Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Monday, April 2, 2018
I
t is Wednesday night and
I am crawling into bed
after yet another busy
day. I have class from 11am to
7pm with a lunch break in the
middle and practice shortly
after, which then lasts until
11pm. I come home, shower,
find some food, finish (or start)
my homework and before I
know it, it’s 3 a.m. again. I look
at my schedule for tomorrow
and it isn’t any better. Between
classes,
different
meetings,
a doctor’s appointment and
lifting times, I’m not entirely
sure if I will even have time to
eat, so I jump out of bed and
throw a couple extra granola
bars and a fruit pack into my
backpack.
As I lay back down in bed,
I think. I think of the four
different papers I have due this
week and about how I’m going
to write them. I think about
how badly I need to vacuum
and how I’m down to my last
pair of clean socks. I think
about writing this article. And
I think about how lucky I am to
be so terrifically busy.
Now don’t get me wrong,
this is not a common thought.
Usually I go to bed thinking
about how much I hate school
and doing chores and just
general adulting. I tell myself
the same “poor me” story,
hoping to find comfort in my
excuses. But tonight I have this
foreign sense of optimism and
I think I like it. I think I need
to go to bed less often with that
“poor me” attitude and more
often with the knowledge that
I am blessed beyond compare.
Every day, I am able to eat
all the food I need and sleep
just enough (I haven’t quite
succumbed to sleep deprivation
yet). I am currently receiving
one of the best educations in
the world. I have many good
friends by my side and man’s
best friend curled up at my feet.
I have a family who loves me
and a roof over my head.
Meanwhile,
every
day,
people
are
dying
from
starvation, about 21,000 to
be exact. Most of the world’s
population is unable to even
attend college and, in fact, in
2010 only 6.7 percent actually
hold a degree of any kind. As I
sit in bed with the furnace on
(set to 63 degrees Fahrenheit
because I don’t like paying
bills), more than 100 million
people are sleeping outside
because they don’t have a place
to call home. Yes, I do indeed
have a good life.
I don’t have a nice car—mine
is actually held together by
duct tape,—but I do have a car.
I don’t have a nice house, my
living room floor is caving in
and there is a wonderful draft
through the whole house, but I
do have a place to live. I don’t go
to the single best school in the
world but it’s pretty damn close
and there is no other school I’d
rather attend. When I am done
with school, I will be joining
a rather elite 7 percent of the
world’s populace. Because I am
just too damn lucky.
Some
say,
“You
aren’t
lucky, you make lucky.” I love
and agree with this saying, but
only to an extent. Yes, I had
to work hard and continue to
do so every day. Yes, I have
had to make many sacrifices
to get where I am, but none
of this would be possible
without all the good fortune
and blessings I have had so
far. I was lucky enough to be
born in the United States (or
any developed country), to
start. I was lucky enough to
have access to every person
and program that was able and
willing to help take care of me
when I needed it. And I was
lucky enough to have friends
and family that support me
through
own
journey
of
adulthood.
Too often, we get too
caught up in our own lives, too
caught up in the daily race to
the top. We are too busy trying
to satisfy our own selfish
wants and needs that we never
stop to appreciate where we
are and how far we have come.
We fail to acknowledge how
lucky we all are in our own
right. I’m not saying we should
cease to be hungry for more
and stop reaching for greater
heights, I’m only saying we
should stop to realize how
truly blessed each and every
one of us really is.
Busy and blessed
LUCAS DEAN | COLUMN
Lucas Dean can be reached at
lbdean@umich.edu.
Emma Chang
Joel Danilewitz
Samantha Goldstein
Elena Hubbell
Emily Huhman
Tara Jayaram
Jeremy Kaplan
Sarah Khan
Lucas Maiman
Magdalena Mihaylova
Ellery Rosenzweig
Jason Rowland
Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Alex Satola
Ali Safawi
Ashley Zhang
Sam Weinberger
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Editor in Chief
ANU ROY-CHAUDHURY AND
ASHLEY ZHANG
Editorial Page Editors
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
A few words on crosswords
JULIA COHN | COLUMN
T
his year I started doing
the New York Times
Daily
Crossword
puzzle. Little did I know, this
game would become a huge
part of my everyday routine.
If you would’ve asked me
what a crossword was a year
ago, I probably wouldn’t have
been able to give you a concise
answer. I would have told you
that my dad completes them
wearing his reading glasses,
sitting at the kitchen table,
pen held high, fixated on
clues at hand. But now, my
daily crossword elicits the
same kind of excitement as
seeing a puppy on the Diag.
This sounds like the nerdiest
thing, right? If you answered
yes, you are definitely correct.
But crosswords, like most
activities that become central
in one’s life, have allowed me
to embrace the nontraditional
aspects of passion.
In defense of crosswords,
they are extremely applicable
to
current
events.
Clues
range from categories like
politicians
to
animals
to
sports. The diverse range
of
questions
expose
me
to a much wider base of
knowledge. I have a theory
that
every
time
you
are
presented with a new piece
of information, you become
a smarter and more well-
rounded individual. Solving
the answer to one clue might
not seem like you are on track
to become a genius. But over
time, this new information
becomes extremely valuable.
On Mondays, the puzzles
are the shortest and easiest.
As
the
week
progresses,
the clues get increasingly
longer and more difficult.
As a very, very untalented —
but motivated — crossword
solver, it takes me hours
to get through the Monday
crossword
(compared
to
my dad, for example, who
usually solves the puzzle in
15 minutes). Tuesday and
Wednesday usually offer me
a 50 percent success rate, but
after that it is a lost cause.
Nonetheless,
perseverance
is the name of the crossword
game: There is always value
in an attempt to solve the
hardest puzzles.
One of the most rewarding
experiences is opening the
extremely daunting Sunday
crossword puzzle and being
able to solve a few of the
clues. I may spend 30 minutes
scanning the clues, willing my
mind to pull out phrases and
names buried in my mental
archive. When you finally
reach a eureka moment, not
only do you feel like a puzzle
genius, but you are able to
complete
something
that
represents
an
underlying
challenge and test of mental
application.
In addition to the pure
enjoyment I take in solving
crossword puzzles, I have
begun to recognize how they
represent my freshman-year
experience at the University.
I have encountered difficulty
and reward. I have challenged
my abilities as a critical
thinker, grown as a learner
and,
most
importantly,
embraced
my
passions.
Economics
101
presents
itself as an obstacle, but
perseverance got me through
the semester. I have had the
opportunity to engage and
learn from my peers, who
either challenge or support
my beliefs. And I recognize
that as unconventional as
solving
a
crossword
for
pleasure may appear, life is
about embracing what makes
you happy.
Crosswords
offer
the
opportunity to engage with
and accept help from others.
My roommate, for example,
always knows the science
questions. My friends from
political science class can
help
with
the
political
questions, and my parents
are always willing to give
me answers with old movie
and song titles. This is a
nontraditional
mindset
to
the crossword: using those
around you to answer specific
questions. But it has begun to
help me engage and connect
with groups of people and
their specialized knowledge
bases. Getting an answer is
even more rewarding when
you are able to work with
your incredibly smart peers.
In the beginning of my
crossword experience, I was
often met with a chuckle and
sly smile from my friends:
Was I an 80-year-old who
had nothing else to do? But
as I remained committed to
my activity, these reactions
were
transformed
into
mild interest and eventual
engagement in the crossword
world. Passions and interests
are fluid—they are subjective
and often situational.
I don’t deny the fact that
I am a quirky person, but it
has taken time to embrace
these
characteristics.
In
college, I have been able to
grow and accept the fact
that I enjoy a pastime that
could be considered a little
peculiar. But my outward
passion
and
engagement
with crosswords has spread
to those around me. I am no
longer met with eyerolls from
my friends, and instead they
turn to me for help on their
Sunday crosswords, too. Life
is about discovering your
passions and sticking to them.
Hearing others talk about
what they love can empower
you to recognize what you
truly care about. And now
I know at the end of a long
day, when I am still unable
to remember the answer to
“What is the powerhouse of
the cell,” my roommate will
always be there to respond
“Mitochondria.”
Julia Cohn can be reached at
julcohn@umich.edu
NATALIE BROWN | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT NGBROWN@UMICH.EDU
Crosswords offer
the opportunity to
engage with and
accept help from
others.
We fail to
acknowledge how
lucky we all are in
our own right.
SABEEN KHAN | OP-ED
A
few weeks ago, when I
was sitting in bed and I
recieved the email from
MVision offering me a position
to run as a representative
candidate with them, I was
truly overjoyed. I felt that
everything that I had worked so
hard on this year was building
and that good things would be
coming my way. I was proud
to be a part of something that
was not only a campaign, but
also a message to the people
on this campus. I am so glad I
accepted that offer and that I
am writing now as an elected
representative. I want nothing
more than what Daniel and Izzy
want: to bring communities
together
to
solve
common
ground
issues.
However,
the criticism, backlash and
negativity
surrounding
the
campaign and my identity as a
Pakistani-Muslim has left me
shattered. I have been called
a token and have become both
the ammunition and the target
for people in their never-ending
fight against the winners of the
CSG election.
I am not a token. Calling me
a token de-legitimizes all of the
work I did on this campaign.
My achievements have been
invalidated as a person of color.
On this campaign, my identity
was never used to promote the
platform or target voters. I
was treated just as every other
person on this team was, and
I worked hard to win my seat
in this assembly. I was asked
to join this party because I am
highly
qualified,
extremely
passionate,
and
very
hard
working. That is also why our
message resonated with the
student body andI won my seat.
I am not a diversion. I am
a woman with thoughts and
opinions. Claiming that my
purpose on this campaign was
to assuage concerns of Muslim
representation in CSG diverts
attention
from
important
causes we need to talk about,
like building bridges between
communities that haven’t found
compromises
and
providing
more access to mental health
and survivor resources. We
should always strive to have
diverse
representation
in
CSG and this party has only
attempted to begin achieving
this goal by creating a team
both
predominantly
diverse
and comprised of powerful
women
representing
many
visible and invisible identities.
While CSG has a long way to
go, as does the community, my
election is a start, but I can
assure you it is not the end.
I will always fight for more
representation and support of
those of all communities and
backgrounds because all of our
voices deserve to be heard. As a
woman and a person of color I
can understand how frustrating
it is to feel underrepresented,
especially after making strides
in a community. I applaud
those who stand up for their
communities
and
continue
to
promote
inclusivity
and
representation.
I am not going to back down.
In dealing with criticism from
both sides I have been attacked
and tormented by strangers
and peers. I encourage people
to use their voices not only
critically
but
effectively.
Daniel, Izzy, and I have been
elected, and we promise to
serve you and work with you to
enact the change you wish to
see on campus. As one of your
elected representatives, I want
to work with you to act to make
productive change. We concede
that, like every other campaign
that ran in this election, there
are
things
MVision
could
have done better. However,
we were voted into office
because students believed in
us and our message. Nothing
can change the results of the
election, but we can change
the culture on campus into one
that ensures every person is
heard and supported. I invite
you to criticize. I invite you to
complain. But I invite you to
do it in a way that pushes us
forward. In a way that works
with us, and not against us. As a
constituent you are responsible
for what happens next in our
community. I can assure you
that our MVision family wants
to help you make it a better one.
Confessions of an MVision rep
Sabeen Khan is an LSA Freshman
Calling me a token
de-legitimizes all
of the work I did
on this campaign.
L
earning a new language
is not easy, and as a
consequence
neither
are its courses. Mathematics
and
the
sciences
are
also
languages,
and
language
is
something that one can never
be fully fluent in, even for native
speakers,
who
occasionally
err
orthographically
and
grammatically.
As a math major who speaks
six languages and is fluent in
four out of six, I may easily
assert that with learning a
language comes an expectation
to put in a considerable and
consistent amount of time and
effort into gaining something
fruitful out of it. Having taken
the entire French sequence at
the University of Michigan with
only a year of studying the
language before college, I used
to perceive the grading for these
French courses as stringent, and
the workload only exacerbated
my anguish.
However, upon taking Asian
language and German courses
I realized how erroneous I was.
Language courses are difficult,
though
there
are
certain
aspects of the language (such
as pronunciation, three genders
for nouns, or a completely
different
character
system)
that
differentiates
difficulty.
Additionally,
points
are
deducted for seemingly trivial
faults, but with good intention
and the end goal of facilitating
a strong language foundation,
which I now greatly appreciate.
The rigor of these and other
courses make quotidian college
life hard. However, we consent to
the schedules that we construct
and
should
be
accountable
and responsible to meet them.
As
already
mentioned
by
language instructors at the
beginning
of
the
semester,
course expectations should be
taken with a grain of salt since
the required time to finish an
assignment and learn a new
concept is relative for each
student. The “A” grade that
a student receives is thus not
contingent upon whether the
student is “better” at French but
upon the amount of effort and
determination put in to make as
few errors as possible
MOHAMED ADAM MOHAMED AZLAN | LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Mohamed Adam Mohamed Azlan
is an LSA Senior