“I realized that this was all she ever wanted. A daughter who would follow the rules, grow up, and marry a suitable man. Who she could play dress up with, like she was now. But I was not a doll and I was not who she wanted me to be. That part hurt the most. That she would go to all these lengths to prove she was right but not even try to understand who I really was and what made me happy. “ My heart shattered as I read this part of “The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali” by Sabina Khan. A novel about a young lesbian, Muslim Bangali-American trying to live her life with her girlfriend in America, but gets sent to Bangladesh for an arranged marriage; just to find out her potential husband was also gay. The novel gives a beautiful description of every event that occurs, bringing tears of joy and sadness at the same time. While I do not consider myself as part of the LGBTQ+ community, this novel heavily contributed to my life. The stigma within marriage is so deeply rooted in Bangali and south Asian culture it is extremely harmful. Growing up is a constant fear for me. What if I don’t meet my parents' expectations? What if my extended family ridicules me? What if I do not follow the cultural rules? This novel provided such an impact for me because it made me realize how we can bring awareness to the wrongdoings, and how nothing is impossible. As a Muslim Bengali-American myself, the novel made me realize how much crucial occurrences happen within the stigmatized culture, opening my eyes to the detrimental things happening too many just because they are seen as different, or do not fit the normal standards. This novel is a constant reminder of a novel that has impacted me severely, joining many extracurriculars and clubs in middle school and high school such as, “HERO CLUB”, a club that helped young LGBTQ+ express themselves freely. Many cultural clubs and student voices, which lead to a better understanding of different cultures and the similarities that we all share. Not only that, but I also get to discuss my lifestyle as well, from the harsh expectations of being a young Bengali-American to marriage and questioning if the partner of my dreams will match my parents' standards. “The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali” by Sabina Khan will always have a sacred place in my heart, and I will never stop recommending it because of the long-lasting impact it had on me.

My life has been an emotional roller coaster ever since I was born. I unfortunately am more prone to diseases and linked illnesses due to the effect of genetic factors and the environment I basically grew up in it. When I first hit puberty, my symptoms were not what a normal teenage girl goes through. Sure, I had mood swings, cramps and all the stereotypes. But mine was much more than that; I had inflammatory cystic acne, excessive hair growth, unstabilized cycles, being diagnosed with pre-diabetes, and being fatigued all the time. It was not until after multiple blood tests, worried parents, and several pediatric visits that I was confirmed to have PCOS, also known as polycystic ovary syndrome. My heart shattered into pieces when I found out that PCOS was a life-long condition, and I was not able to permanently get rid of this disease but calm my symptoms. The “only” possible way to help my PCOS get better was birth control pills and lose weight. The thought of possibly being infertile made me reckless. Although this stigma made it impossible to stay optimistic during this time, I successfully managed. The internet has taught me valuable information, and I will be forever grateful. I learned about how millions of women, diagnosed and undiagnosed, deal with PCOS. I learned the truth and myths about being diagnosed with PCOS. I learned proper workouts and stress relievers, as well as balanced diets. I am confident in my own skin, and I believe this has taught me to embrace my differences with the world. I believe that being optimistic throughout this journey helped me realize how to self love and embrace my imperfections, and to help those struggling with PCOS, or similar problems that I have experienced.

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” - Malala Yousafzai. At 17 years old, Malala Yousafzai became the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate. I affirmatively admire Malala Yousafzai because of her life experiences and achievements. Born in Mingora, Pakistan, Malala has always been politically involved since a child because of her father who persuaded her. With her ambitions, she was a known activist fighting for women rights and education. Unfortunately at the time, the Taliban were starting to take over majority of Pakistan. The Taliban made many restrictions against women, such as destroying many young girls’ schools , enforcing the law to cover from head-to-toe, and essentially not being able to travel anywhere without a Mahram, also known as a male guardian. Malala became one of their main targets, eventually leading up to the decision to brutally murder her. On October 9, 2012, at the age of 15, Malala witnessed Ehsanullah Ehsan, a former spokesperson for the Pakistani Taliban, boarding her school bus. There, Malala looked straight at into the eyes of Ehsanullah; and was shot in the head due to her fearlessness to stand up for her beliefs. Two of her best friends witnessed this graphic situation, also getting injured. It was truly a miracle to see Malala recover from many different procedures of surgery, even having to travel out of her home country, the United Kingdom. In 2013, Malala co-founded the non-profit organization, Malala fund, with the help of her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai. The fund aims to give young girl’s around the globe at least 12 years of quality education. Along with this, Malala was featured in a autobiographical book with the help of Christina Lamb, titled “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.”

“Never lose money for free.” A simple phrase that completely changed my perspective on personal finance. It has been years since I have been advised to consider this helpful tip. But to this day, the benefits that came out of this simple quote truly astonishes me. When I eventually get my first check from a job, or have to pay off bills or debt, I am always sure to keep this expression in mind. When shopping for products in-store or online, comparing and contrasting is crucial. Why should I pay more for the same product? I have saved hundreds of dollars comparison shopping with the same quality products. This critically shows how I am not losing money for “free.” Although it is common sense, leaving electricity, water, and basically anything that you need to pay the bills for on when not needed is losing money for free. Leaving these appliances on for no reason can lead up to losing hundreds or dollars when added up. This can also contribute to late fees, paying on time is KEY to essentially saving financially. Late fees eventually add up and is not worth the risk of losing hard earned money. To summarize the rule up, do not provoke decisions that will impact your financial status. There are many situations where this expression can be implemented. I have been told to always be careful of any phenomenon's, and to always check on anything I financially do. Even the smallest, careless mistakes can eventually lead up to “losing money for free.”

Water is an essential element that everyone should have the right to access, but with the increasing amount of water scarcity around the world, finding resources for fresh water becomes complicated. Water scarcity refers to an insufficient availability of freshwater resources due to a physical or economic reason. According to UNICEF, a study in 2021 has estimated that 1.42 billion people around the globe live in areas of high or extreme water vulnerability, 450 million of them are young children. There are many factors that contribute to this horrific situation, such as the environment lacking in the amount of water needed to efficiently function, or the lack of developing technology to draw water from possible water sources. In accordance to the World Wildlife Organization, if the current situation is not dealt with, it is estimated that around 2025, two-thirds of the population can face water scarcity, be valuable to diseases, and be in a cycle of poverty. However, it is never too late to take a step forward and make a difference. Simply educating yourself on this subject can greatly benefit the future and beyond. The Tropical Medicine and International Health claims “If everyone, everywhere had clean water, the number of diarrhoeal deaths would be cut by a third.” Mature knowledge on the water scarcity crisis can lead to momentous impactful actions, and broadly can reveal a more open-minded concept towards this conflict. By properly engaging in learning about the water scarcity crisis, spreading this information can increase awareness and motivate others to take action.

My mother is an unfortunate victim of anxiety and depression. As an immigrant parent, she has been taught morals far different from what is commonly known. She was taught that mental health wasn't important, and that it was just a gimmick, which is 100% NOT the case. One practical solution for helping people who struggle with mental health would be significantly educating yourself about issues and illnesses that many are challenged to face. Mental health affects life from childhood to adolescence through adulthood. Mental health affects how people can physically interact and communicate, provoke decisions, and how to confiscate emotions. Talking about my mother, she didn't understand why these problems arose on her behalf, leading to even a greater impact on her mental health, and I did everything I could to educate her and even myself on problems that she was facing. Hence, we were blessed enough to be in touch with a wonderful therapist and prescribe antidepressants. As time went on, both my mother and I learned other solutions that greatly impacted her wellbeing, such as developing hobbies together, maintaining a healthy diet, staying in physical shape, and much more. I take my experiences and believe that taking similar steps would honorably help many others around the world struggling with similar challenges. Expanding in your knowledge can help lessen the social stigmatization around mental health, and properly give those who are in need of crucial assistance. As people learn about the proper teachings of dealing with mental health issues, this can eventually lead to an higher amount of declining mental health issues.

According to the worldwide organization, Humanium, it is estimated that 72 million children are physically not in school while 759 adults are illiterate and cannot get access to higher education. This means that millions of people around the world do not have the ability to receive new knowledge, nor develop skills that improve their life. So when I look over the clock in class, slowly resting my head down on my desk wondering, “When does this period end?” and dread about sitting in a room for hours, I remind myself how momentously lucky I am to be in a first class country offering education that many are begging to get access to. I am provided with school supplies, transportation, the possibility to have professional teachers, friends and family, and much more in order to have a better education, while there are a hopeless amount of people waiting for the same treatment. Education highlights the importance of knowing what happens in the real world. A study shown by a World Bank report claims that when given an extra year of schooling for girls, it was shown to reduce teen pregnancies by 6% and many women learned to take control of their bodies. Society is not perfect, but with etiquette education, we can take a step closer to making the world a better place. With proper education, people across the globe can realize the exceptional occurrences happening to this day. Even the simplest amount of knowledge can help benefit to a bigger impact in equality, justice, peace, less hatred and so much more. Education helps others become open-minded, as a first generation Bengali-American Muslim student, I believe this is an important element. It sparks up the ideas of different religions, cultures, environment, and habits; and with proper education, many are able to learn how to respect and treat others with dignity. No matter what type of education that is being given out, such as formal education, informal, or non-formal, education is valuable and holds importance in this time and age. Receiving proper education is proven to improve quality of life, such as communication skills or problem solving or even developing hobbies and interests can come from the proper teachings. I believe once one is taught to the best of their ability, they are able to give back their teachings to others by following their passion. With proper education, anything is possible. No dream is too big and no dream is too small to execute. A single book or a person with matured knowledge can spread information like a wildfire, and I presume that it’s the most beautiful action human nature can ever receive.