Author: Hadeel A

revision 2 proposal

 

I plan to revise my paper from unit 2 portrait of a word, “Wallah”. I have never in my life wrote an actual poem before, but I feel like I can really go into depth about how us Muslims are supposed to use the word. I feel as if I put it into a poem it will have much more meaning rather than writing an essay about it. I want to make the new generation of Muslims actually understand how powerful “wallah” is and to not use the word in any little situation. The point I want to get across is that us Muslims need to start using the word religiously and not culturally.

unit 3

Hadeel Abuhamda

English 1101

May 5, 2019

Queen Bey

Everyone knows who Beyoncé is A.KA “Queen Bey.” Unlike many, I have a very unpopular opinion about her and well, I believe she’s a bit overrated. She dropped an album on April 23, 2016 called “Lemonade” and everyone went wild about it. It turned out to be a Grammy winning album. To be specific, this album earned her sixth consecutive number-one album on the charts. As of December 2016, it sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States, which made it the third best selling album of the year. (Wikipedia) All over these songs, she battles through heartbreak, betrayal, and infidelity. When I first heard about it, I wasn’t very interested in actually listening to it. Once again, I just thought it was everyone doing the usual of worshipping everything that she does. But, I have to give it to her. She really did do her thing on this album. And that’s coming from a person who doesn’t necessarily like her.

I will say, Beyoncé seems to be the one artist, in whose voice people find their own stories. With this album, you can tell she poured her everything into it. A dozen songs plus a sixty minute movie that is more than just advertisement for the music, but an important partner that supplies context and deepens the understanding. It’s apparent that this album is her most accomplished and cohesive work yet. This album is more than just music and play for pop supremacy. It is the work of an artist who is trying her best to know herself better and deeper for better or worse and letting the listeners in on the sometimes brutal self inspection. Lemonade bristles with anger, vengeance dreams, political disappointment, internal turned inquiries and commotion.

If you ever been cheated on by someone who you thought you can trust and who thought you would be too stupid to notice, the first half of Lemonade is for you. At first we might have thought that Beyonce is only using the album to tell the world about her experiences with Jay-Z’s un-loyal self. Probably for publicity reasons. But then again, it’s Beyoncé does she really need any more buzz? This was probably what caused it to get so much attention because everyone viewed this couple as “goals.” That just shows that we never know what goes on behind closed doors. But, in the second half of the album we start to realize they actually have a happy ending and that this isn’t the only theme she’s going for in her album.

This album is so much more than Jay-Z and to be completely honest I feel like a lot of people missed that… Actually, I know a lot of people missed that. Apart from marital infidelity, the album is structured around feminism, the black lives matter movement, black identity, and more. People might have missed these concepts if they didn’t see the visual part of the album. The visual album in itself is a sixty minute long celebration of black culture and more importantly, black women celebrating themselves. For example, in “Sorry” the women are in tribal clothing, tribal paint, and tribal hairstyles. Then we see Beyoncé sitting on a throne with Serena Williams beside her. This scene is set to represent two powerful, successful, and influential women. Then there’s the song itself that represents women no longer putting up with infidelity. But, it also goes way deeper than that. Take the song “Forward” for instance, Beyoncé brings Trayvon Martin’s and Michael Brown’s mothers to shift the focus from her internal issues to those that are occurring on the outside. This one seems to encourage a form a collective healing. “Formation” makes a bold political statement on both police brutality and black feminism. She filled the video with images that read “Stop Shooting Us.” She also stood on top of a sunken police car to let everyone know where she stood on these issues. Although the song itself might be just another catchy Beyoncé track, the video does make some powerful statements.

Lemonade is more than I ever thought it could be. Although I previously said I’m not a fan of hers, I would never deny the fact that she is indeed talented. After Lemonade, I answered my own question as to why it is that she’s so successful. We all know Beyonce sings with her usual soul and irreplaceable skills. But, her passion, representation, and creativity is what I believe that has gotten her to where she is today. The point is even if you don’t like Beyoncé, like myself, the fact that she is using her platform to get this out to thousands of people that might not be aware of these issues is actually brilliant. Sometimes it takes people like Beyoncé to get people talking, thinking, and understanding these issues. My advice to you would be, listen to Lemonade and dedicate some of your time to watch the visuals. The visual album provides a whole other level of understanding of this narrative. Beyoncé really outdid herself with this one. And once again, this is coming from someone who isn’t a big fan of hers.

Works Cited :

 

UNIT 2

Hadeel Abuhamda

April 29, 2019

English 1101

 

 

In the Muslim community, if you would like to know if someone is lying or telling the truth, all you have to do is ask them to say “wallah”. Wallah is an Arabic word and expression which is used to make a promise by god. It holds such great credibility in the Islamic religion. Whether you speak Arabic or not, if you are in an Arabic household, the word wallah will come up quite a bit in just one day or even one sentence. Arabic speakers most commonly use this phrase to swear by something. Arabic speaking Muslims consider it as the most divine way to confirm something without the need of actual proof. Despite this, Arab Muslims use it quite often, even if the matter is true or not. Non-Muslim Arabs also use it often, even though they lack the belief in Allah (god). Every Arab knows that feeling when a Muslim says “Wallah” after every sentence and the more they say “Wallah” the more you DONT trust them. Depending on the Arabic dialect you use in your daily life, it is also pronounced “wallahee”, but for the sake of this essay, I will be using “wallah”.

Despite it being considered disrespectful to use the word “wallah” and not be truthful, it is used quite a lot. This is where religion and culture come into play. In the Islamic religion the word “wallah” has such a strong powerful meaning behind it. Misuse of this expression will be considered profane. It is as if you are lying in the name of god. Religiously, this word is only used when it absolutely has to be used, to let the other person know that you are telling the truth and not lying. It is a way to make a point of yours, valid. It is a sin to use the phrase and follow it up with a lie. Sometimes this word can be intensified by using it on yourself or even someone you love. For example, “wallah on my soul” or “wallah on my mother’s life.” When using it on yourself or someone you love it makes the word have more meaning and the person you are saying it to is more likely to believe you. Religiously, saying wallah and lying means that you have to fast 3 days in a row. (fasting: you cannot eat from sunrise to sunset.)

Now, using the word culturally is a different story. The word “wallah” will be in almost every single sentence when speaking to another Arabic speaker. Even non-Arabic speakers use this word. Like, my former basketball team, my coaches, even my high school teachers. Sometimes it could be used in the beginning of a sentence to start it off and also at the end of a sentence to end it. Such as, “Wallah this movie sucks” or “oh my god Wallah you’re annoying” or my favorite, “Wallah shut up.” It can also be used in different ways depending on the tone you say it in. People nowadays can use wallah and mean, “I promise.” or “are you serious!?”  And of course, “I swear to god”. It’s more like a cultural term rather than religious now a days. It’s crazy how much times this word will pop up in a conversation between friends or family… more times than you’ll be able to count. And this word can be used in any part of a sentence, for example you can say: “Wallah you won’t believe what happened to me, wallah even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe it wallah!”

When I was younger I took the word “wallah” seriously. Don’t get me wrong I still do but overtime I guess one could say that it lost its meaning a little. I would pronounce it as “vallah” and that’s how you knew that I was lying. But I would say it in a low and fast tone so the person I am speaking to doesn’t catch on. I literally use the word “wallah” in mostly every single sentence I say, wallah. My brother would always tell me that every time I say wallah to him he doesn’t trust me because I am always saying it. So, I guess I have to intensify it and add my mother’s life next time. Maybe he’ll believe me then. I even got my best friend using the word now. Sometimes I think she takes It more seriously than I should.

Hadeel Abuhamda

April 3, 2019

English 1101

Publication for The New York Times:Education sections

Education is definitely important in anyone’s life. A gift of knowledge can bring us to the top of our dreams. It leads us to the right path and gives us a chance to have an amazing life. Education makes people capable of doing new and interesting things that can go a long way to improving human living conditions and standards. The key of success for our future is education, and education plays a very important role in our society. But first let’s start with the problem of our current educational system. The biggest problem is, it did not motivate kids. Millions of kids do not know any purposing of going to school, except obligations. How should we take school seriously when half the teachers don’t take teaching seriously? I personally feel like I have been robbed for my education throughout my four years in high school.

What if your little brother or sister comes home from school one day and tells you that he or she does not want to go to school anymore because they aren’t learning anything. The teachers in their school doesn’t teach. At first, you might think they’re simply being stubborn and lazy, but really—think about your experiences at school—what did you actually learn there? In John Gatto’s article “Against School”, he argues that the American public-school system conditions children to be gullible, mindless consumers. Looking back at my four years in high school, I realize I agree with him. In my experience, high school teachers care more about how students were behaving than what they are learning. When I was in high school, I was thrown a textbook by my Global Studies teacher, Mr. Severin. He would always say…”read page 554.” Then go in his little corner, kick his feet up and go to sleep. Teachers like this that’s in our educational system truly need to go. That’s one reason that the educational system is failing. The teachers in the educational system need to motivate the students to do better.

Image result for teacher sleeping

Another reason I feel like the educational system is failing is because some schools are overcrowded. If you have a small class, it’s better for the students learning experience. A study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 14 percent of U.S. schools exceed capacity. My high school for example, has three different schools in one building. And if you thought that was enough, the part of the high school I attended brought another school. So, my high school was basically half a hallway. At a time where children need more attention than ever to succeed, overcrowded classrooms/schools are making it even harder to learn and harder for teachers to be effective.

Image result for crowded schools

In college, we have to read the material, and actually try to understand what the professor is hinting at, not like in high school where you can just be cool with the teacher, not do any work, and they will pass you. I actually have experienced that before; you just had to be friends/cool with the teacher, and they’ll pass you. This one teacher in my high school During high school, I did not have to study as hard as I do now that I am in college. Usually, I would be able to study the day before the test and score a hundred percent.

Our educational systems unfairness is holding our students back from reaching their full potential and holding the younger generations back from receiving the best education they can get. If education were treated as an investment into the future of a country, investors would not hesitate to do their part in planning ahead and securing the future of a nation. As adults, educators, lawmakers, parents, and lifelong learners, we are responsible for the education our children are getting. Some of these reasons are well-known and long-standing issues. However, others are new and even somewhat unexpected challenges. The nature of each issue does not matter. All of them are standing in the way of our becoming globally competitive.

Education is definitely important in anyone’s life no matter what age. A gift of knowledge can bring us to the top of our dreams. In my opinion, the educational system will never be close to perfect. We must make our voice heard. I believe that our education system is necessary to give children an education to hopefully improve their lives and their future.Image result for bad schools

work cited:

1) “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto

2) 390, et al. “18 Reasons the U.S. Education System Is Failing.” The Edvocate, 3 Apr. 2017, www.theedadvocate.org/10-reasons-the-u-s-education-system-is-failing/.

3) Cox, Abigail, and Abigail Cox. “The Current Education System Is Failing Our Students.” EdSurge Independent, EdSurge Independent, 9 Mar. 2018, edsurgeindependent.com/the-current-education-system-is-failing-our-students-b35614943541.

revision

Hadeel Abuhamda

April 1, 2019

English 1101

 

 

Education is definitely important in anyone’s life.  A gift of knowledge can bring us to the top of our dreams. It leads us to the right path and gives us a chance to have an amazing life. Education makes people capable of doing new and interesting things that can go a long way to improving human living conditions and standards. The key of success for our future is education, and education plays a very important role in our society. But first let’s start with the problem of our current educational system. The biggest problem is, it did not motivate kids. Millions of kids do not know any purposing of going to school, except obligation. How should we take school seriously when half of the teachers doesn’t take teaching seriously? There should be more educators in the educational system that actually care for student’s education/ future. I personally feel like I have been robbed for my education throughout my four years in high school.

What if your little brother or sister comes home from school one day and tells you that he or she doesn’t want to go to school anymore because they aren’t learning anything. The teachers in their school doesn’t teach. At first you might think they’re just being stubborn and lazy, but really—think about your own experiences at school—what did you actually learn there? In John Gatto’s article “Against School” he argues that the American public-school system conditions children to be gullible, mindless consumers. Looking back at my four years in high school I realize I agree with him. When I was in high school I was thrown a textbook by my Global Studies teacher, Mr. Severin. He would always say…”read page 554”. Then go in his little corner, kick his feet up and go to sleep. Teachers like this that’s in our educational system honestly and truthfully need to go. In my experience high school teachers care more about how students were behaving than what they are learning. The teachers in the educational system need to motivate the students to do better.

In college, we have to read the material, and actually try to understand what the professor is hinting at, not like in high school where you can just be cool with the teacher, not do any work and they will pass you. I actually have experienced that before; you just had to be friends/cool with the teacher and they’ll pass you. This one teacher in my high school During high school, I did not have to study as hard as I do now that I am in college. Usually, I would be able to study the day before the test and score a hundred percent.

In conclusion, Education is definitely important in anyone’s life.  A gift of knowledge can bring us to the top of our dreams. The educational system is not perfect specifically the teachers in that teach high school. In my opinion, it will never be close to perfect. Although, I do believe that our education system is necessary to give children an education to hopefully improve their lives and their future.

work cited:

“Against School” by John Taylor Gatto

 

revision

Education is definitely important in anyone’s life.  A gift of knowledge can bring us to the top of our dreams. It leads us to the right path and gives us a chance to have an amazing life. Education makes people capable of doing new interesting things that can go a long way to improving human living conditions and standards. Creating an education system that is capable of preparing students for the future, education systems need to be configured into a new, more knowledge centered way of learning. The key of success for our future is education, and education plays a very important role in our society. But first let’s start with the problem of our current education system. The biggest problem is, it did not motivate kids. Millions of kids do not know any purposing of going to school, except obligation. How should we take school seriously when half of the teachers/ educators doesn’t take teaching seriously? There should be more teachers/ educators in the educational system that actually care for student’s education/ future. I personally feel like I have been robbed for my education throughout my four years in high school.

Hadeel Abuhamda

March 10, 2019

English 1101

 

In the Muslim community, if you would like to know if someone is lying or telling the truth, all you have to do is ask them to say “wallah”. Wallah is an Arabic word and expression which is used to make a promise by god. It holds such great credibility in the Islamic religion. Whether you speak Arabic or not, if you are in an Arabic household, the word wallah will come up quite a bit in just one day. Arabic speakers most commonly use this phrase to swear by something. Arabic speaking Muslims consider it as the most divine way to confirm something without the need of actual proof. Despite this, Arab Muslims use it quite often, even if the matter is true or not. Non-Muslim Arabs also use it often, even though they lack the belief in Allah. Every Arab knows that feeling when a Muslim says “Wallah” after every sentence and the more they say “Wallah” the more you DONT trust them? Depending on the Arabic dialect you use in your daily life, it is also pronounced “wallahee”, but for the sake of this essay, I will be using “wallah”.

Despite it being considered disrespectful to use the word “wallah” and not be truthful, it is used quite a lot. This is where religion and culture come into play. In the Islamic religion the word “wallah” has such a strong powerful meaning behind it. Misuse of this expression will be considered profane. It is as if you are lying in the name of god. Religiously, this word is only used when it absolutely has to be used, to let the other person know that you are telling the truth. It is a way to make a point of yours, valid. It is a sin to use the phase and follow it up with a lie. Sometimes this word can be intensified by using it on yourself. For example, “wallah on my soul”.

Now, using the word culturally is a different story. The word “wallah” will be in almost every single sentence when speaking to another Arabic speaker. Even non-Arabic speakers use this word. Sometimes it could be used in the beginning of a sentence to start it off and also at the end of a sentence to end it. It can also be used in different ways depending on the tone you say it in. People nowadays can use wallah and mean, “I promise.” or “are you serious!?”  And of course, “I swear to god”.

When I was younger I took the word “wallah” seriously. Don’t get me wrong I still do but overtime I guess one could say that it lost its meaning a little.

rough draft

Hadeel Abuhamda

March 10, 2019

English 1101

 

In the Muslim community, if you would like to know if someone is lying or telling the truth, all you have to do is ask them to say “wallah”. Wallah is an Arabic word and expression which is used to make a promise by god. It holds such great credibility in the Islamic religion. Whether you speak Arabic or not, if you are in an Arabic household, the word wallah will come up quite a bit in just one day. Depending on the Arabic dialect you use in your daily life, it is also pronounced “wallahee”, but for the sake of this essay, I will be using “wallah”.

Despite it being considered disrespectful to use the word “wallah” and not be truthful, it is used quite a lot. This is where religion and culture come into play. In the Islamic religion the word “wallah” has such a strong powerful meaning behind it. Misuse of this expression will be considered profane. It is as if you are lying in the name of god. Religiously, this word is only used when it absolutely has to be used, to let the other person know that you are telling the truth. It is a way to make a point of yours, valid. It is a sin to use the phase and follow it up with a lie. Arabic speakers most commonly use this phrase to swear by something. Arabic speaking muslims consider it as the most divine way to confirm something without the need of actual proof. Sometimes this word can be intensified by using it on yourself. For example, “wallah on my soul”.

Now, using the word culturally is a different story. The word “wallah” will be in almost every single sentence when speaking to another Arabic speaker. Even non-Arabic speakers use this word. Sometimes it could be used in the beginning of a sentence to start it off and also at the end of a sentence to end it. It can also be used in different ways depending on the tone you say it in. People nowadays can use wallah and mean, “I promise.” or “are you serious!?” And of course “I swear to god”.

 

 

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