I hate how people feel they can say their options so quickly. I recently went to a wedding with my boyfriend, and we took a picture; my grandmother pulled me to the side and said jokingly you look fat next to him. I think you should lose some weight to look more attractive. I was very offended but never said anything because I should respect my grandmother. I didn’t particularly appreciate how my grandmother said that; that day, I felt such self-contusions; instead of feeling pretty being all dressed up, I felt sluggish and disgusting. After the wedding, my family, boyfriend, and I were on our way back home, and in the car, my dad started talking about how I needed to lose weight and that I will have a hard time in the future. He even stated I overeat and need to control my food intake! He said that when I decide to have kids, I would be so “fat” after like he is disgusted by fat people. I felt so embarrassed because my boyfriend was in the car. What was he thinking of me? It’s one thing for my parents to believe that I was fat, but my boyfriend thinking I’m not perfect, would hurt my soul like someone shooting me in the arm. Although I have gained quite a bit of weight since I moved to Maryland, I am still able to walk 5 miles without stopping, and I am still able to do everyday things. I don’t think it is fair that people are so quick to judge when someone doesn’t like something about someone. I have a lot of confidence problems with my body now.

Having dyslexia has been a lifelong weight on my shoulders. Growing up, I felt ashamed and embarrassed that I was a special-needs kid. I thought I did not belong in regular classes because the other kids were more intelligent than me. As I grew up, I realized I was just remarkable and needed help reading. Reading is the key to almost everything; without knowing to read, it is impossible to do everyday activities such as grocery shopping, specifically reading the labels. I remember I was in the fourth grade and learning to read with a co-ed teacher in the hall outside my classroom. Whenever another kid would walk past, they would stare at me. At the moment, I felt ashamed I was seen as a kid reading kindergarten-level books in fourth grade. Other kids were reading Harry Potter books with at least 200 pages, whereas I was reading green eggs and ham by doctor Seuss. I think back to those memories all the time, especially at my all-time lows in life when I get bad grades. I often feel that I am a C+ student because I am dyslexic. Remembering those times hurts me; I even shed a tear once in a while. When I look back on my early education days, there were never any classes geared toward people with dyslexia, or even special tutoring or after-school help. The education systems lacks the understanding to help different types of students succeed in school. Which later can affect their mental health. I hope the school system changes as the number of dyslexic students increases.

Before coming to UMBC, I thought that “disabled people” needed special treatment or extra help. but this changed when I came to umbc. During my first semester here, I met a paralyzed guy on one side of his body. To be exact, he has hemiplegia, a symptom involving one-sided paralysis. one day, he asked me to go on a walk, and I was very hesitant but said yes at the end. I tried to go on the most accessible walk possible, which was difficult because UMBC is very hilly and has many stairs. As we were walking, I tried to redirect the hike multiple times to make it easier for my friend. Suddenly my friend asked to go up the stairs to see the skyline of Baltimore city. At the moment, I was not sure what to say. I accidentally said are you sure you want to go. He was kind and said yeah, I like the exercise. As we slowly walked up the stairs, I noticed my friend getting out of breath. We kept going to the top, where the performing arts building was. At that moment, I realized that even though he struggled to walk, he never gave up and asked for help. I realized that “disabled people” are self-efficient and will ask for help when needed; people should not look at them any less differently because they can do everything everyone else can.

On the other hand, I was getting late at night a few weeks ago, and someone in front of me was trying to get a drink cup, and she was struggling and had dropped a few paper cup lids over to the floor. She asked me to help her grab a cup and a straw within a few seconds. I was glad to help her and help her pick up the things that fell. My idea of “disabled people” has changed over the years from wow I should be helping them all the time to wow they can do everything by themself and I should help but when they needed it. My asking can make them feel ashamed of being the way they are, but they did n

What does it mean to act like a woman? Back in the day to meant to be a housewife, a mother, and never to speak up. While many people still believe these things, I think they are stupid and should never be brought up. It is very offensive to be called a girly girl with no definition. Just because I wear makeup or where women’s clothing does not mean I am a girly girl and can not do the same thing as women. I am a big fan of Harry’s style, not for his music but for his faction choices and how he has broken the rules of clothing differences between women and men. It is just not fair for someone to say that women should be here to be pretty. The other day I went to a conference with my dad, and it was a petroleum c store convention, a male-dominated industry. And I saw women dressed in tight revealing clothing passing out business cards.

Also, no vendor was willing to talk to me about a business venture or selling their product in my dad’s stores. I would have to make the first move and break the ice, but everyone would want to talk to my brother. This was just shocking to see how women are perceived as just the pretty thing to the side. As a woman who wanted her company, this was very offensive to see how my gender was perceived by an industry run by many old white and Indian males. Women run a gas station or a hotel just as efficiently as men. I think women can run a business just as well as males; I believe there is no difference in intellectual properties. There is no objective evidence that males are better than women! Women and males act the same. They have the same resources to be successful.