To my mother and father

Mama: There’s nothing I can write that can describe the amount of love and gratitude I feel towards you. Love seems too insignificant of a word to describe anything involving you. I know I annoy you with my messy room, stubborn attitude, and habit of snapping sometimes, but underneath all of that, you’re my favorite person in the world. بحبك

Baba: This is a thank you note for everything you’ve done for me. I know I get emotional and unreasonable sometimes, but thank you for always taking the time to understand my perspective. Through thick and thin, disagreements and agreements, I’ve always been grateful, even though I forget to show it sometimes. بحبك

To the both of you: I recognize the sacrifice you made for me. You gave up your life overseas and everything that was comfortable for you when you were both just a little older than me, and I will always be indebted to you for that. From moving to a new country and learning a new language to everything in between, you did it with your futures and mine in mind. As the first-born, I know you have high expectations for me, and wish me nothing but the best in my future: the best career, the best education, the best friends, the best health. I plan on meeting every expectation and going above and beyond just so that everything you did was not in vain. I know that leaving your family was hard for both of you and that building a whole new life felt difficult, but in less than a year, I hope it will all be worth it as I walk across a stage with you in the crowd and receive my diploma as I start paving my own future. You’ve gotten me through enough, you’ve gotten me to where I am, I’ll take it from here with your advice and support behind me. 

بارك الله فيكم.

الله يحفظك.

الله يعطيك الصحة

رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا 

To my three little brothers

Marwan: You are a little less than two years younger than me, and we were raised together. When I think back on our childhood, you’re always somewhere nearby. We used to fight and hurt each other when we were younger, and you deserved every one of those hits. I’m still mad that I never got to cut your hair after you cut mine, since to this day a strand is shorter than the others. You come into my room to rant when Mama and Baba annoy you and yell at me when you come down for breakfast, and I drink from your mug at breakfast even though I can’t tell the difference. I know you don’t like being sappy, so I’ll cut to the chase. No matter how different we become, we’re siblings before anything, and I hope we never grow apart. 

Hidar: A six-year difference made me excited to meet you at six years old. I hoped you were a girl and was a little disappointed when you weren’t. I remember eating breakfast together and getting annoyed whenever you would ask me to make you a cheese sandwich. You were the biggest tattletale in the world, and I would never tell you anything because you’d use it as blackmail or immediately tell. Even if you are still very annoying and a little weird sometimes, you’re still my brother. I’ll still groan when you ask me to do something, and I’ll still look at you with a weirded-out face whenever you come into my room to ask for candy and randomly start singing and dancing by my doorway. But even so, I hope we can find a way to grow closer.

Faris: The baby of the family is turning five years old in exactly two days! Yesterday, while you were trying to write a list of our names you said you wanted a Hunk birthday, to which I had to explain to Mama and Baba that you meant the Hulk. A 12-year age difference made me very prevalent in your upbringing. I know you can’t read yet and don’t know what prevalent means, but I hope you read this when you’re older. I hoped you were a girl more than I hoped Hidar was a girl since I was two brothers in and already outnumbered. Even though you were a boy, I still cried in the office when I found out Mama was pregnant and treated you with love. I was your first word, and I changed your diapers, gave you your formula, and took care of you to give Mama a break. I was your first word, and no matter how old I get, I will always be your sister.

To Audrey Blosser, Elizabeth Mackenzie, Kylie Doubler, and Amna Makic

Audrey Blosser: I appreciate you more than you realize. I can’t wait until we’re older and look back at our high school memories and laugh at everything we used to do together and the memories we made. My fondest memories are us dying laughing while talking about our favorite books and during our sleepovers, making fun of the characters in the shows we watch. I’m so grateful for you and our friendship. You’re the Harry Potter to my Ron Weasley. 

Elizabeth Mackenzie: I hate that though we’ve always been friends, we just recently started to hang out often. I feel like I missed so much time with you, but that’s alright because I’ll appreciate the time we have now. My fondest memories are of us at our sleepovers freshman year, and how you put up having had to drive me to school the first few months. I’m so grateful for you, your humor, and all the time we spent together and will spend together.

Kylie Doubler: I love how you are so caring about everyone around you, and you’re one of the nicest people I’ve met. I’ll never forget watching you come over to my house and laughing when Faris tried to make us all do gymnastics with him. I appreciate you and your friendship, and I’m so grateful for you, even if it takes you two months to read a book. You still owe me that hot chocolate, by the way.

Amna Makic: I love how you’re one of the most grateful and sweet people I’ve ever had the pleasure of being friends with. You have the best laugh and always light up the room with your presence. My fondest memory of us is every time we complain about being hungry during Ramadan, but still bond over the rewards we’ll get for it. You’re my sister in Islam and my sister in friendship.

To my third-hour class

I’ve never been someone who enjoys working out, but after this class, I plan on setting a schedule to go to the gym. Body Sculpting and Cardio Blast wasn’t even my first choice, but I’m grateful nonetheless. This is to all of my classmates who make the class interesting and fun. To Ms. Hallock who is an amazing instructor and an even better person. To the trio of freshmen who are the kind and cheerful people of the class. To Ellyana Teliczan, Kaitlyn Childers, and Key Wilson for the endless laughs and entertainment. To Mira Cada for being my friend and partner in the class, and for making me laugh and getting me through my day. Thank you for always spotting me and not letting me die by bar, even when I give up mid-rep.

To The Central Trend

I joined the class freshman year out of curiosity since I liked to write for fun, but never considered journalism before. I came back senior year to see that while some things have changed, the class stayed relatively the same. One of those things is the utterly friendly and almost familial nature of the class. While most classes are ridged with no room for movement, this one is best described as a bunch of kids taking a break from school to hang out and write. A special mention to Alex Smith, Rowan Szpieg, and Ella Peirce for all their hard work. 

To my teachers

To Ms. Webster, who is one of the sweetest teachers in the building and takes time to genuinely interact with her students on a personal level. To Mrs. Penninga, who always has the best book recommendations and whose classroom is a book lover’s dream. To Mr. George, the first one, for everything you’ve taught and the laughs in your class. To Mr. George, the second one, for the fun times and interesting conversations. To the front office ladies, who even though they aren’t teachers, are keeping the school running. 

To the old woman at my mosque

It’s always constant to walk in and see you sitting at a chair with a smile on your face and chatting with someone, whether it be an adult or one of the kids running around. With your sweet smile, kind nature, gentle words, and warm touch you remind me of my grandmother. I love talking to you and seeing you, and I appreciate you more than you know. You deserve all the best things in both this life and the afterlife, and I wish you everything you desire.

To my friends from my old schools

To the two girls I was friends with in second grade for the memories. To Tahani for being one of the nicest people I know. To Tess for being such an honest and strong person. To Dooyon for being the smartest and most compassionate person ever. To Raina for being my friend since fifth grade, for keeping in contact, for being so funny, for being so sweet, and for being you.

To my long-distance friend Ma’ab

You’re the person who I never would have met if it wasn’t for my love for writing. You’ve listened to me rant about my days so many times like I have yours and proceeded to commiserate with me. I appreciate you more than you know and I hope I’ve shown it. For the memories of us laughing till our stomachs hurt, and listening to you cry out your feelings. Thank you for being yourself with me.

To the security guard at the Kentwood Library

I don’t know your name, or your age or really anything basic about you. What I do know is that for as long as I can remember, since I was a little girl, you worked at the library. Seeing you every time I went with my parents and siblings as a kid became a constant. I came to know your face and you waving hello. I went back for the first time in a while a year ago, and to my utter joy, you were still there. I don’t know if you’ll ever read this, or if you even remember me or if I was just a random little girl going to the library for you but should you ever read this, just know that my love of reading started at the library, but my love for talking to strangers came from you.

To my random classmates

To my entire first hour, who makes the class a fun and enjoyable environment to be in and to learn in. To the girls I sit with in first hour, not you Audrey, who I got to know better this year and are so smart it astonishes me. To my group in fourth hour, who are so intelligent and funny that it doesn’t seem human to be so great. To my pod in sixth hour who are the funniest people I know. To Maylee Ohlman and Elle Manning, who are the most intelligent, sweetest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting this year. To all of the wonderful and interesting people that I’ve met these last four years, from classmates to friends, and who’ve made high school the experience that it was. 

To my books

To the worlds that I visit from fantasy worlds that help me escape my stress, and the romance books I read that increase my expectations of love. To my favorite books that I reread when I need a break: Legend by Marie Lu, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. 

To traveling

One of the main things I want to do in the future is travel. I want to see new places, meet new people, learn new cultures, eat new foods, and spend time in new surroundings. From Spain, Germany, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, and Egypt to Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Chile, Australia, and Indonesia. I want to go to as many places as I can. I want to live my life to the fullest.

To senior year

My last year and my new beginning all at once. This year so far, I’ve spoken to people I’ve never spoken to before and made memories surrounded by friends who I’ll miss dearly next year. From the senior retreat where we sang songs around the campfire, to senior sunrise where I reminisced on the last three years. I’ve made a senior box, a crown, and I’ve hung out with my friends on skip days. I can’t wait to graduate, but I also want to slow down time. I hope I can look back on high school with fond memories, and I hope people will remember me kindly as well. To my past and to my future.