“Be passionate and be involved in what you believe in, and do it as thoroughly and honestly and fearlessly as you can.”
Marie Colvin
Scarf
People have different ways of holding on to their cultural identity. Some may cook the foods they loved growing up, others practice the faith that they followed when they were younger with their family. Something I grew up with and continue to wear is the scarf on my head. Although it may seem like a piece of fabric that I put on my head, it is a symbol of an aspect of my culture that I grew up in. My scarf is a reminder of how I can wear my cultural identity.
The scarves that I wear can come in different colors and patterns. I typically wear a burgundy red color with black, tan, and blue stripes on the end. The first instance of seeing a red scarf was from my mom. I grew up in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and it is tradition for women to wear a scarf, also known as a ‘shash’, in church. Every morning before church, my mom had a routine for how she wrapped her ‘shash’. She would lay it flat on her head, cross it behind her, and bring it to the front where she would tie a knot. After she fixed her scarf, she would do the same on my head. I could never get it to look like hers, but I felt like it was a mother-daughter bonding moment at the time. When we would go to church, I felt unique because all the other women had their scarf knots at the back of their head, but my mom said that was something she grew up wearing. It wasn’t until I was away from my family, did I see a stark difference in practicing my culture.
In my junior and senior year of high school, before attending university, I went to a boarding school in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It was the first time since I had not only been away from my family, but also, being away from a place where I had access to cultural practices. We did not have any Ethiopian Orthodox churches nearby, Ethiopian restaurants, or any Ethiopians/Eritreans that I knew of. Although I focused on my education, it was a realization that I would not be able to practice different cultural practices that I easily could at home. With my roommate and I preparing to go to sleep the first night we would stay at boarding school, I remember putting on my scarf for the first time in front of people I was not familiar with. It was at that point where I was complimented on the scarf and felt more comfortable with being able to wear it. Even though my roommate and suitemates lived with me, I felt welcomed. After some time, my parents would bring me Ethiopian food to eat during holidays. Being a student, I was focused on school, but I could take pockets of time out of my day to practice parts of the culture that I grew up with.
As I currently attend university, I am no longer shy of wearing my scarf to sleep, church, or anywhere that I go. I have joined an African Students Organization on campus where I serve as the content creator, giving light to the different African students there are at this university. Since I have had the ‘college experience’ during high school, I wanted to serve as the bridge between new international students and the resources there are on campus. I lived all my life in Arkansas where there was not a huge Ethiopian presence. While that may have been the case, I was able to have support from my family and friends. My scarf is not just a scarf, but a bond to my cultural identity. I hope that my story serves as strength for those away from their source of culture by sharing it with friends and family.
Organic Chemistry Building Set
Have you ever had a problem that just felt like it couldn’t be solved? Organic Chemistry is the study of the structure and properties of any carbon-containing molecule. People can visualize the molecules by making 3D models with balls representing atoms and sticks representing bonds. Piecing together these things can help understand the uniqueness between different structures as well as their commonality. My molecular modeling kit helped me understand organic chemistry by serving as an aid to visualize compounds.
When the Fall semester began for Organic Chemistry 1, the first thing my professor told me was that memorization was not the key to understanding Organic Chemistry. In fact, it was the act of practicing problems where I could apply the lecture’s content. When my professor was drawing different structures, I could not visualize them in the 3D manner. In our syllabus, he wrote that it would be beneficial to get a modeling kit as a supplement to practicing Organic Chemistry. Although I would have to pay for it, I got the modeling kit with the hopes that it would be beneficial for me to use. It wasn’t until we were covering Newman projections that it because necessary.
Newman projections are drawings of 3D structures that can help with understanding the conformations of molecules. Those structures are the most difficult to follow without first building a molecule. Bringing my modeling kit, I was able to follow along with the professor and understand what Newman projections mean. In my first exam, I remember expecting to see a Newman projection question or two. It wasn’t until I was halfway through the test that I encountered that problem. I remember taking out the atoms and bonds that I needed, built the molecule, and started to look at the interactions between substituents that come out of certain carbon atoms. I spent around 15 minutes on that problem, and when I finally selected an answer, I remember thinking, ‘Imagine what would have happened if I didn’t have the modeling kit’.
While this story relates to a chemistry class, it serves as a reminder that there are many ways to approach a problem. I am a visual learner, and using the molecular modeling kit serves to see where atoms are in a molecule. When I encounter students learning something such as organic chemistry and they ask me what would help understanding the subject, I typically refer them to getting themselves a modeling kit. I appreciate my professor for letting me and my peers know how to succeed in a class; it takes a special teacher that will let a student know how they can succeed.
Notebook
When people think of notebooks, they think of a book with pages and lines waiting to be written on. I commonly use notebooks for my classes to write notes on, so it is something that is accessible to me. It is also an object that I can make paper planes with or play tic-tac-toe on. As I have written things in my notebook, there has been one notebook that I have been referring to often. In this story, I want to talk about the most significant notebook that I have been using recently, my bible notebook.
Since I have been to church, I always sit and listen when the pastor is teaching a sermon. After listening to the sermon, I would go on about my day and wait for next Sunday’s sermon for a new teaching. I remember watching other people take notes during the sermon, and that was not something I was familiar with doing. It was until this semester that I started to utilize a notebook to take notes during sermon to record what was being spoken and how it could apply to my week. I didn’t realize how looking back at sermons would serve me a time of reflection.
Since using my notebook, I would use it to apply the lessons I have learned. We have group sessions after our sermon where we are first asked what we took from the sermon. Even though it was a question that was asked after the teaching, sometimes I cannot respond because I didn’t have anything written down that I could refer back to. To make a meaningful comment, I would bring up a biblical verse that the teacher said where I could make a connection and hopefully guide the discussion along.
Sometimes, there are things that I am told that I can remember, but there are also times when I don’t remember what was told to me. When I practice my teachings, I want to be able to tell people and refer to scriptures in order to back up evidence. When we look at some of the oldest records of writing, they came from a person whose role was to record what they were asked of. I would advise people to use a notebook when they hear something important. It is better to have something to refer to than not having it written down anywhere.