Okay, so the question was, is there anything that you've seen other people, like you do that other people, that you thought was normal and other people don't. But I don't, I can't really think of anything. But my best friend, she bites her ice cream. And she finds it normal and I feel like it's the weirdest thing. I know multiple people do it. I think my dad does it, but it's so weird. Like there's these things called mochi which are like, it's like some type of like flour type thing. I don't really know what to call it, around the outside and then ice cream on the inside and you bite into it. Which I understand that and I used to hate them because my teeth would be so sensitive. But now I'm absolutely obsessed with them. They're amazing! But, she bites into like ice cream that's like an ice cream cone or like bites it off of her spoon. And I find it like it makes me cringe, how does that not hurt your mouth?

I'm grateful today for the good weather because it's super pretty out and warm out. And then also, I just recently passed my driver's test. So, I'm really happy about that, so then I can start driving. This week was really stressful thought for me because I had so many tests to study for including my driving test. And then, like last week I had a radio test to take. So I was studying or maybe it was two weeks ago, I can't remember now. But, I've been studying a lot lately and it's just been taking a toll on me and being really hard on me. I am very excited that school is ending soon and it's gonna be summer because it is hard to stay in school and it is hard to be in school and do all this work all the time. And even though I am completely virtual,I still get a ton of homework and I feel like people that are in person think that since I am virtual, I don't get as much homework or I have more time to do it. When in fact, I get a lot more homework than them and it's a way more like -- for me, it's more stressful because there's no big bright side to it. Other than being, not like having to really interact with people, but it's still a lot of homework. So I'm thankful that this school year is coming to an end and I can finally get a break and hang out with maybe a friend of mine or two and relax and not have to worry about my grades for a couple months.s more stressful because there's no big bright side to it. Other than being, not like having to really interact with people, but it's still a lot of homework. So I'm thankful that this school year is coming to an end and I can finally get a break and hang out with maybe a friend of mine or two and relax and not have to worry about my grades for a couple months.s more stressful because there's no big bright side to it. Other than being, not like having to really interact with people, but it's still a lot of homework. So I'm thankful that this school year is coming to an end and I can finally get a break and…

So the question I think is, what’s something difficult that's helped you gain gratitude? So, a couple years ago, I tore my ACL and meniscus when I was playing volleyball. So, that was something really difficult for me. It was about a nine month recovery, nine, ten months. I missed two volleyball seasons. So, that was really hard for me because I mean I love playing, it's my favorite thing to do and it was hard to I guess see everybody, see all my friends playing when I couldn't but -- and the difficulty of just learning how to walk and run again, when it was stuff I could do like months before. It felt like impossible and I felt like I would never get there. But I think that whole experience helped me gain gratitude for like everything that your body can do for you. Like not only walk and run, but or I didn't -- not even just missing playing volleyball, but just missing being able to like walk or stand up by myself. I think it made me and it also made me more grateful for those I had, just like how amazing the people in my life were and how much I guess it's like you say, you don't know how much you have till it's gone. So, that experience is really difficult for me but it was also one that helped me become more grateful for the people in my life, for the sport, and just for like the basic things that you think you'll always be able to do until you can't.t know how much you have till it's gone. So, that experience is really difficult for me but it was also one that helped me become more grateful for the people in my life, for the sport, and just for like the basic things that you think you'll always be able to do until you can't.t know how much you have till it's gone. So, that experience is really difficult for me but it was also one that helped me become more grateful for the people in my life, for the sport, and just for like the basic things that you think you'll always be able to do until you can't.

One thing I'm grateful for this week is food because I'm Muslim and in the month, this is the month of Ramadan that's currently happening right now. And during the month of Ramadan, we fast from sunrise to sunset. So I've been fasting and I've been, you know, as usual when you're fasting, I was very hungry. I'm still hungry. And yeah, so I'm very grateful for food. And fasting has helped me realize what these unfortunate poor people have to go through every day with their lack of food and their hunger, which I can barely like, barely go through. So, it's helped me build a new appreciation and sympathize with them. Anything that's been particularly difficult? One thing that's been difficult this week is obviously fasting. It started off difficult, but I'm still getting used to it.

Yesterday was one of my friends birthday and coincidentally her birthday is on April Fools day. Didn't get to prank her, but it reminded me of this time where I pranked my cousin. So my friend from Canada came over to my cousin's house and we were also there and for April Fools we took some green toothpaste and we put it inside like a plastic bag and smushed it up. So it looked kind of like, I don't know like cream, like a sweet cream that you eat and we went to him and we were like, "hey, look we made this like frosting kind of thing. And we dyed it green you should try it, it's really good." I don't understand how he believed that, but he did. And he was so mad after he ate it cuz it was like the spicy kind of toothpaste. And he chased us around the whole house. Yeah, that wasn't pretty but his dad got me back.He was like -- he boiled eggs and one of them was raw and it was supposed to be for my mom, the prank, but he did it on me instead. And I like, you know how when you break an egg, you have to like crack the shell, so I did that and the egg got all over my hands and everything. And so now whenever my uncle tells me to peel an egg when he's cooking I get suspicious of him cuz I don't trust the eggs anymore.

I mean, I don't think I do talk on the phone more than I did, like before the pandemic. Maybe if I look at it from like a really really far back standpoint like probably. But, I mean I send -- instead of talking on the phone, I don't really like talking on the phone it kind of annoys me because then when I want to hang up I feel bad. Because like I don't wanna -- I'm not gonna say "I want to hang up. I don't wanna talk to you anymore," because that's just rude. So I have to be like, maybe I have to make an excuse or I have to be like wait for something I actually have to do or be like, "I'm sorry I have to go. I have to do my homework." And I just I feel bad doing that. And so I made up a way to fix that for myself. I just send my friends videos of me talking. If they don't wanna watch it then that's fine, they don't watch it, they don't respond, I totally understand that. And then if they send me a video back and I don't respond right away, they know that I'm doing something but I don't have to say something right back because it's just in like a text message video or like a Snapchat video. So it works out perfectly and it's just so much easier and I don't have to like be like having a full-on conversation. We're just sending each other videos back and forth.s just in like a text message video or like a Snapchat video. So it works out perfectly and it's just so much easier and I don't have to like be like having a full-on conversation. We're just sending each other videos back and forth.s just in like a text message video or like a Snapchat video. So it works out perfectly and it's just so much easier and I don't have to like be like having a full-on conversation. We're just sending each other videos back and forth.

Have I ever met someone that changed my life? You know, that’s a tough one. You know in a way everyone you meet changes your life, you know, it's like you have these little connections that can really influence you, I guess, I don't know. It's like that one smile, like you're walking you're feeling upset and you see some random person just say "hello, how are you doing today?" And you say "good" because you're not going to tell a stranger that you’re not good. And they say "oh that's good to hear because you're a human being and you deserve happiness." Which I don't think many people are going to say that because we're people, but if that happens you don't technically like you haven't actually met the person but that's gonna stay with you. The next time you're upset you're going to say no this random person didn't know a thing about me and they said I'm important, so heck yeah I'm important, yay. I don't know maybe I got a little too philosophical for my own good.

Most of these days I usually spend most of my time with my cousins, they just moved from North Carolina so every weekend they visit. I can't really hang out with my friends because you know COVID and stuff, and their parents are really strict to and my parents are strict on that too. So like I don't really hang out with my friends anymore. And because I’m a freshman it's kind of hard, I don't really know anyone at high school and it's hard to make friends cause half of the -- more than half of the school year I haven't even seen these people's faces, haven't even talked to them. So it's kind of awkward at school, especially the teacher, when the teacher is talking like no one answers the questions, it's super awkward because usually we just type it in the chat like in Zoom. So yeah,school is just really weird right now.

So what am I grateful for? And I know it's really hard for my dad not to be home, but I am really grateful that he gets to be with his parents. Especially with my pop-pop for his first chemo treatment, so he can just be there to support them and it sounds like they've been having a really great time. My grandparents got to watch a video of a New Year's production, my best friend and I did with our siblings and so I'm just really thankful that my dad has the opportunity to do that and stay safe from COVID. We've been hard core quarantining, my grandparents have their vaccine now. So, they really are being safe and I was so thankful that my dad got to do that because he really needed to have that time with his parents and it's been like a really good, I think relationship changing time for him and so I've been really thankful for that. So anything difficult? I kind of described the stuff with my pop-pop, but I think I'm just struggling in general with COVID right now because there are a lot of things I haven't processed. It's just everything has been so heavy, like it's first of all really hard for me to be so isolated from people, like I never thought of myself as a social person but during COVID I've realized I still need that contact with people and you know, just seeing my friends in person. So that's been a real struggle for me. And so I guess I just really haven't been processing things well, like just not working through my emotions with that or thinking about it a lot.m just struggling in general with COVID right now because there are a lot of things I haven't processed. It's just everything has been so heavy, like it's first of all really hard for me to be so isolated from people, like I never thought of myself as a social person but during COVID I've realized I still need that contact with people and you know, just seeing my friends in person. So that's been a real struggle for me. And so I guess I just really haven't been processing things well, like just not working through my emotions with that or thinking about it a lot.m just struggling in general with COVID right now…

What do you think would be some good ways to show education -- show better education for students? One of the things that I think is critical and that I'm working on, which will, which has an indirect impact on education is trying to increase the diversity in our faculty. As you know that we can clearly identify with people who look like us or who dress like us. So, we are working towards diversification of faculty, where we want to bring in more underrepresented faculty members on board. So that our students, the cohort of students that we have in college today can relate to them and know that what they are dreaming for will actually be true someday if they keep working hard.