Post by Ms.La on Jul 11, 2006 21:34:49 GMT -5
In this book, which is the first one I seriously started on that made me realize that I didn't just enjoy writing, it's a passion.
This book is about a young black teenage Muslim girl, living in America and attening a public high school. The reader gets a glimps inside the girls life, seeing the world and people the way she sees it. They follow her along her journey in high school, facing discrimination, torment, and ridicule.
The reason why I wrote this book is because I honestly don't believe many people understand a muslimah's struggles while living in America, the proclaimed "home of the free" and "free for all races, genders and religions". I believe in many different ways, everyone struggles with something. I feel that the media has placed blinders and brainwashed so many people into believeing the muslim women are oppresed and that they are weak. So I want people to see a real Muslimah, a real women. I want people to understand that no matter what religion or race someone is, a teenager is a teenager, they go through struggles, many girls have low self astem, many girls unfairly toment other girls fro their own personal pleasure.
So, to anyone that reads this, or the book, when it's released, I just ask you to be open to knowing more then what the media wants you to know an think...
Coming to terms:
What defines who we are? Do life experiences help mold us, or do they help contribute to our downfalls? Why do many of us waste so much time focusing on what others think of us, or say about us behind our backs? Why does it really matter? What purpose does it even serve? Why does it even matter what they think? What makes us who we are? What represents us more? The clothes we wear, or the secrets and burdens that we bear? What sets us apart from the rest? Why must we acquire so much pain in our lifetime, in order for us to gain wisdom and knowledge? Why don’t we see the things that are happening, right in our faces? Why aren’t we willing to see the signs of situations taking place, right in front of us, before it becomes to late? Why do we allow situations to keep happening in our lives when we can put a stop to them?
Don’t we all have to find ourselves?
Don’t we all make decisions that either has a positive aftermath or a negative consequence?
Don’t we all in some way or another want to be accepted by people?
And…
Don’t we all have to come to terms with our life?
Chapter one
“What’s her problem? She been starring at me for like the past 5 minutes!” Liyah told her friend Trisha as they ate their lunch in the school cafeteria.
“Girl, I don’t know why your even paying attention to her, just ignore her, she ain’t worth getting no attitude over.”
“I know, but I just can’t stand when people do that. Starring at me like I got a something written across my forehead or some collard greens stuck in my teeth.”
“Yea, I know girl, but you just got to ignore they ignorant behind, they wasn’t taught nothin’, well, they don’t act like they were.”
“You right. Well I’m done with lunch, so you ready to go?” Liyah said laughing at Trisha’s remark
“Yea.” As Trisha and Liyah went to go throw their trash away, Sondra and her “crew” got up and followed them to the dumpster.
“Hey what’s up Trisha, and what was your name again?”
“It’s Liyah.”
“ Oh yea, right, like I care. Anyways, so what’s up Trish? I haven’t seen you around in a while? So you gonna stop hanging with us over her? I mean like you popular and pretty, and she, well, look at her.”
“Look Sondra, what do you want? My friend and I were about to go to class, until you and yo mini me’s started stalking us. So unless you want somethin’, and I know you don’t, we gotta be goin’.”
“You ain’t gotta be all nasty, I was just wondering why all of a sudden you just dropped us to hang with her, but aiight, be like that. Go hang with the lil miss ugly. But just watch yo back, she might just go blow something up.” With that comment, Sondra and her crew laughed and walked out the cafeteria.
“Liyah, don’t stud her, she ain’t got no life, or her followers lol.”
“Naw, I’m aiight, uh, lets just go to class before we late, you know how Mr. Ronald is.”
“Yea, with his old mean behind.”
They said nothing while walking to math class; Trisha could sense that Sondra’s words had hurt Liyah, even though she was never one to admit it, so Trisha decided to just leave it alone. While inside the classroom, they still didn’t say anything; they’d usually send text messages or whisper to one another about how much they couldn’t stand Mr. Ronald’s class.
“Oh my god, that pop quiz was hard as I don’t know what.” Liyah told Trisha after leaving Mr. Ronald’s classroom.
“Please don’t remind me. I didn’t know a thing on that test, my brain still hurt.”
“Lol mines too.”
“So what you doin’ after school?”
“I gotta go home cause my mom needs me to watch Jamal.”
“Oh, well call me, cause girl, well, I’ll just tell you later.”
“Tell me what?”
“I told you I’ll tell you later.”
“Come on Trisha, you know I hate being kept in suspense!”
“Lol naw, just wait, it’ll be worth it, trust me.”
“Yea, it better be. What time you gonna be home?”
“Well I don’t get off of work till like 7:30, so I’ll probably be home at like 8:00 or 8:30.”
“Oh aiight, bye.”
“Bye, and don’t forget to call me, or you’ll be sorry, cause you know how you are lol.”
“Lol I won’t, dang, I ain’t that forgetful.”
“Aiight then.” Trisha shouted while boarding the bus.
“I like Bridge, they have so many great programs, allot of opportunities, but I just hate school and most of the people who go there. Especially the girls, allot of them got some stank attitudes. They’re always talking about somebody, and there’s a fight up here everyday, usually over something stupid, or worse, a guy. The guys up here act kind of stupid, but you kind of expect them too. See, the guys are in groups, the stupid, the geeks and nerds, the goofy ones, the just plain nasty freaks, and the “norms” as I like to call them. The norms are like the guys that just blend in, don’t say much, there just, there. The girls, well what can I say? We have the drama queens (which is like every girl here), the “it girls” and the “not girls”. Either you fit in and basically all look the same; designer cloths, shoes, ect., weave and jeans so tight that when you take a deep breathe, your pants pop. I would be considered to be in the “not” crowd
I hate tight cloths, I don’t feel like spending hundreds of dollars on ridiculously priced cloths and accessories, and I don’t wear weave or have a perm, because if you don’t take care of your perm, you’ll loose your hair, and after using all that glue, it destroys the hair. I’ve never worn weave or had a perm. I’m a press or go natural type of person. But hey, to each is own.” Liyah thought to herself while walking to the 78 bus stop to go home.
This book is about a young black teenage Muslim girl, living in America and attening a public high school. The reader gets a glimps inside the girls life, seeing the world and people the way she sees it. They follow her along her journey in high school, facing discrimination, torment, and ridicule.
The reason why I wrote this book is because I honestly don't believe many people understand a muslimah's struggles while living in America, the proclaimed "home of the free" and "free for all races, genders and religions". I believe in many different ways, everyone struggles with something. I feel that the media has placed blinders and brainwashed so many people into believeing the muslim women are oppresed and that they are weak. So I want people to see a real Muslimah, a real women. I want people to understand that no matter what religion or race someone is, a teenager is a teenager, they go through struggles, many girls have low self astem, many girls unfairly toment other girls fro their own personal pleasure.
So, to anyone that reads this, or the book, when it's released, I just ask you to be open to knowing more then what the media wants you to know an think...
Coming to terms:
What defines who we are? Do life experiences help mold us, or do they help contribute to our downfalls? Why do many of us waste so much time focusing on what others think of us, or say about us behind our backs? Why does it really matter? What purpose does it even serve? Why does it even matter what they think? What makes us who we are? What represents us more? The clothes we wear, or the secrets and burdens that we bear? What sets us apart from the rest? Why must we acquire so much pain in our lifetime, in order for us to gain wisdom and knowledge? Why don’t we see the things that are happening, right in our faces? Why aren’t we willing to see the signs of situations taking place, right in front of us, before it becomes to late? Why do we allow situations to keep happening in our lives when we can put a stop to them?
Don’t we all have to find ourselves?
Don’t we all make decisions that either has a positive aftermath or a negative consequence?
Don’t we all in some way or another want to be accepted by people?
And…
Don’t we all have to come to terms with our life?
Chapter one
“What’s her problem? She been starring at me for like the past 5 minutes!” Liyah told her friend Trisha as they ate their lunch in the school cafeteria.
“Girl, I don’t know why your even paying attention to her, just ignore her, she ain’t worth getting no attitude over.”
“I know, but I just can’t stand when people do that. Starring at me like I got a something written across my forehead or some collard greens stuck in my teeth.”
“Yea, I know girl, but you just got to ignore they ignorant behind, they wasn’t taught nothin’, well, they don’t act like they were.”
“You right. Well I’m done with lunch, so you ready to go?” Liyah said laughing at Trisha’s remark
“Yea.” As Trisha and Liyah went to go throw their trash away, Sondra and her “crew” got up and followed them to the dumpster.
“Hey what’s up Trisha, and what was your name again?”
“It’s Liyah.”
“ Oh yea, right, like I care. Anyways, so what’s up Trish? I haven’t seen you around in a while? So you gonna stop hanging with us over her? I mean like you popular and pretty, and she, well, look at her.”
“Look Sondra, what do you want? My friend and I were about to go to class, until you and yo mini me’s started stalking us. So unless you want somethin’, and I know you don’t, we gotta be goin’.”
“You ain’t gotta be all nasty, I was just wondering why all of a sudden you just dropped us to hang with her, but aiight, be like that. Go hang with the lil miss ugly. But just watch yo back, she might just go blow something up.” With that comment, Sondra and her crew laughed and walked out the cafeteria.
“Liyah, don’t stud her, she ain’t got no life, or her followers lol.”
“Naw, I’m aiight, uh, lets just go to class before we late, you know how Mr. Ronald is.”
“Yea, with his old mean behind.”
They said nothing while walking to math class; Trisha could sense that Sondra’s words had hurt Liyah, even though she was never one to admit it, so Trisha decided to just leave it alone. While inside the classroom, they still didn’t say anything; they’d usually send text messages or whisper to one another about how much they couldn’t stand Mr. Ronald’s class.
“Oh my god, that pop quiz was hard as I don’t know what.” Liyah told Trisha after leaving Mr. Ronald’s classroom.
“Please don’t remind me. I didn’t know a thing on that test, my brain still hurt.”
“Lol mines too.”
“So what you doin’ after school?”
“I gotta go home cause my mom needs me to watch Jamal.”
“Oh, well call me, cause girl, well, I’ll just tell you later.”
“Tell me what?”
“I told you I’ll tell you later.”
“Come on Trisha, you know I hate being kept in suspense!”
“Lol naw, just wait, it’ll be worth it, trust me.”
“Yea, it better be. What time you gonna be home?”
“Well I don’t get off of work till like 7:30, so I’ll probably be home at like 8:00 or 8:30.”
“Oh aiight, bye.”
“Bye, and don’t forget to call me, or you’ll be sorry, cause you know how you are lol.”
“Lol I won’t, dang, I ain’t that forgetful.”
“Aiight then.” Trisha shouted while boarding the bus.
“I like Bridge, they have so many great programs, allot of opportunities, but I just hate school and most of the people who go there. Especially the girls, allot of them got some stank attitudes. They’re always talking about somebody, and there’s a fight up here everyday, usually over something stupid, or worse, a guy. The guys up here act kind of stupid, but you kind of expect them too. See, the guys are in groups, the stupid, the geeks and nerds, the goofy ones, the just plain nasty freaks, and the “norms” as I like to call them. The norms are like the guys that just blend in, don’t say much, there just, there. The girls, well what can I say? We have the drama queens (which is like every girl here), the “it girls” and the “not girls”. Either you fit in and basically all look the same; designer cloths, shoes, ect., weave and jeans so tight that when you take a deep breathe, your pants pop. I would be considered to be in the “not” crowd
I hate tight cloths, I don’t feel like spending hundreds of dollars on ridiculously priced cloths and accessories, and I don’t wear weave or have a perm, because if you don’t take care of your perm, you’ll loose your hair, and after using all that glue, it destroys the hair. I’ve never worn weave or had a perm. I’m a press or go natural type of person. But hey, to each is own.” Liyah thought to herself while walking to the 78 bus stop to go home.
