Devastatingly Beautiful

I feel like it is the perfect time for me to dress up in Elsa costume and sing Let it go to the massive pile of snow in my driveway,maybe then it will move. Spoken like a true New Englandner,eh? Seriously tho, it has been snowing for over 24 hours now,the historic blizzard is on full swing. It is not supposed to stop till 1 am today,the roads are blocked,thousands flights are canceled and I'm lovin' it. Not because of the two snow days,but because I'm getting to feel raw nature after so long,and nature,like pain,demands to be felt.

Ever since I have come to 'Murica I feel like I have stayed away from raw nature for a long time. Don't get me wrong,it's not like there are no trees or whatever,but it just feels artificial to me. Like everything is planned,thought out.Nature isn't something that should be planned,it isn't something to be tamed,it is something to be left on it's own,to run wild. And we humans are yet to learn that.

I have said enough times how much I miss the rain of Bangladesh. One of the many reasons I love the rain of Bangladesh because it is so reckless. It would cause power outage, blocked roads and basically it would leave you helpless. I remember one time it rained for 5 days constantly,and everything just came to a complete stop. Only then did I realize,no matter how technological advances we get,we are helpless in front of nature.And there is a certain kind of beauty in that.

When I was 12,we went to a place called Rangamati in Bangladesh for vacation. It is basically a mountain-y place,with lots of mountains towering over. I remember standing in front of a 70 foot drop,and I was scared to death but I couldn't move from that place.It was so beautiful,that you just calls you closer,even when you know that a couple more steps and you are gone.Standing in front of that 70 foot drop,my 12 year old self finally understood the meaning of "devastatingly beautiful." I love speaking 3 languages you see,and in Bengali "devastatingly beautiful" doesn't sound nearly as lame as it does in English. But you get the idea.

Nature is scary and beautiful at the same time.It has always been.That's what that draws us to it. Sometimes we think we are too cool for nature and try to control it in our way,and you see the result for yourself-global warming,green house effect all those stuff. My point is,we all should just accept the fact we are not so much different than our ancient ancestors who had no protection against nature.They survived because they adapted to nature,not the other way around. All our fancy technology ain't going to do any good when you have a power outage cause of a blizzard or hurricane. Evil? Maybe.But beautiful,too. Only nature has the power to be devastatingly beautiful.

That is so STRAIGHT!

I was volunteering at this ELL program in my school last Wednesday,which is basically helping the families whose first language is not English. Let's be real,I was not volunteering as much as I was taking selfies or preparing for my History quiz (Yes,I was studying,I had 3 quizzes the following day). Anyways,I am at this table,the kids are drawing and coloring some stuff we printed out,and this boy,who cannot be older than 8,points at another kid's painting and goes "That is so GAY." I stared at the boy for a couple of moments then glanced over to see what was so "gay" about that painting,and it turned out to be nothing but a monkey wearing a pink shirt. I was just shocked to hear a kid saying "gay" to insult something. Yes,call me naive,but I was.

Which brings us to the matter that why a 8 year old kid saying gay in order to insult something? Option 1: That kid is a jerk.
Option 2: He has picked up this habit from someone older
If looked at this matter logically,you will probably agree that Option 2 makes more sense.

That being said,we now have a new issue. Why is an older person,who is more mature,using the word gay to insult something/someone? Let's forget that person,before we accuse someone of something we should look at ourselves. How many times do we say "That is so gay" to insult something? I have heard people doing it,and I myself is guilty of doing it in my not-so-mature teen years. As I grew up,I looked at myself and thought "Wow I am so stupid." and then I stopped saying that phrase. We always talk about changes in the society,but we do not understand the fact that society will not change if the change is done from the very root. Like,stop using that stupid phrase. Accepting homosexuals and gay-rights is a big thing now,and it will not be achieved until we change our little habits. Yes,this may sound very lame,but huge changes do begin from a shift in the mindset. And what we say/do reflect our mindset. Gay rights will not be properly established until we stop using the word gay(which actually means Happy,if you didn't know) to insult,female rights will not be achieved until we start going to the girls basketball game. It might be hard for some of you to understand why I am repeating the fact that we have to stop saying gay to insult someone,but let me tell you,I have met countless males who would not wear a pink shirt cause it makes them look gay. How ridiculous is this? Just like how wearing yellow doesn't say what kind of pizza do you prefer,wearing pink doesn't say anything about your sexuality. We live in a society where we are trying to establish gay rights,while simultaneously refusing to wear pink because it is a "gay color." The last time I checked,there was no color for "sorry I don't do hypocrites" cause if there was,I would be wearing that color every.single.day.

Coming back to that kid,he didn't have any fault. He has obviously learned the phrase from someone else and used it to prove his worth. But what about that person whom he learned it from? He is probably an adult and has the ability to think logically. That kid,he represents the future. And if that is the future,I am not sure if I want to see it. And that adult,he is the present. And it disgusts me. I am not even going to talk about the fact that you do not have a say in another person's sexuality and life,I am just saying, we need to stop using the word gay to insult somebody. Because I am sure I have never heard anyone saying "That is so STRAIGHT". Why this discrimination? All this gay rights people are talking about,they will do nothing,until we change our mindsets. Until we change ourselves.

Am I right or am I left?*

-Mourin

*(Just had to throw in that pun right there,I feel I have let my anger control my writing too much)

If not now,when?

I'm quite a mess when people ask me if I'm a feminist or not. Part of me wants to BURN them(not literally,sarcastically) for asking such a stupid question, part of me wants to sit down and talk about life of them and part of me just wants to say "Obviously" in Severus Snape's voice. I don't know about others,but I just don't see the reason for NOT being a feminist.

Feminism,by definition, means equality of the genders. It does not mean considering women to be superior than Men, nor does it mean to interpret men as some blood sucking demons(I mean, hating them). Feminism simply means equality of the genders,and nothing else. Personally,I do not like the name "feminism".It implies that it has something to do with solely Women,like it's about worshiping Women and disdaining Men,while it clearly is not. Of course much of the inequality affects Women,it does not mean that Men are in heaven or something.The society has come limiting factors for them too.

My view is that,our life should not be decided by one single chromosome. We should be able to do and think whatever we want,regardless of our X & Y chromosomes. 

I am just going to mention some "small" issues today,which in fact,do not seem very small to me. You know,in Disney movies,how the Princesses marry the Princes that save them? It's all very romantic and rainbows and sparkles,but before we even think about why a Woman would marry a Man she just met, why does ALWAYS a Prince save the Princess? Why does she need to be "saved"? It plants a seed in little girl's brains,which results in a humungus tree,and I tell you,that tree ain't doing anything to reduce Global Warming. Forgive my dark sense of humor,but there is no better way to put it. It just pisses me off so much,seeing that Disney is making all the girls think that there will be Prince Charming to save them. As much as people would like to believe it,this is NOT true. Believe me, I have seen many grown-up Women,waiting for their Husbands/Boyfriends to solve problems. It's almost like,they do not even BELIEVE that they can do it. Let me tell you something,if you want equal rights,you have to put in equal amount of efforts,lady. That might sound harsh,but I am not about Sugarcoating,for Diabetics is a filthy disease. The point is,Disney needs to change.The media needs to change. Instead of picturing girls as beautiful,vulnerable Princesses, picture them as beautiful,strong Warriors. We need more Elsa-s, more Hermione-s, to inspire our girls. 

So when we are talking about Gender equality, it's quite hypocritical to leave the other gender behind. As I said,we cannot assume Men have it easy (though they kinda do,but still). SO,in our society,since their early childhood,boys are taught not to cry. "Aren't you a strong man? Of course you are. And let me tell you, strong Men do not cry." I mean,have you heard anything RIDICULOUS than this? And yet,all boys at some point of their lives are told this,directly or indirectly. I just do not get the logic behind this. Men maybe physically stronger than Women, but does that make them invincible? It does NOT. How do you expect a person to survive without letting some of their pain,their anger out? Is it even humane? And why is it okay for Women to cry? Because they are weak? I am speaking from personal experience, I have met far more stronger Women than Men (not a generalization, just experience)

So,what's my point? My point is to make people realize when they make that face when they hear the word feminism is just WRONG. How can you not want gender equality? Seriously,if you are not a feminist,you need to look at yourself in the mirror and explain "Why not." And like Emma Watson said, "If not now,when? If not me,who?" But we should not just promote #HeForShe,but also #SheForHe because,well,Y chromosomes and testosterone is not always going to be enough.

If my mere try made you even think about this issue for a minute,I would consider myself successful. It is high time you thought about this. "If not now,when?"

-Mourin

Year of Rewrites

I am gonna go all cliche and talk about the year that is about to end. I know it is very overrated, but when you look back on New Years Eve, you realize the person who woke up on New Year's day and the person who is looking forward to another brand new years is different. The difference could be all most negligible, the difference could make all the difference (see what I did there?),but it is there, hanging in the chilly December air,waiting to be acknowledged. It's funny how much life could change while our beautiful little planet completes one rotation around it's very average star. One year is not even close to a fraction is cosmic time,but enough to rewrite our live

I remember waking up on January 1, 2014 thinking "Wow,I'm leaving Bangladesh this year. But I still have 7 months left." The next thing you know, I'm on the plane,leaving Bangladesh forever. I feel like I have talked about this a lot, but it never seems enough. Moving halfway across the world was obviously the star event of the year,but lots of other things happened to. I had lots of changes to cop with,lots of sacrifices to make, this year has been a year of sacrifices. You know,the typical American Dream. It sounds really crappy,but you know, I chose this. Chose to make the sacrifices,chose to rewrite my life in the mere hope that it would help me in the long run,that I would be one step closer to achieve what I want in my life. 2014,the year I chose to grow up. And the biggest lesson of this year, achieving your dreams come with a big price. The price sometimes seems like bigger than what you get in return. But then you remember who you want to be,and you realize the sacrifices are a part of becoming that person.

That being said,let's hope 2015 brings me closer to my dreams and you to closer to yours. At the end, all we can do is work hard and hope.
Let's hope I survive the dreaded Junior year.
Happy New Year.
-Mourin

Excellence Without Arrogance

I just found out about this whole MBTI thingy, which basically categorizes all humans in 16 different personalities based on 4 traits. While it is kind of impossible to categorize the whole human race in only 16 groups, the result I got describes me an awful lot. This test described lots of things about me which I knew were there,but never really looked into it. I think everyone should take a look at it (I have been bothering my friends lately,telling them to take the test). SO,here you go,I'll just give the link to whoever interested in finding about themselves a little more.

Click here for the test yo

Okay,now y'all know what I am gonna do. I'm gonna bore you with my personality for a while. You can skip to the next paragraph if you want,but I don't really recommend that. Cos I'm fab. Hehe.

So,I am an INTJ. Which is, Introvert, Intuitive, Thinking & Judging (BTW,this Judging is different from Judgmental,just sayin'). Apparently this is the Second most rare personalities(The other is INFJ,rarest in Men), and the most rare personality in Women. Can we just have a round of applause for the me? Of course we can.

INTJs are the most strategic,and are also known as The Mastermind(That's me,hue). There are loads of other awesome stuff about us,but let's talk about something else. You would probably better understand INTJs if I mentioned some of the fictional INTJs which include Greogory House from House M.D (gotta love that guy), Walter White from Breaking Bad( such a badass,that guy), Jim Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes (did someone say the greatest villain of all time?). Notice a pattern here? While all these guys are awesome,they suffer from EAS,aka Extreme Arrogance Syndrome (okay,I just made that up). Also apparently every internet page which describes INTJs, never forget to mention the fact that INTJs are arrogant. In other words, I am an arrogant piece of crap.

As my friend Johny would say, I have a counterargument.

I,for myself,think that no human being has anything to be arrogant about. I mean,look at us. We are so small,so insignificant,we have loads to be proud of for sure,but nothing to be arrogant about. Just check this Video out, and you will see. We do not know anything really,the little knowledge we have goes back to the last century and so,and I don't see the point in being arrogant about that. Being proud of yourself is one thing,treating people like crap and making them miserable just because you think you are better than everyone else is something totally different. And totally wrong.I mean did you even see the video? We have to pretty damn arrogant to call ourselves the only high intellect species compared to what could be out there.

Let's just talk about Greg House,okay? I mean that guy is awesome,got some serious talent but he is arrogant as crap. I mean,I love him and all but he seriously gets on my nerves sometimes. He is not necesarily a horrible human being,but he is horrible to people. And he is just miserable,really. I feel sorry for him (Calm down Mourin,he is fictional.) And let's just say starting to make meth( cook crystal) when you find out you have cancer is NOT logical,I don't understand why an INTJ would do that. (Maybe it just provides a really awesome plot,but still).

As an INTJ(or just a human), I have some arrogance in myself,I wouldn't lie. But I keep it to myself most of the time,unless I'm being sarcastic ( Apparently,that's an INTJ thing too). I was taught to be humble,by my family,my culture,my religion and my conscience. I think modesty is one of the best quality a person can have as a human being. I think,people who have thorough knowledge of their abilities and knowledge are not arrogant at all,because they know there is so much more they can do, even if they are the best in what they do. "Excellence without arrogance is the best kind of excellence"-(A fellow INTJ from a group,idk if he quoted someone or not,I am sorry). Don't get me wrong,I am not saying you should be humble because then people will like you. I am anything but a people pleaser. You should be humble because that makes a better learner, a better forgiver, and overall,a better human being. And I think that's what we all should aim for. After all,there is nothing more pathetic than arrogant ignorant little us.

-Mourin

Happy Holy-days

So Christmas is here,so are candy canes,Christmas lights, trees and other Christmas decorations. This is all fairly new to me,mind you,I believed Santa was real until I was 13 and I didn't know enough Christians to tell me that he is some made up funny old man. At this time we had Winter break in Bangladesh, and with like 3% Christians, I never saw Christmas decorations and stuff before. And now I am just absolutely fascinated by them. Seriously though,Christmas lights are beautiful. I was talking to my friend who is Jewish,and we were basically whining about how we both wanted Christmas decorations and our parents wouldn't let us buy them. Y u do dis parents ;-;

On that note though, to all those people who thinks Christmas decorations are only for Christians, just think this through. Christmas lights or trees are not even related to Jesus or what Christians believe. It's just a western tradition through which certain companies make money. And so far,it's been working pretty well for them. I am sorry if it offends anyone,but I had to mention this cause I have been seeing posts related to this on Facebook,and it just pisses me off when my fellow Muslims say we can't wish Christmas to our Christians friends. I mean,get a life. Just because our beliefs are different,doesn't mean we cannot share the joy of this season.

I can understand why would people act like this. Just last week,we had people going around singing Christmas songs at our school,and this Jewish kid felt really bad and he ran crying to his Counselor.
I am ashamed of laughing(just a little bit,sorry) when I heard this. I realized later that just because I can adapt more,doesn't mean other people do too. And being part of minority can be frustrating too. But the thing we all need to understand is regardless of our religion, nationality we are the same. Before I am a Muslim or Bangladeshi, I am a human. Religion, Nationality, Ethnicity,these distinctions were created by ourselves. While we are somewhat bound to these, and cannot change who we are, we can certainly work to reduce the tension. There will always be difference between us, but being a human doesn't necessarily mean abolishing all the differences,but understanding and respecting these differences. There is so much more to this world than being caught up on the fact that who gets to buy Christmas trees and who doesn't. And as some smart person who I cant find on the internet once said, "What unites us is greater than what divides us."
If you find who that guy was,please let me know. That guy is awesome.

Until next time then. And Happy Holy-days, no matter what you are celebrating. Whether it is Christmas, Hanukkah (is it over already?) , winter vacations, or just nonstop Netflix.
-Mourin







Happy Holidays! Wishes from ELL group!
Lets name countries : China,China,China, China, Bangladesh, Spain, Korea,China, Israel, Georgia, Japan, Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan, Brazil and random kid on the floor.

Is it just me or there is too much Asia in this picture? LOL.

A Third World Country

It's 16th December, about 43 years ago, a brand new country was born through a bloody c-section. Okay, I am very bad with metaphors. I mean, a bloody war. It's the country which was referred as the "bottomless basket". It's the country which brings the image of people living below the poverty line, children dying of hunger, high corruption, work conditions similar to those of Industrial Revolution,and just all the other horrible things associated with a third world country. Yes folks, I am talking about Bangladesh, the country I was fortunate enough to be born in. There has never been a day, since I have realized what patriotism is, I haven't felt grateful to be born in the most sacred land there ever was,is and will be.

I'm making this far too much dramatic than I intended. Oh well,I am South-Asian,what do you expect? Haha.

We were discussing Industrial Revolution in our History class the other day, and our teacher asked, "Why do you think the parents agreed to send their kids to the factories, even after knowing the horrible conditions?" So people started giving various answers, and this kid says, "Maybe they didn't care about their kids much." And I'm like, "Watt. You kidding me bruh?" (I didn't say that,obviously) And my teacher is like, "Oh well you bring up an interesting point. Maybe the parents didn't care about their kids the way we do now,specifically American kids. I mean, you could say that..the parents of say...Bangladesh,don't care about their kids like that." And I'm just sitting there in utter amazement. He is my teacher,and I respect him, and I'm sure he just meant to give an example, but that statement was shocking. It literally shook me. I stared at him for a few moments to make sure I'm not hallucinating. Is that the kind of things people think about when I say "I am from Bangladesh"? That my parents can't care less about me, and I was destined to work in a textile mill if I did not move here? Well,crap.

I just have one thing to say about that statement. Money does not affect love, I'd love my parents unconditionally even if they didn't make enough money to survive. I would be filled with bitter feelings about life of course, but that would not affect my love. Just like my country being poor doesn't affect my love. Just like the City I was born in being the 2nd most unsustainable city does not affect my love for it. My love does not depend on some paper pieces, I'm sorry.

You never know how you will miss the smallest things about your country until you leave your country. Not the country as a whole, but you will miss the smallest details you took for granted.

What I miss about Bangladesh?

Crows. My friend sent me a voice message, and I could hear Crows in the background. And I was filled with this zeal which cannot be explained. Crows are annoying as crap,and I miss them. I miss the heat.The humidity. The constant feeling of needing to have a shower. I miss the electricity cuts. The huge window beside my bed through which sun would annoy the Flourine out of me. I miss Azaans( Call for prayers) 5 times a day. I miss the comfort of being surrounded by people who speak Bengali.The time when I didn't have to pay attention to get what people are saying, the time I didn't have to translate my thoughts to another language. No matter how good I am in English, it is not Bengali, it is not the language the college kids died for (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Google International Mother Language Day). I miss the rain. Not the rain of New England, the rain Tagore wrote songs about. I miss the winter mornings, when the Sun would peek through the fog late, and I would sit in the beautiful sunshine with a mug of tea and Bhapa Pitha (A kind of rice cake,made during the winter). I miss sitting beside my grandma in the kitchen in our ancestral village as she makes breakfast for us in the stove made of clay. And thousands of other things. Just the horrible things associated with a third world country.




Anyways, Happy Independence Day everyone! I guess we all agree on the fact that nothing tastes better than Freedom. Except of course, Bhapa Pitha. LOL.

Until next time then.

-Mourin