The time has come for me to bid farewell to my loyal readers.
That means you, mom! And you, anonymous Tea Party commenters! While I can’t say I’ve enjoyed every comment you’ve left me, I can assure you they’ve strengthened my inner eye muscles as the result of the constant eye-rolls they have induced.
But alas, the intent of this column is not to air grievances.
As someone relatively new to the opinion department, I can say that honing in on my analytical skills was a rocky journey at times. I often found myself wondering, what do I really care about? My area of expertise, as my advisors tell me, is the Middle East – but fundamentally, the issues I always find myself drawn to are those of the Davids of the world against the Goliaths.
I recently found the MySpace profile I had circa seventh grade. Here, I’m quoting myself directly from this Internet time capsule of my former self. Under my “Heroes” section, I so eloquently stated, “i [sic] look up to people who defy stoopid [sic] governments, like that guy from Hotel Rwanda. pretty much ne [sic] one who stands up to the face of evil is my hero. 🙂 [sic]”
Cue incessant laughter. I’m laughing too, in case you thought I take myself as seriously as my official Herald photo. What is funnier is I still operate roughly along those principles – although, I have since banned emoticons from my Internet personality.
There are a number of evils in my world, from my ghastly spelling that should’ve prompted government intervention to the guilt I face as my homeland, Pakistan, rips at the seams. I grapple with what I perceive to be evil through my writing, whether in the Herald or elsewhere.
Like my MySpace page, my contributions to the Herald will remain as a digital time capsule. I’m sure years from now I’ll cringe at some of the ideas I believed in, much in the same way I cringe at my MySpace.
I doubt you’ll see me working for the Koch Brothers or joining the American Israel Public Affairs Committee anytime soon, but writing will likely be a part of my life for the foreseeable future – almost as a selfish practice so that I can comprehend the events that unfold around me. If you Internet trollers wish to follow me as I enter the real world, I look forward to your barrage of comments.
Either way, thanks for hanging out with me for this part of the journey.
Meher Ahamad ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in international studies and Middle Eastern studies.
