For my creative remix I will be creating a video. The video will consist of brief interviews with people in New York City. I will ask them what benefits they see from the legalization of marijuana. This subjective approach will help us understand the issue better because we will be witnessing peoples unique opinions. Furthermore, it will allow me to explore the issue from many different frames of reference.

In this short clip from Jessie, a Disney Channel show, we can see physical displacement. The real Jessie is an adult girl with dreams of being an actor has to move to NYC to be a nanny. Here we can see that Jessie and the little girl Zuri magically switched bodies; an accident that worked out into the actual Zuri’s favor. The real Jessie, who is now displaced and in Zuri’s body, loses her power. She is not used to being in Zuri’s small body and can’t drag around Zuri like she would usually be able to. She loses her authoritative figure and can’t get Zuri to bed.

1. Is gentrification a positive or negative thing? Explain.
2. Is it possible that gentrification can lead to displacement? Explain.

To be completely honest, when I began reading the passage, I was highly uninterested. I didn’t pick up on any clear theme and the text did a poor job capturing my attention. I did notice the tension between the Das family. I wasn’t even sure what Mr. Kapasi’s role was in the passage, besides being the Das families tour guide. However, as I kept reading I thought  Mr. Kapasi was “prying” on Mr. and Mrs. Das. There was obviously poor communication between Mr. and Mrs. Das, and Mr. Kapasi decided to get involved in their business. Even though marriage problems are common and don’t always mean the people in a marriage are bad people, in this case Mrs. Das seemed to not have poor morals. In the text we learned about her affair, 8 years ago, where she cheated on Mr. Das with Mr. Das’s friend, which resulted in the birth of Bobby. Furthermore, she seems interested in Mr. Kapasi and Mr. Kapasi seems interested in Mina Das, while the Das family is on vacation. There are a lot of morality issues with Mina’s actions. When Mina revealed to Mr. Kapasi that she had an affair resulting in a child and explained her dissatisfaction with her current marriage, Mr. Kapasi began to second guess his feelings towards Mina. In fact, his crush on Mina, faded away as he learned more about Mrs. Das’s morals. Interestingly, Mina’s attraction to Mr. Kapasi also began to fade when he told Mina that the tensions between Mr. and Mrs. Das are only a result of Mrs. Das’s guilt of cheating.

Displacement is hard for everyone, no matter how adaptable you are, you will feel the effects of displacement. People often explain the feeling of displacement as a feeling of fear, confusion, and bewilderment. How you manage this feeling is very important. You can either let it bring you down and let it be a barrier between you and success or let it be a learning experience resulting in an opportunity for you to grow.

Displacement strips an individual of their confidence as well as their comfort. Displacement can be pivotable because the decisions you make when you are feeling displaced. Being proactive and making good life decisions will always help in times of displacement. For example, if I was in a situation where I had to relocate to a foreign country, I wouldn’t try to be invisible. Instead, I would recognize the path my life takes is solely in my hands, making a good decision such as learning a new language and finding a new job can help you become a stronger person.

On the contrary, being afraid and stagnant will not allow you to grow. It will keep you in your not-so-comfortable, comfort zone and you will fail to move forward in life.

Adapting a growth mindset is crucial to being successful in the world, as opposed to a fixed mindset which can limit your success. An individual with a growth mindset will understand success isn’t a straight line to the top, in fact success comes with a lot of ups and downs. Many of us have heard the saying, “the greater the setback, the greater the comeback”. Let displacement be an opportunity to mature and flourish.

Good vibes only 🙂 ,

Mutiur Khan

1. Most of my childhood years were spent here in NYC. However, when I was 8 my family and I moved to England for about a year. We definitely experienced displacement, and preferred living in NYC.
2. In high school, all I seriously focused on was sports. I dedicated a lot of time to practice and games and gave it my all. However, in my senior year I tore my ACL and required a surgery that took away my ability to walk for about 2 months. This is an example of leave taking, because I had to say goodbye and turn my back on the single that I cared the most about in high school.
3. Not to far away from my house, there is a park that I spent much of my childhood in. The park is named after the famous baseball player, Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto, however nobody calls it Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto Park. Everyone refers to it as smokey park. All the summer I’ve spent at that park, on the swings, in the playground, on the grass field, and playing basketball are very special to me. I am fond of those happy childhood memories, and smokey park has always been a place of joy for me.

Everybody can have their own interpretation and definition of the word “displacement”. Displacement can have an array of meanings depending on who is speaking on the subject. For me, displacement means a sense of not belonging or fitting in. It’s to not be comfortable with being uncomfortable. However, displacement is an opportunity to learn about yourself, and your peers. I experienced displacement in the beginning of my college career. High school was a breeze for me, I always gave half my effort and always managed to get by. I always waited until the last minute to do an assignment, and everything was all fun and games to me. Ultimately, I wasn’t wholeheartedly committed to learning and growing as a person.

I had very little time to transition from high school to college because I took summer courses. In the end of June, when I graduated from high school, I had just 3 weeks to shift my mentality and work ethic. However, I wasn’t aware that college was nothing like high school. I soon began to realize how committed every college student was to his/her classes. I knew in college giving half an effort would not get me through like it did in high school. More importantly, I learned that college isn’t about “getting through”. College is about investing in yourself, and learning about yourself as you learn about the world around you. I want the most I can get out of college.

The first month of college was hard on me. I was not used to being so independent, and college helped me realize how dependent I actually was. My biggest issue was planning and time management. I always forgot about assignments that were due because of poor planning. I tried cramming through work because I was running out of time but that wasn’t helping much. I learned I needed to look out for myself, and that the first major learning experience at college is to be independent and organized. I invested in a daily planner, I started setting alarms for everything and started working on assignment long before the deadline. It took me a while but I learned that college is the best facilitator for personal growth and I dedicated myself to getting the most out of college.

Stripping “displacement” of its negative connotation can make a world of a difference. Displacement doesn’t have to be unfortunate, it is stressful and exasperating, however it’s a process. The same way college is a process. I say let’s trust the process and learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, so displacement can shape us into the successful people we all want to be.

1. Since the narrator has done traveling around the world, it’s caused displacement in his life. How has displacement affected the narrators life, negatively and positively?

2. How have the authors roots to Alexandria influenced his life in New York City?

3. How can you see a shadow of your “mother land” in NYC, the way the author sees shadows of Alexandria in NYC?

Mutiur Khan