Author Archives: NOURDOUNIA HACHI

Throughout this semester, I became a stronger writer. Before this semester, I never really wrote drafts or outlines for my papers. Doing that this whole semester really helped me with organization. Something I struggled with was putting my ideas into words. For example, for the literary analysis paper, I had trouble writing analytically. My thoughts were analytic, but putting them on paper, they sounded more descriptive. Nonetheless, that is the paper I am the proudest of because I got an A on it. I am not only proud of the grade I received, but I put in a lot of effort writing it. I wrote one paper, and then I scratched the whole thing and began another one. To be able to let go of your original ideas and start from scratch is something I never did. The writing piece that I struggled with the most was the analytical research paper. Coming up with a substantial question that wasn’t too specific or general was challenging for me. If it was a regular research paper without the analysis added to it, I don’t think I would have struggled so much. It was a learning experience, and I’m glad it was hard because I ended up learning a lot about my topic, and I learned how to use the Baruch database. I took those skills in writing my art history and political science research papers.                                              Reflecting on our readings and discussions over the course of the semester, some ideas that stuck with me include identity and culture. How we choose to present ourselves and how the media portrays us are two interesting things we discussed in class. Two readings that I loved were “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” and “Fiesta 1980.” I was able to relate to these readings because the perspective that they were told it was the narrator is around my age. For me, the people around me, like my friends and family, impact my identity. For Junior and Dina, their families affected them as they were trying to figure out who they were. I noticed that my identity shifted now that I am a college student. Being a college student now takes up most of my identity. When I present myself to people, the first thing I say is that I am a student. Throughout this semester, I feel like I have gotten more comfortable with presenting my true self, and college so far has taught me not to be shy and to open, and I am grateful for that.                                                                                           Looking at my development this semester, I could proudly say that I never gave up. The work given by all my classes was overwhelming, and learning how to manage my time to complete my assignments was difficult. I had to give up many things like family time, working, and having leisure time with friends. Most of my time this semester consisted of no sleep and constant running around the Baruch library to get work done. The only time I spent with friends was during lunch breaks or on the phone. However, in the end, I saw improvement in my time management, and I know how to set my priorities. I like how I can say no to things I want to do to be on top of my work. Although I still struggle with getting schoolwork done and spending time with people I love, I am grateful for the sacrifices I made because they are paying off. The grades I’ve gotten have brought me opportunities like internships, honor classes, and job inquires. The seek community has offered me to be a math tutor, and I am looking into accepting their offer. As a friend. I continue to make myself available by giving advice whenever I can. I read my friends’ papers and have study sessions with them. Even though we don’t have the same classes, we help each other out and tall about things that are stressing us. Joining clubs has brought me closer to the Baruch community and has shown me that I made the right choice coming here. I grateful for the people I met and the things I learned so far, and I am ready for what is to come from this journey.

My research question is; what is Michael Jackson’s relationship with race? Michael Jackson has been one of the biggest influences on pop culture and was known worldwide. During his years of being famous, Michael Jackson went through a transformation. He had many cosmetic procedures and even got his skin bleached. Was he trying to get rid of his “Blackness?” Was he ashamed of his racial background? I want to know why Michael Jackson was changing himself, specifically his race. Did he have internal racism? He ended up sexually abusing two boys who happen to be white. Why did he sexually abuse white boys instead of black boys, and why were they boys not girls? Was he also confused or conflicted about his sexuality?                                                                   I choose this topic because I recently watched the documentary, Leaving Neverland, that is about the two victims that were sexually abused by Michael Jackson. The documentary interested me so much and I wanted to know how why Michael Jackson did it, and it, if it had to do anything, was his problems with his race. I learned that Michael Jackson was abused by his father growing up and even though they were all the same race, his father made fun of his appearance. I also learned that Michael Jackson’s music contradicted his actions because he sang about equality and accepting everyone, meanwhile, he was getting cosmetic procedures to change himself. I have a clear direction with where I want to go with this project and am learning new things about the infamous singer that are very surprising. Most of my sources are scholarly journals, so I know my evidence is strong and will make my research paper make sense. I went from a very broad research paper that sounded more like a report, to an interesting topic that I never really thought about. Overall, I am excited to see where this research paper takes me.

The community that I am apart of is the CUNY community. For a long time, I looked down at this community. While I was deciding what colleges to go to, I was avoiding city colleges. I felt like CUNY schools wouldn’t be able to give me the best quality of education. I got these feelings from people who told me about CUNY. Later, however, I ended choosing a CUNY school, Baruch. Going to a CUNY school now, I have a completely different view of CUNY schools. There are so many opportunities available, and I feel like I’m at a home with a big family. However, CUNY’s biggest issue is the amount of funding that it receives. They don’t get a lot of funding which hinders the resources and environment of students. For example, at Baruch, the 17 lex building has been under construction for a long time. The elevators constantly do not work, there are problems with the heater system and other issues. I walked into the building today and there was a sign that said that only bathrooms on floors 1-7 are working. When a student sees that a school is lacking basic resources, like working bathrooms, they look down upon the system. Also, it is very hard to find spots to do work. Besides the library, Baruch doesn’t have many student areas. This is because there are a lot of students which is a problem that CUNY has. Having minimum funding means that CUNY schools cannot accommodate all their students. I am currently a part of a committee in the Baruch undergraduate student government. I am already taking the initiative to solve this problem because it is one of USG’s projects. Specifically, we are preparing to go to Albany to advocate for CUNY to get more funding. There, we are hoping to appeal to legislatures and convince them to boost the funding for CUNY schools, especially Baruch. We are quick to complain about what the school is lacking, but we must start advocating and fighting for our school because it is our community and deserves attention.

Instead of listening to music while I work out, I prefer to listen to podcasts. However, I don’t listen to just any podcasts; I listen to podcasts about famous unsolved murders. Listening to unsolved murder stories pumps my adrenaline up even more while I’m at the gym. I mostly like them because they are very informative, but also because it helps me look forward to working out. I started to listen to podcasts because of my sociology teacher, but then I continued to listen to them after his class ended. I must admit, I easily get freaked out by scary stories and movies, but listening to creepy podcasts in the gym, where there are plenty of people around, helped me become less scared. Also, listening to podcasts helps expand your imagination because instead of a movie or show, you must imagine what is being said while listening to a podcast. The first podcasts I listened to were solved murders. I liked having a happy ending to the story. I would even guess in the beginning who I thought the suspect would be and see if that matched with who really committed the murder. Then, I got tired of solved cases because there was a pattern of who the suspect could be. That led me to listen to unsolved cases, which allowed me to solve the case myself. It also left me creeped out and constantly thinking about the case. Unsolved murder podcasts quickly become addicting and instead of watching a series, you end up listening to them all day and night. Not only did I listen to them in the gym, but I also would listen to them on my commutes and even to sleep. Listening to podcasts is so convenient because you don’t need the internet to listen to them. You can download them beforehand and listen anywhere at any time. I recommend getting into podcasts because there are so many genres out there, and they’re great for learning and entertainment.

Unsolved podcast channel: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsolved-murders-true-crime-stories/id1122804248?mt=2

Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/staring-down-impeachment-trump-sees-himself-as-a-victim-of-historic-proportions/2019/09/28/815fbbea-e14c-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html

This article is about the impeachment inquiry announced by the speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi. This decision was made because of President Donald Trump asking the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate Democratic candidate, Joe Biden and his son. This is a problem because President Trump is involving a foreign country into American affairs. Many are saying the President abused his power and needs to face some type of consequences. What makes this particularly interesting is that even Republicans condemn the Presidents actions. This is important because this will potentially affect the upcoming elections in 2020, especially on how we decide on who to vote for since we are now of age to do so.

       The author of “Shitty First Drafts”, Anne Lamott, most clearly reflects my approach to writing. Lamott says first drafts are meant to be shitty because they are the writing pieces that get us to the final piece we want. Without the shitty first draft you can’t get to the final piece that you are confident in handing in. When I am given a writing assignment, for the most part I have a lot of ideas about what I want to write about. I am someone who like to write down my idea right away because I don’t want to lose it. I don’t worry about how it looks because I go back at the end and revise that. Unlike the other author, George Dila, I don’t like to be correct the first time I am writing a piece. I feel like that limits my creativity and I become so caught up on being perfect the first time around. The first draft for me is where I have the most freedom to just write, it is the foundation even if it is not a strong one. The drafts after that are when I start to “perfect” my writing not the first one. Ultimately, my approach to writing is to get my ideas on paper, even if they aren’t the best ideas I can always go back and change them.

          I care about gun control because I feel like it is widely neglected, especially in the United States. There has been an uprising in mass shootings and not much is being done to prevent them. This is so important to me because the victims of these mass shootings are mostly students like me. This epidemic of mass shootings has made a school a space that one is afraid to be in. My parents used to tell me to be in places where there were a lot of places and now, they tell me the opposite. I find myself getting anxious around crowded spaces and spying my surrounding more than I do when I am in less crowded areas.

            The American Culture is so invested in guns which I believe should change. Whenever any talk about gun control comes up, the 2^nd amendment of the Constitution finds its way in the conversation. The right to bear arms is the first argument made. Proponents of the second amendment say that if you limit guns then you are limiting a right given to the American people. Also, guns have always been a part of American culture and by limiting guns you are limiting one’s culture.

            This ideology is what leads me to be a political science major. I feel like our government needs diversity because American culture is not surrounded by guns and only guns. It is the duty of the government to protect its people, safety comes before your cultural values in my opinion. Diversity in congress would lead to diversity in law making that would accurately represent the American people. Diversity doesn’t always mean cultural, but in this context, age. I feel like younger members could represent those students who are being neglected by their government. Ultimately, our values have changed, and we do not need guns in the way we needed them when the second amendment was created. There needs to be laws and there must be enforcement of theses laws because the security of the people is being neglected.

Nour Hachi
Professor Sylvor
ENG 2100
September 5, 2019

“The Hidden”
What you see when you first look at this graduation picture is a proud family. I am in the middle showing off my cap decoration. What you don’t see if that although I am smiling, I was very anxious and in a rush. I had to give a speech and I was already late. My parents insisted on a picture. My father has a serious face but for the most part looks happy. However, he really had a tired face because he just got out of surgery because he had a heart attack. He was not going to miss my graduation even though I told him to stay home and rest. In this picture you can’t see, my two younger brothers who are fighting in the background like the always do. That’s partially why my father has a serious face on.
In this picture you cannot see my two twin cousins who came to celebrate with me. They are the only family I have from Algeria, my native country, that live in the United States. They are more like my older sisters because I grew up with them. What you can’t see in this picture is that I did my cap decorations last minute and I stayed up all night decorating it. You can’t see how we are all sweating and how my hair was starting to get poufy and frizzy despite my efforts of straightening it the night before and the morning of. Behind the smiles there was stress and anxiousness but it was an overall memorable and one of the best days of my life.