As I walk through campus, 
surrounded by people who look 
nothing like me, I can’t help 
but feel like I don’t belong. 
I try not to compare myself 
to anyone but it seems like 
everyone around me has their 
lives figured out, their friend 
groups established and their 
futures secured. And though 
these feelings may not mirror 
the truth, they still linger in 
my mind. 
In 
order 
to 
escape 
the 
confinements of my thoughts, 
I plug in my headphones and 

launch the Apple Music app. 
Once I hit play, and turn the 
sound on, the negative thoughts 
turn off and my worries begin 
to dissipate.
The hums of Kid Cudi soothe 
my mind like honey to a sore 
throat and his intergalactic 
beats teleport me to another 
dimension. 
The guitars of Santana place 
me on a tropical beach with a 
beaming sun that defrosts my 
pina colada to perfection.
The vocals of Eartha Kitt 
drive me to a black and white 
French film from the 1950s 
where everything happens in 
fast-motion and there is no 
dialogue. 
The ethereal instrumentals 

of Jhene Aiko elevate me to 
the clouds while her lyricism 
brings me back down to earth 
and humble me. 
The familiarity of Nancy 
Ajram’s voice takes me back 
to Sunday nights at my Tata’s 
house 
watching 
Arabic 
television, drinking shai and 
eating so much baklava that my 
teeth hurt. 
My freshman year of college 
has me feeling lost, but music 
helps navigate my journey. 
Music has the power to teleport 
me anywhere I can imagine, 
and though the song will soon 
end and I will be awakened 
to my reality, it’s still nice to 
escape from the struggle every 
now and then. 

Although 
the 
dean 
only 
allows the domestic students to 
swap sections,

That’s not discrimination. 
That’s just a policy.

Although 
a 
professor’s 
favorites all happen to be white

and she only lets them speak,

She’s not racist. That’s just a 
coincidence.

Although your class points 
at a random Asian figure in a 
drawing and asks

“Is that you?”

They’re not racist. They’re 
just dumb.

Although someone who sits 
next to you looks down and 
throws handouts,

She’s not racist. She’s just 
rude to everyone.

Although a shopper cringes 
and 
complains 
about 
you 
speaking Korean in public,

She’s not racist. She’s just 
distracted.

Although a police officer 

enters your room and speaks to 
you in condescending language,

She’s not racist. That’s just 
her job.
 
That’s just your paranoia. 
That’s how it works. That’s how 
they are.

When 
something 
offends 
you, it’s just a coincidence.

Once you point it out, you are 
the racist.

So please, remain silent. It’s 
just you.

Not home for the holidays

 Shoes and Ink

Tunes that teleport
Paranoia

It’s that time of year again: the 
period after Halloween and the 
beginning of November where 
individuals start playing holiday 
music 
like 
Mariah 
Carey’s 
“All I Want for Christmas is 
You,” 
completely 
surpassing 
Thanksgiving. 
And 
although 
Thanksgiving is not something 
that everyone celebrates due to 
the literal unacknowledgement 
of a Native American genocide 
carried out by English settlers, 
it is a time where some students 

gear up to go home and spend 
time with their loved ones. 
Anticipating the home cooked 
meals is one of the best parts 
of the days leading up to 
Thanksgiving break; students 
book their plane or bus tickets 
months in advance to make sure 
that they are able to be home 
and get that much needed break. 
Unfortunately, some tend to 
forget that not everyone is able 
to go back to a family home and 
thus have to spend the holidays 
alone. 
Some do not want to go 
home to their families because 
the holidays may bring up bad 

memories, or they are not on 
good terms with their families. 
Surely we have seen the tweets 
where 
common 
scenarios 
play out during this time of 
year: There is an uncle that 
sits at the dinner table during 
Thanksgiving, says something 
homophobic and you have to 
sit there in silence to protect 
yourself because it can be 
dangerous to speak up. These 
scenarios 
actually 
happen, 
making some not want to go see 
their families over the holidays 
because they feel that their life 
could be in jeopardy if they do 
so because of the identities they 

hold. Normalizing the choice to 
not go home to avoid situations 
such as the one mentioned will 
make the Holidays much more 
enjoyable for everyone; still 
post pictures of your delicious 
plates on social media, but keep 
in mind that not everyone has 
this 
privilege. 
Furthermore, 
financial 
constraints 
can 
prevent students from traveling 
to see their loved ones.
It is okay to not want to go 
home for the holidays. It is not 
strange, but instead it is a choice 
one has to make when thinking 
about their security and mental 
health because the holidays are 

not enjoyable for everyone. Here 
are some things to remember 
when deciding if being home 
during this season is the best 
option for you: 
It is your choice whether or 
not to spend the holidays with 
your family. 
If you are able to choose an 
alternative place to spend time 
with your family, do so: Family 
situations can be complicated, 
and thus planning out different 
places to congregate can relieve 
some stress. 
Be honest with your family 
about your presence during this 
time. If they are unable to accept 

that you are on the fence about 
coming home, consider the kind 
of relationship you would want 
to have with them in the future. 
Don’t feel guilty for feeling 
the way you feel. It is valid, it is 
normal and if family members 
respond with disappointment 
about 
your 
absence, 
your 
decision is still valid.
Make the decision, and be 
confident in it. Know that you 
did the right thing. 
Start 
your 
own 
holiday 
tradition! Make it what you want 
it to be to make the holidays 
more enjoyable. 

These pieces are from my 
“Stationery 
At 
the 
Moulin 
Rouge” series. I created them in 

a study of Henri de Toulouse-
Lautrec, a French artist from 
the 1890’s who immortalized 
his favorite hangout, the Moulin 
Rouge, 
in 
his 
lithographic 
advertisements. I decided to 
create my own ads advertising 

my school supplies from my 
school days in India— supplies 
that were, and still are, very 
beloved to me—using similar 
imagery and colors to his work. 
Creating these ads was a way for 
me to pay tribute to the objects 

that helped foster my passion 
for drawing in the first place—
the numerous ink and pencil 
doodles that filled my school 
notebooks made my art what it 
is today. 

MICHAELA MINNIS
MiC Blogger

DEEYA CHATURVEDI
MiC Blogger

SUNGMIN CHO
MiC Columnist

NOOR MOUGHNI
MiC Columnist

A break from reality

Somedays
Being Black in America 
feels like a never-ending 
game of musical chairs
The DJ’s favorite song is 
“meritocracy”
You only see yourself and 
other Black people dancing
Like 
modern-day 
minstrels around
Chairs like 
Graduate programs
White-collar jobs
A living wage
Chairs that were never 
made for you
Chairs that were made to 
keep you dancing

Somedays
Being Black in America 
feels like a rigged game of 
monopoly
You and your brother and 
your cousin and your best 
friend 
Keep landing on the space 
marked “Go to Jail”
Keep 
drawing 
cards 
marked “Go to Jail”
Keep 
seeing 
whole 
neighborhoods marked “Go 
to Jail”
And sometimes, even that 
is a privilege because,

Somedays
Being Black in America 
feels like a bad game of 

charades
You comply
You put your hands up
You sit in your house
They guess “threat”
They guess “violent”
They guess “weapon”

Somedays
Being Black in America 
feels like chess, not checkers
Grandma 
tells 
your 
brother “never fuck a white 
woman”
Momma cuts off your 
sister’s dreads so she can 
“look professional enough to 
get a job”
And you are tired of 
navigating a PWI
Tired of knowing that 
everything you say and do is 
seen as a representation of 
all Black people

You are tired of the DJ 
playing “meritocracy”
You are tired of monopoly 
boards filled with “Go to 
Jail” spaces
You are tired of the police 
guessing incorrectly
You are tired of playing 
chess with white people

But most of all 

Yo are tired of being 
played

Playing 
games

AYOMIDE OKUNADE
MiC Columnist

 
Photo courtesy of BBC Radio 4

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan in Color
Monday, November 18, 2019 — 3A

