Tahsen Hossain - Assignment 8 - Writing Territories

Writing Territories

Fears - Being helpless/useless, public or social interactions, dying

Annoyances - People expecting subtlety in conversation; blatant wastes of time

Accomplishments - My RECREATIONAL soccer team is second seed out of the THREE teams in our region; so yeah, we're kind of a BIG DEAL.
But seriously, so far I'm just glad I've survived this far into high school and I hope that I might have been some small help to a few people making it this far as well.

Confusions - Education reform; wealth distribution, democracy in general; the whole hype-culture trend; "badfilm" as a concept of cinematography; but most of all, human communication. I have so much trouble reading a room, you'd think I was illiterate.

Sorrows - In 8th grade, I had a mental breakdown and hurt one of my friends. He's ok now. We're still friends. (I've been working on it. I haven't had another since I started boxing two years ago); I regret not spending enough time with my grandmother before she died. I can't control the world so there's no point in dwelling on any pain it might bring but I can control myself.

Dreams - I don't really have any specific hopes or dreams in the long term. I just want to be able to be content with wherever life takes me. That feeling is my dream.

Idiosyncrasies - TV/film lover/critic (matter of perspective, I guess); table-top games like D&D.

Risks - Want: Skydiving. Maybe, write a novel.
Did: Went cliff diving in Florida, California, and Bangladesh; had a blast. Tried Taco Bell food; barely survived.

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then - Then: An old collection of (probably pirated) movies my uncle and dad bought in Dhaka; probably the reason why movies mean so much to me now; they were lost when we moved out of Florida.
Now: My grandmother's jewellery box; and a necklace in an M&Ms case that I received from two of my best friends for Christmas

Problems - Condescending (though I don't mean to be), pretentious, overthinking, often lacking in motivation (there are more but I don't feel like continuing the list).


It's likely that nobody to whom this applies will read this, but I would like to apologise for at times seeming as though I am condescending to anyone. It is not my intention to seem as though I am better than anyone, nor do I want to make anyone feel intellectually inferior. I would, in fact, be the first to admit that 90% of the time I am utterly oblivious to the full extent of the situation and probably wrong. However, it is my belief that being right and having not used the opportunity to act is infinitely worse than having asserted oneself on a fallacious claim, especially when one is a high school student and the claims being made don't have as high stakes as an adult when people are truly listening.

And honestly, a confident tone is a versatile tool. If one can say something with absolute confidence, the statement is granted an air of credibility on its own. It's as Aladin says, "When you got nothin', you have to act like you own everything." I think it becomes excessive when I use it as a defense mechanism. Both in and outside the academy, I am surrounded by smart people doing smart things; it's easy to subconsciously think that I am falling behind and so it becomes even easier to get defensive; all the more reason to act smart. But now I've been trying to catch myself in the act, to remind myself that it's ok for me to be wherever I am. 

So once again, to anyone that I have condescended to, I am sorry. It wasn't intentional, much less personal. Sorry.