If

There is something about Rudyard Kipling's poetry that moves me. I hope you enjoy the following poem as much as I do. It is so easy to lose yourself and often times it is not until later that you realize it is never worth it. The ground is much closer than you think -sometimes you just have to work a little harder to find it or find your way back.

And. we. are. off!



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If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

silence is wisdom, but not in all cases...

"you did not know that access to health care was an issue in this country?" this is the reaction i received from david page, outgoing ceo of fairview riverside hospital, when i mentioned that prior to my junior year of college i had no idea that some people did not have health insurance or could not afford to go to the doctor. well, dave, that is what happens when you grow up in a bubble commonly known as the suburbs. people just don't talk about these things.

although i have to say that i do not think this happy bubble is limited to the suburbs -my experience at the school of public health (sph) suggests otherwise. if i was feeling dramatic, luckily for you i am not, i would say that the sph ruined my life. truth be told, i have come out of the school extremely disheartened. public health professionals, as i see it, are supposed to enhance the quality of life for the community and be that voice for people who often go unheard -the voice for those that struggle to access the services they may need. but, in my two years at the school, i can count MAYBE on one hand a professor stressing the importance of community involvement beyond a needs assessment. and might i just add, i WISH at least one professor would have stressed the fact that best practices differ among communities. in other words, get rid of the make them like us mentality......

*sigh*


but then when i think about it, why would faculty even touch on these aforementioned points when they were not even willing to advocate for the rights of their own students. what am i talking about, you ask? the following quotes and instances are examples of institutional racism and/or straight-up ignorance at its finest, and of course, all were swept under some pretty rug collecting dust...still waiting to be exposed in all its ugliness...

1. an email was sent out to a large listserv within the school warning students, staff, and faculty of a theft that had occurred, "please look out for a tall black man."

2. "those rich arab sheikhs come to the mayo clinic asking for golden faucets in their rooms. but they are good for the rochester economy because they leave with cargo planes filled will merchandise. they also give money to mayo, which makes up for uncompensated care."

3. "those native americans, american indians, whatever you call them..."

4. "wow, you speak so well."

5. "i knew someone of your skin color once (white man says to black woman), i wondered why she spoke so well and, when i asked, i found that she was adopted by a white family."

6. "you better keep quiet before your green card turns red."

7. "aliyah, maybe you can give us an international students' perspective."

8. "if i didn't want to work with you because you wore a scarf, i would have to learn and implement ways to ensure that we get along."


those were just a select few things that i could remember -there are more. keep in mind that these quotes indicate what people actually said -they are not 100% accurate, but you get the idea. so, what do we do in those instances such as #1 and #5 when faculty are made aware of the situation, but choose to remain silent? maybe they don't want to involve themselves in the politics of "ratting out" another professor? maybe they just don't care? maybe they care, but just don't know what to say? but what will likely happen, as i have experienced first hand, is that they will brush it off and tell you to "treat it as a learning experience." can i just say, that if this was all wrapped up in a research project, i probably would not be writing this...just a thought.


i'm sorry, but i honestly cannot think of one excuse that justifies this type of silence. the "let us play it safe" silence that inhibits the school from establishing an environment of understanding , ultimately, sending the message that insensitivity, intolerence, and yes, racism is tolerated. disheartened and all, i do value aspects of my experience. ironically, i guess i did learn something. i NEVER want to make anyone feel small by remaining silent on issues that matter most, especially the issues that have and obviously continue plague our country. martin luther king jr. once said: "our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." this seems so basic, a given if you will, but you would be surprised how many self-described humanatarians (this is not limited to public health professionals) have failed to fulfill the apt phrase spoken by the reverend. inshaa allah, i hope i do not fall into a routine that ends up silencing me.

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Unable to look her in the eyes
He tells her how beautiful she is
She said, “there is no one but you”
Slowly, he lifts his lashes
A delicate flower, preserving its petals
His expression now transparent
She steals a glimpse of his soul
Unexpectedly seeing the expected
He no longer belonged to her

Reminded of his past painful words
Spoken with such ease, such conviction
“I don’t know why I have little faith in you”
Tears stream down her face
Following a familiar path unknown to him
Steadily opening her mouth
She nervously licks her salt-stained lips
Determined to show him the hurt
She says nothing
Sleeping her sorrow away

He said, “you always believed in me”
She knew that was not enough
A smile so faint
Forms her countenance
Never does it reach her eyes
Unwilling to compete with the past
The truth she had been running from
Cornered her
Suffocating her into a nauseating realization
He only ever loved the idea of her

From time to time
She remembers the man she once knew
The smile that could melt the coldest of hearts
The sharp, almost intimidating intellect
Now watching him from afar
Stumbling
Contemplating the path ahead of him
She glances up at the sky
“Alhamdulillah” she softly whispers
And turns away
From a man she never really knew at all