I’ve known that I’d like to 

become 
a 
lawyer 
someday 

for what seems like forever. 
Whenever I’m asked where 
my love for the law is rooted, 
my mind usually goes to one 
of three places or all three at 
the same time depending on 
the conversation I’m having. In 
response I tell people: 

1. My love for law is rooted in 
my identities as a Palestinian, 
Muslim, Arab woman, and the 
marginalizations that each of 
those identities encounters in 
white societies. Having been at 
the forefront of witnessing and 
experiencing what it meant to 
carry these identities instilled 
in me a desire to commit to 
social justice and reform and to 
be a part of making the change 
my communities want to see on 
a legal level. 

2. My love for law is rooted 
in my hatred of STEM. Ever 
since I was young, I knew I 
didn’t want to be a doctor or 
nurse or engineer despite the 
way my siblings were drawn 
to these fields. Furthermore, 
this became abundantly clear 
when it was my English, civics, 
economics and social science 
classes that kept me engaged all 
throughout my pre-university 
schooling, and the dread I felt 
for my natural science classes 
became a norm. 

3. 
And 
sometimes, 
only 

sometimes, I’ll tell people that 
I sealed the deal on law after 
watching “Legally Blonde.”

At 13 years old, I fell victim 

to 
the 
chokehold 
“Legally 

Blonde” seemed to have on its 
viewers 
after 
watching 
the 

movie for the very first time. 
Little did I know, that would be 
the first of countless “Legally 
Blonde” binge nights or that the 
movie would seemingly have 
much more of an impact on 
me than I would’ve expected. 
I finished the movie starry-
eyed, completely in awe of Elle 
Woods’s confidence, feistiness 
and overall aura. The glitz and 
glam and hot pink pantsuits in 
combination with the “big-time” 
Harvard law degree seemed like 
everything I wanted my future 
to encapsulate. 

However, being closer to a 

professional degree now than 
I was in middle school, I have 
started to increasingly pick 
out the faults that the movie 
demonstrates. 
What 
became 

increasingly clear is that the 
entirety of the movie revolves 
around traditional notions of 
femininity. 
When 
we 
think 

of Elle Woods, we think of an 
ultra-feminine figure, almost 
as “girly” as one can get. 
Throughout the movie, it seems 
like the idea that is constantly 
reiterated is that to be accepted 
in predominantly male fields is 
to be ultra-feminine. From her 
over-the-top extravagant daily 
outfits to her weekly manicure 

appointments 
and 
even 
her 

pink, scented résumé, her entire 
being screams femininity. In 
reality, there is a certain level 
of femininity that is expected 
of women in professional spaces 
— whether that is the clothes 
they wear, the way they do their 
hair or the other ways they 
present themselves. Elle Woods 
carves a path for herself in the 
predominantly male field of 
law, but the fact that she is so 
extremely feminine seems to be 
used as a tool to accomplish this. 
Arguably the most iconic scene 
in the movie is when Elle busts 
the suspect on trial for having 
murdered her own father. Elle 
makes this breakthrough in 
the case because the suspect 
claimed that she had gotten a 
perm and then went home to 
shower, and returned to find 
her father shot. Elle, being 
extremely sound in all things 
beauty-related, quickly pointed 
out that the suspect was lying 
because the number-one rule 
after getting a perm is to avoid 
wetting the hair. It’s made 
clear that Elle only knew this 
information and was able to 
make this breakthrough because 
she’s so “girly.” I can’t help but 
wonder if the same experience 
that Elle Woods had would be 
the same experience a woman 
of color would have, as they 
are often not regarded with the 
same lens of fragility, femininity 
and innocence as white women. 
The answer is most probably no. 
 
 

Michigan in Color
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
8 — Wednesday, October 27, 2021 

Design by Frances Ahrens

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Unpacking ‘Legally Blonde’

REEM HASSAN

MiC Columnist

A journey of change

MARIAM ALSHOURBAGY

MiC Columnist

We would starve if flour didn’t change into bread, and we would 

freeze if wood didn’t change into fire. For us who are constantly in 
motion, change is inevitable.

But this time it wasn’t 
the same kind of change.
As grains of sand chased the wounded wind
Migrating from the desert to this mourning street
Those little grains infiltrating every empty corner
Touched the cold ground and covered its scars
Listened to the wind mourn and dried its tears
Saw the crowd disperse
Then flew away.
As I opened my eyes to cry
The wind carried the sand into my eyes
I shake the grains off
Then cover my eyes and never open them again. 
I am allowed to cry when the wind is too strong
I’m allowed to be, allowed to fall, allowed to heal
Before living, confronting, accepting. 
I wasn’t ready.
After the careful talk
The worried stares
The quiet concern
I 
just 
didn’t 
care.

But the sand was running out
So I allowed myself a peek
 I still wasn’t ready
To open them completely
That smile and kindness aren’t found everywhere
I close my eyes again and feel the familiar scent in the air.
I still wasn’t ready 
To let go of those summer days
The hands that held mine
Now lying empty on the bedside.
I’ve walked these streets long enough to know everyone
By name, last name, and addresses
I now fear the day I saw them wearing their black dresses
And I look at them and see my grief mirrored
Their mouths straight and their faces withered.
When will I have the courage to accept this change?
“Everything we did together death did not erase
His name is spoken like it’s a familiar place”
Our life goes on and he’s still in it
One has his smile, one his kindness, 
One has his passion, one his dedication, and one his wisdom.
So no, my grandpa’s death wasn’t one of those changes. It was about 

the journey of change, one filled with grief and denial, followed by 
guidance and realization.

His safe warm hands

Design by Anonymous

Editor’s Note: The author of this 

piece has chosen to be anonymous 
given the sensitive nature of their 
account. In accordance with our ethics 
policy (which can be found in full in 
our bylaws), the Editor-in-Chief and 
Managing Editors of Michigan in Color 
are aware of the author’s identity.

Content warning: sexual assault
The sun beat down through 

my opened bedroom window and 
warmed my room. Every light in 
my room had been on for hours, 
increasing the warmth. Clothes 
covered every inch of carpet, except 
for the 3-foot space in front of my 
full body mirror that my dad and I 
built together a couple of years prior. 
That space was instead covered with 
every makeup product I owned. 
The brushes lay on the bare carpet, 
leaving 
small 
pink 
eyeshadow 

marks behind. My phone rested 
in the middle of my bed charging, 
while it simultaneously played my 
November Spotify playlist, repeating 
my favorite three songs from it — 
one being “Good Habits (and Bad)” 
by Saba Lou, a song that made me 
reminisce about my childhood due 
to the innocent nature of the song. 
(The song, which focuses on what 
a child considers as bad habits, is 
sung and written from a child’s 
point of view.) The sun was setting 
and it was starting to get dark. I was 
already late. I applied my final coat of 
mascara while my hand shook from 
the excitement that rushed through 
my body and the nervousness that 
clouded my mind. It was my first 

second date, ever. With the same guy 
who took me on my first real date, 
ever. 

Our first date, a week prior, was a 

picnic — something we liked enough 
to agree to do it as our second date. 
The green flags and sweet things he 
did on the first date all ran through 
my mind: how he helped me climb 
in and out of his car through the 
driver’s seat door since the passenger 
door was blocked by another car; 
how he was so understanding when 
I told him about the anxiety I get 
while driving, and immediately said 
that we would only picnic at the park 
by my house so that I wouldn’t have 
to drive much. How he didn’t change 
his mind after realizing it would take 
him over half an hour of freeway 
driving one-way; how he didn’t get 
uncomfortable holding my hand 
even though my hand was grossly 
sweaty from being so nervous; how 
he let me play my music the entire 
car ride, even though his music taste 
was the complete opposite. And my 
favorite: how at the end of the date, 
he asked me if he could kiss me 
before just going in for it. 

I waited in my car at the park, 

texting my best friend about how 
nervous I was. “What if he ends 
whatever this is cuz he doesn’t like 
me anymore.” She reassured me, 
ending our conversation with our 
normal “have fun, be safe <3” text. 
When he arrived, he pulled me into 
a hug with his warm hands. They 
were warmer than mine, something 
I hadn’t found with anyone else. But 
the warmth was nice and comforting 
and made me feel safe. So safe that 
my nervousness shifted to a blissful 
feeling. So safe that I forgot about 
all my other worries to just enjoy 

his company. So safe that my eyes 
wouldn’t let out a single tear no 
matter how much I wanted them to 
as he lay on top of me less than an 
hour later. So safe that my mouth 
wouldn’t let out a single noise no 
matter how much I tried to say no. 
So safe that my body wouldn’t move 
no matter how much I tried to push 
him off. 

At that moment, I felt numb. I no 

longer felt the warmth in his hands. 
But I just knew his hands were still 
there. I laid in silence, with my eyes 
wide open, and emotionlessly stared 
at the stars in the sky, even while 
he kept kissing me. The extreme 
amount of layers I was wearing 
didn’t stop him. But worst of all, 
neither did I. 

To make things worse, I was 

so blinded by his attention and 
validation that I normalized what 
happened to me. I went home that 
night and was so worried that he 
didn’t want to go out again, that I 
failed to realize I didn’t. And when 
he texted me the next day about 
how the whole night felt off because 
we were both just tired, I agreed, 
putting some of the blame on myself. 
The fact that he was the first guy that 
I went on a date with worsened the 
entire situation. 

He knows what he’s doing. This 

is what happens on all other dates. 
Maybe he just couldn’t tell I was 
uncomfortable. I should’ve said no. 
He didn’t do anything wrong. This is 
just his way of showing he’s into me. 
He’s probably done the same to all the 
previous girls, so I should be fine with 
it as well. 

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

ANONYMOUS
MiC Columnist

By Andrew nAkAmurA, miC Columnist

Your ruling planet Mars 
enters Scorpio in your 

eighth house of rebirth. You 
may have been avoiding an 
underlying issue in your life. 
However, now is the time to 
charge forward and face your 

problems head-on.

Mercury in your sixth house 
of organization trines Saturn 

in your tenth house, which 
marks a great time to orga-
nize your office space and 
your work files. A cleaner 
workspace may help you 
become more productive.

Geminis are known for being 
very sporadic and energetic, 

but this also means you cannot 
be contained by a schedule or 
deadlines. Mars in Scorpio en-
courages you to rein your zeal 

in by placing your absolute 
focus on one thing at a time 
until you see it to completion.

When Mars enters fellow 

water sign Scorpio in your fifth 

house of creativity, you will 
become deeply immersed in 
your creative work. You may 

come to some emotional break-

throughs that can fuel your 

creative process.

Mars transitions into Scorpio 
in your fourth house of home 
and family, which indicates 
that your relationships with 
your family and childhood 

friends may suddenly become 

much closer. Now is a good 

time to reach out and ask them 

how they’re doing.

Virgos are always great com-
municators and meticulous lis-
teners, and Mars in Scorpio is 
about to bring this intensity to 
the next level. Now is a great 
time to strike up a conversa-
tion with just about anyone in 
order to gain some valuable 

insight.

Now is a great time to get to 
know people on a much deep-

er level and evaluate your 
compatibility in a relation-
ship. If you’re currently in a 
relationship, this is a great 
opportunity to deepen your 
relationship even further.
This is a great time to start a 
creative project or pursue an 
intellectual idea. Now is also a 
great time to resolve any linger-

ing conflicts you may have 

with yourself or others. While 
conflict resolution may be dif-
ficult, you will feel incredibly 
invigorated if every problem 

is fixed.

When Mars enters Scorpio in 
your twelfth house of subcon-
sciousness, you may feel a lot 
more passionate about your 

creative pursuits. Sagittarians 
enjoy chasing many different 
desires, but this is the time to 
commit to one idea and see it 

through.

At this time, you may really start 

to deepen your bond between 
friends you didn’t view as close 
before. You could unearth a lot of 
their virtues and desires, which 
may allow you to gain incredibly 
wise insights to apply to your own 
life. You may feel pressured to hide 
away parts of yourself in order to 

appeal to others, but you 
shouldn’t be afraid to be 

yourself.

When Mars enters Scorpio 

and your tenth house of career 

ambitions, you will dig deep 
in order to find clarity in your 

professional goals. Are you 
satisfied with your current 

life path? Do you see yourself 

pursuing this career for the rest 

of your life?

Mars transitions into Scorpio 
and your ninth house of phi-

losophy, which means that your 
mind is going to become much 
more focused on your education. 
Pisceans are very imaginative 
and curious, and now is a great 
time to feed your curiosity by 
pursuing an intellectual topic 

you feel passionate about.

