the genre and ratings of movies.
When I was around the age of seven, I was very fond of animated and “G†rated movies. Whether it was Scooby-Doo or Tom and Jerry, I would spend majority of my day watching these movies. I remember one day coming home from school, running as fast I could, trying to make it home in time to watch the newly released movie “Power Ranger Zeo.†After reaching home, I dropped my book bag, removed my clothes and sat in front of the fifteen inch color television waiting for the movie to begin. I remember my mother bugging me to eat my lunch over and over again. All I wanted her to do at that time was be quiet. But she never did. So to make her zip her lips, I took my lunch and stuffed it in my mouth as fast as I could’ve and finished it. But that didn’t work; she came up with the topic of “stop eating too fast.†After a little while (when I started ignoring her) she left, and the movie started. Filled with pride of having two hours of movie time without any disturbance, I sat back on the couch with my feet set on the coffee table and my eyes set directly at the T.V. I think that’s how I acted every time when a movie that I wanted to watch came out.
As years passed by, and as I have began maturing, I stopped those childish movies and began to watch PG-13 movies such as Mission Impossible and Superman. Each and everyday there are new movies was released with many advanced special effects. And each and every one of those days, I felt like renting those on VHS and watching them one after the other. However, I was not able to because I did not have a VHS player and no money to rent any. Once in a while when my uncle would borrow his friends VHS player, as I remember, I would be the first sitting right next to the television waiting for him to turn on the movie. My uncle used to be a big fan of Bruce Lee, so we often watched many of his movies such as the Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon. I used to hate watching scary movies at that time because I was much of a coward. The scary characters in movies made me have terrible nightmares. But all that has changed when I started high school.
After starting high school, I have made many changes to my life. Of all the changes, one was the type of movies I watched. I became very fond of scary and suspense thrillers. Movies such as Final Destination and Secret Window are movies that I have watched often. Now as a senior in high school I watch all kinds of movies. Whether its horror, cartoon, mystery or action, I try to watch it all. Every Friday, unless I go to the movie theatre, I go to my favorite film rental store, 30 Minute Photo, and borrow a DVD for two dollars and fifteen cents. I take that home, plug it into my DVD player, turn on my surround sound speakers and sit back, relax and enjoy the movie. Watching movies help me remove all the stress I receive from a hard week at school and the annoying homework’s we receive that prevents me from watching any during a regular school day.
Movies play an important part in my life. It does not have much of an influence but it does help me relax when I need to. As a child I have enjoyed movies to get away from the real world to one made from a person’s vision. As a strong believer of making a vision into reality, I believe that is the reason why I watch movies. Reality is something I live everyday, and it gets boring often. But movies have these exciting events that have this pizzazz that spices up a characters life.

Let’s Take a Vacation

Throughout my life, I have been on many trips. I have traveled to places such as India, Dubai, Singapore, Italy, London, and to states within the United States. For the reason that I am a member within a family who enjoys traveling, I have many memories and knowledge of different locations that others may not know anything about. The most memorable trip that I took was to my birth country of Bangladesh during the summer of 2004. I suppose the reason why it was so memorable was because of the people I met, the food I ate, the events I have participated in while I was there.
After leaving Bangladesh back in April of 1997 to come to the United States, I have said goodbye to many of my family and friends, with whom I cannot have any other way of contact but to be there next to them. My birth country, a third world country, is and has been going through a major development process. Many of its citizens have yet to have electricity in their home, because the government has yet to reach their neighborhood to assimilate them of such developments. Many of my friends and family, unfortunately, live in those communities. That is where I have lived in since birth. Every two to three years when I return to my country, I get to see them again. My best friends, family, neighbors, teachers, and anyone else who knew my family and me would come and greet us on the day we have arrived. Whether it was 6 in the morning or 11 at night, they came regardless of the time of the day. As a child each and everyone in my community looked after me. If I was injured or lost, they helped me in any way possible. That is why I enjoy meeting them when I visit Bangladesh.
One thing I love to do is eat. Everywhere I go, I have to try out their food. While at Philadelphia, I tried out their Phili-Cheese Stake, in Buffalo I cowed down their Buffalo wings and in India I ate their famous Roti’s. In my opinion, Bangladesh, a country filled with meat lovers, has the best food of all. I love home cooked meals the most in Bangladesh. Luckily for me, both sides of my family (mother’s and father’s side) know how to cook. They are by far the best cooks in the world to me. My grandmother’s (mother’s side) special, Polao topped with Sweet Meat, always keeps me coming back to the dinner table for seconds. My aunt created this unique recipe that is very delicious which she looked for my brother and me almost every singe day last time I visited Bangladesh. She takes pieces of meat and piles them over one another on a toothpick and covers it all up over a secret crumb and deep fries it for few minutes. When it comes out, it has the entire family around it. The recipe also contains onions, which she uses for everyone else’s except those for my brother, because he dislikes onions. Just like my parents, all of my family is always there to support me. I have never gotten so full anywhere else except in Bangladesh from my families cooking.
While at Bangladesh, I have attended many events. From weddings to sports events, I was very busy there. My uncles close friend got married a few blocks away from my house, in a club dedicated to marriages. The club was located about a block away from where we have held our cricket tournament. The wedding ceremony was great. They had great food, great people, and a great presentation. Only thing I did not enjoy at that wedding was this greenish drink they served. After taking a sip, I felt like vomiting. The drink even tasted like vomit. But overall it was great.
Also in Bangladesh, I have participated in a cricket tournament between two teams. One contained my cousin, my friends and me. A total of 12 players were on my side. The opposing team was about the same. I did not recognize any members from the opposing team. It was a large event. There were about a hundred people sitting on the stands excluding the score keeper, the empire and the ball boy. The game was long and tiring. Unfortunately for my team, we did not win. But we gave it our all and my friend actually received the award for the most valuable player. He had scored 46 points, followed by me with 39. This sort of tournament is held annually, but I cannot participate every year as it is too expensive for me to go to Bangladesh every single year.
If I could go back there every year, I would do so. I get to meet my family, friends and enjoy such great events. In the past, I left my family behind and have missed them very much. Now I am able to keep in contact with them via international calls or e-mail. I just wish my parents were rich, so that I can go back home each and every single year.

High School: the Early Years

Ever since sixth grade I have attended the Renaissance Charter School in Jackson Heights, Queens. As an attendee at the school for many years, people began to learn who I am as a person. When entering high school, I have noticed that the school staffs were by my side supporting and encouraging me to continue my education in the Renaissance Charter School. Persuaded by their dedication to help, I decided to stay in the school and advance my education from a secondary institute that I was very familiar with. In my freshman year in high school, I was shy and quite. Every other students were like bullies who tried to badger me. I believe it was because of the fact that I was short, shy, a student who got good grades, and wore glasses. Like in the movies, wearing glasses for me was a bad thing. I remember one day not wearing my glasses, with the belief that if I didn’t, the ‘bullies’ wont pick on me. I did every thing wrong that day. Starting with answering all the questions in the class to copying down the information incorrectly, I did everything wrong. Worst of all, the ‘bullies’ still looked like them old selves to me. Not wearing glasses taught me two very important lesson. First always wear your glasses when you have to. Second no matter how you dress or look, people will see you as a certain type of person if you believe they see you as that kind of person. Later that year I ended up becoming friends with those ‘bullies.’ It was interesting to see how I changed my view of them as I got to know them more. They hared much of what I enjoyed. Things like movies, music, games, sports and other hobbies I had. My new friends carried me through the next grade as we grew closer and closer.

In my sophomore year, I spent more time with my friends. I have started attending programs out side of the school. Through Robert (art teacher at TRCS), I learned about a program called 7*ARTS. After being accepted to the program, my friend Sajjad and I walked in to the program and were shocked at the diversity of the room. From Spanish to African-Americans, this program contained people from almost all races. This was when I knew I found an excellent program. After the completion of this program, I have become more active in arts. I have taken up a major in arts in the Renaissance Charter School and have continued studying it eleventh grade.

In my eleventh year in school, I began to become more aware of my goal. This was the year when I continually asked my self one question. What is the meaning of life? Although I was unable to find an answer, I ended up creating one. My meaning of life was to be happy. In order for me to be happy, I need to do things that I really enjoy. This was when I became friends with my college advisor, Ana Falla Riff. She taught me many information that I needed to know. She helped me select a future career and taught me methods of how I can achieve such goal.

Also this year, I met one of the coolest teachers in the world, Henry (Harry) Sizlack. Throughout the year, I looked up to him as a father figure, who helped me in anyway he could have. He has taught me how to make myself happy through the use of comedy. Taught me how to improve my writing, how to write poems, essays, term-papers and perform a wonderful play. In addition, he taught me a wonderful passage and has clearly explained to me the meaning of each and every line from one of Shakespeare’s greatest play Hamlet, “To be or not to be.†So far, this was the year that I have enjoyed the most while at the Renaissance Charter School.

At Last I’m A Senior

September 20, 2005,
School just started and another year of school has begun. I just wish I had few more days of vacation left. Time went so fast. I can’t change time. Anyway, the first day of class was okay. Well we really didn’t have any classes. It was more like a presentation/introduction day. I was there in class sitting bored to death for the first few hours. Then Sajjad, Brian, Kelvin and few others came by and starting making jokes. The jokes were very funny. I joined them in coming up with more. Then suddenly comes an announcement. We all get taken to the gymnasium and were asked to take a seat. Later we were introduced to new teachers and were welcomed back for another year at school. Then we were dismissed. It was indeed a very short school day.October 20, 2005
College applications started. Just a few days ago, I found out that I was nominated for the Posse Scholarship by the school staff. I was filled with pride, but also with disappointment. I know I didn’t deserve to be there more than Tenzin and Nayab. To my surprise, they were not nominated because they were not American Citizens. I felt sorry not just for them but also for me. I was the schools backup choice. Now I was scheduled my first interview. Hope it goes well.

November 14, 2005
Today I went and hung around with my friends. As usual, Sajjad was acting like himself, crazy. Brian and Joshua are pumped up about another year of baseball. They have started practices already, inviting Joseph from Lafayette (PA.) to come and train with them. We went out for lunch and I guess talked for the rest of the day.

December 20, 2005
Wow! I haven’t written in a while. I made it to the second round of Posse, and have had my interview. Later I was invited back for the third and final interview, which I was looking forward to. The Posse staff chose one of the three colleges I selected from the list of their affiliate colleges. They selected Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Tennessee. I have sent out many college applications this week. From CUNY to SUNY, I was very busy. In the State University of New York, I have applied to Stony Brook, Buffalo State College and University at Buffalo. In the City University of New York, I applied to City, Hunter, Brooklyn, Lehmen and few others that I can’t remember at the moment. In addition I have also applied to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.; and Rochester Institute of Technology. It was very tiresome filling out all those applications.

January 5, 2006
Yeay! I finished all of my applications and additional required materials. So far I have only heard back from Vanderbilt, stating that I did not get the POSSE scholarship, but that they will submit my application as a regular decision application and see if I can get accepted to the school that way. I just hope I get into a college with a good scholarship package. Need for financial aid is very high, and I know my parents can’t pay even for one semester for any college. Congrats to those who are done with all these stuff (application, college).

January 10, 2006
Work…work…That’s all I do now. It’s either work with the companies I’m a part of, or working on my own company, its always WORK! Xeeblo and e10host are great companies, that I enjoy working for. But now, with all these other work, I’m slacking, and I waist all my free time working there. Also my schools groups, aaaa…. those works are never ending. Wether it’s College Bound, TRCSrobotics or student council, there is just too much of work and too little of me (literally, get it -> I’m short…lol). Anyways, can’t write much today. Just got reminded about the order from student council to make flyers and tickets for BLACK LIGHT DANCE 2. Man does it stink when you have a high position. Now I understand why Catherine (a friend from class, ex-president of the senior grade) is so stressed all the time. She is an admirable person. Though, I feel sorry for Brian (a very old friend of mine, since middle school).

January 13, 2006
Today is Social Justice day in school. I am working very hard, adding the finishing touches to my memory book. Right now I am sitting in the middle school media center, next to Maura whose correcting Catherine’s scholarship essay, typing this final post. Hope the readers enjoy what I wrote in my book, as I have worked very hard for months.