SUMAYAH_SKILLS_PHASE 1

When we find something we like doing, we practice more and get better so we enjoy it more and practice more and so on. Some people then get good enough that they can make a living from this and others don’t, it depends on the talent itself. There are three or more things that I enjoy doing, karate, participating in interstate speech competitions whether it’s Arabic or English, shopping with good discounts, and riding the most terrifying roller coasters you’d ever think of!. In my early 10s, my dad decided to place me in karate for self-defense because I was a Muslim girl, Muslims in the U.S are usually being targeted everywhere especially if you were from the middle-east, he wanted to prepare me and train me for the real world so wouldn’t get stepped on. Karate isn’t just about being strong physically, it’s also about being strong mentally! it trains your mind to become stronger in many ways. I participated in one competition, and yes it was also NY interstate thankfully I won and was eligible for the nationals but unfortunately, I did not choose to compete. As I began 6th grade my parents told me that they would take me out of karate because my karate instructor was male and in our religion girls aren’t allowed to be touched by any male even if it’s a simple handshake, UNLESS if it’s her brother, uncle, dad, anyone basically from her family including her husband it’s permissible. With that being said, I was taken out of karate because how’s your own instructor going to teach you moves when he can’t touch you or even show you how it’s done? And of course, I got very sad, I loved the feeling of being combat with someone, wearing your kickboxing gloves, and was ready to kick some butt.

Another pursuit that I enjoy doing is participating in interstate speech competitions, this pursuit signifies a lot to me because I was once a girl who couldn’t speak right at a certain age so took it into a challenge, In addition to that, it shaped me into who I am today. Not many people have the courage to stand in front of a huge platform and present, and not all people will have the courage to participate in interstate competitions where you’re not just only competing with your own school but with the rest of NY state. Another skill I appreciate doing is shopping, my older sister who would never shop at any bootleg store that sells fake designers, she’s just like that. It’s either she buys the real product or not. Like if I was to see a coach bag for 500$ but found it cheaper with a discount for 200$ at another store I would definitely buy it. Even at any local store, you can ever think of forever 21 or H&M if I found some pair of joggers at H&M but I found the same exact item at forever 21 for cheaper I would definitely buy it whereas my older sister would do the exact opposite just because of its so-called “high-quality material”. Even in online shopping, I would never check out unless I have a discount with me, one trick I always use whenever I checked out online is that there this app called “ honey “ it gives you a discount from the store you’re purchasing from no matter what, so try it next time because it will save you some money ; ).