In this assignment, I read the portfolios of Maya Richwine, Avani Gupta, and Lujane Alkhmos. I truly loved reading how unique every writer was, hearing their voices, and how their style allowed them to make powerful pieces of writing.
Maya Richwine – Great Allentown Fair
“Vendors were yelling to potential buyers, couples were enjoying a meal together, and terror-filled screams were piercing the air.”
This entire writing piece was beautiful, nostalgic, and made me love Maya’s style of writing. I was able to envision this sentence come to life as it captured intimate moments held at fairs that only one could know if they experienced it, such as vendors screaming out “GOLDFISH” to entice little children.
Avani Gupta – The Marketplace of Agrabah: A Classist Mockery of the Middle East
“Adults too turn a blind eye to the prejudices being sold due to the theatrical fun and musicality of it all, and the assumption that the children would neither notice nor care anyway.”
This essay was filled with undeniable truth, and I loved Avani’s powerful voice and word choice. This sentence, in particular, was able to showcase how adults internalize misrepresentations and instead project them to the world as something “okay” because it is a mystical experience that isn’t harmful to their own American community.
Lujane Alkhmos – The Quran and its Place in the Muslim Community
“The talk itself was intriguing, but it was everything that they didn’t say that was the most interesting part.”
This opening sentence was very compelling because this event took place on October 8, 2023. I found it very interesting how everyone at the meeting like Lujane were able to look at Sheikh Elshinawy and Imam Hernandez faces and know that their minds were filled with hurt, anguish, chaos, and a million things that they couldn’t say.
