Myself

Starting off, my name is Ahmad, I'm currently 18 years old and I do go to the University of Michigan -- Flint. I am of Palestinian heritage. This means that both of my parents are from Palestine and all of my culture and traditions are Palestinian, or at least most of them. I was born in Flint, Michigan where I lived for about a year and a half before I moved to Grand Blanc which can be described as a suburb right outside the city of Flint. It's about a 10 minute drive between the two cities. Now unlike a lot of people who are from the same heritage as me, I have visited Palestine numerous times. I've been in the Israeli part where nothing is happening and I have been to the parts in the West Bank where it is pretty much war-torn with a lot of distress. It is a roller coaster of emotions once you enter that area. First you must go through many checkpoints to get to your destination, being questioned by Israeli authority and Israeli soldiers as well as being allowed to stay in the area for a short period of time unless you live there. And if you live there, you are rarely allowed out of the West Bank or Gaza. I've seen the worst and the best there and I guess that's a large contributor to why I'm so empathetic  and sympathetic to people. Sometimes you have to see the worst just so you can get to the best and that's how I felt when I visited, even at a young age.

           

Another bit about me would be being blessed with athleticism. I did play club soccer, I did play school basketball, I am a black belt, I am a life guard, I did run track, and I am thankful that I was able to do all of those things. Athletics and thing of that nature have always interested me and I always have enjoyed watching them too. Sports have been a big part of my life because my father and my uncles did play semi-professionally and professionally back in Palestine. Unfortunately they played in the Israeli leagues because they technically lived in Israeli territory and those leagues are unfortunately better than the Palestinian leagues. I grew up watching these sports and that really sparked my interest as I did imitate or try to imitate the athletes on television. I'd have to thank my family and close friends for all of that and on top of all of them, of course I owe it all to God. 

On that note, religion is also a huge part of my life as well. I wouldn't say I was very religious back in my high school days but once I got into college and took life a lot more seriously, I would say that I did become more religious than I was. I am a Muslim which means I practice and am a believer of Islam. I don't know exactly why I got more religious, but I think it'd be because I became more spiritual with myself and honestly, it feels great. It feels great to understand oneself and one's faith as well as those around him. I may not be a sheikh (like a priest for Christians or Raabi for jews) but I do know enough about my religion to give a fairly good insight on what to do and what not to do.

           

Lastly I do enjoy art. I am a decent drawer but the art I am talking about would be art on the computer or as many like to call it, graphics. I started making graphics back in the 8th grade and I did teach myself by just messing around with the different tools in Photoshop or GIMP and I did follow some tutorials here and there and really, I'm proud of my work. One of the reasons I did get into graphic design was to get away from my problems and issues around me. It was an outlet, a way to get away. I just felt free doing what I did on the computer and at the end of it all, it was art and it was enjoyable. I don't want to become professional with it as it is a hobby but I love it. 

There are five things that can take my mind off of any problems and those are; practicing my faith, being around the other half, playing sports, being with my close friends, and lastly, art.