Light-Upon-Light

Table of Contents 3 4 Dedication 5 Table of Contents 6 Evanescent: Smile And Moonlight 8 Ineffable Epiphany: An Ode to Expression 10 Blossoming at The Courts 12 Advice: Longing for my Tomorrow 14 Nefarious: Fear Siblings by Birth, Friends by Choice2

DedicationI dedicate this book to all the children who look up to the stars anddream. Young souls who want to grow up to see a world full of peace. Itshould be a world where people are not scared to speak up forhumanity. A special thanks goes out to all of my English teachers(especially Mrs. Sweeney), my parents, and to the tree who's life wassacrificed for my words to be printed on. May your dreams, wishes, andhopes come true. -Umair K. 3

Table of ContentsI) Evanescent: Smile and MoonlightII) Ineffable Epiphany: An Ode to ExpressionIII) Blossoming at the CourtsIV) Advice: TomorrowV) Nefarious: FearVI) Siblings by Birth, Friends by Choice 4

Evanescent: Smile And MoonlightEvening shadows tiptoe to what the sun has saidAs I stroll down the calm and serene ocean late at nightWatching the sun dip gently in the cooling twilight airSo gently, watch the dark erase the last of fading lightI stroll down the calm and serene ocean late at nightWhile twilight paints it's crimson colors on a canvas vast and wideSo gently, watch the dark erase the last of fading lightTaking away the aura, and the light of her smileWhile twilight paints it's crimson colors on a canvas vast and wideI forgive the shadows for starless night skiesTaking away the aura, and the light of her smileTime suspends to one moment, in the fragile hush of timeI forgive the shadows for starless night skiesYet tears flow from two vivid eyes due to the loss of the lively giggleTime suspends to form one moment, in the fragile hush of timeSo innocent was her smile, only being transientYet tears flow from two vivid eyes due to the loss of the lively giggleWatching the sun dip gently in the cooling twilight airSo innocent was her smile, only being transientEvening shadows tiptoe to what the sun has said 5

Ineffable Epiphany: An Ode to ExpressionOh expression,You are of the simplest of truths ever mined.With radiating humming in my blood you are the meaning to life.And to dance upon your heart’s strings brings a joyous aura into theatmosphere of night.You are my hero.Oh expression,Into everyone's heart you put a beating life.Howl in the name of power to bring friends together,The rush of your compassion is like the waves caressing the shore.You leave everyone wanting so much more.Oh expression,I am crushed in your fits of glory and your screaming for more passion.When light needs a body to behold itself it comes only to you.For you declare and guide man and thought into the gleaming direction.Your erupting, tumbling, and breathing brings to us great ease.Oh expression,The moment texture tempted to tease with a thousand sensations,All it took was one man with your powers.One man with the power of word,To bring change into this astray world. 6

Oh expression,You are the bridge connecting multiple nations.When time needs the umbrage of it's ubiquity to be understood,You rise above the odds in retaliation and in way of peace,Without you, there would be no opinion. 7

Blossoming at The Courts Never had I imagined that the day would come. The sun with itspowerful rays was up early in the morning, waiting for my return from apeaceful slumber. The season had begun just a mere two months agoand this was the day of the Greater Middlesex County Championships.With the help of a warm shower and heavy breakfast, I was ready for thecourts. I picked up my companion, my trustworthy racket and rushedtowards the car.It was at nine in the morning that I reached school andawaited for the long awaited bus. A bus that would either lead to monthsworth of victory, or a great loss. Physically I was ready, though on amental level I was lost. On the bus ride to the courts, butterflies wereoccupying my stomach as if it were a sanctuary and I was very well awarethat if I didn’t get a hold of myself, that these fluttering insects would turninto beastly dragons. It was then that a senior players words came andhit me. I will stand on the shoulders of the people that came before me,and there is no question to the fact, but every generation has the chanceto make it better. That was really on my mind. I really wanted to startmatching the hearts and minds to the title. First of all, I was really lucky. My partnership with my doublescompanion,was a strategic company. He is really the reason that I gotthis far. We unloaded our gear from the bus and went to our tree. We satdown our equipment and had a solid talk on playing, having fun,strategizing, and concentrating on the game. We ended off our grouphuddle with a chant that rocked my ear drums and gave me the energy todefeat my nervousness.Twenty schools had gathered on the field ofThomas Edison Park, and the smell of competition was in the air. Mypartner and I took a long glance at all of the doubles pairs and then thedesignated matches were off. In round one we got a by and won thematch, contributing to our schools score of 4 wins by the end of thematch. It was now time for round two. Three individuals playing singlesfrom JFK got eliminated. I walked up to the courts in a welcomingmanner and shook hands with my opponents. My partner and I had abrief discussion and we began our match. With each serve they returned 8

the ball even harder. At the net my partner played very intellectually andput the ball away in methods where the opponents could not evenattempt of reaching. We took the first six matches with ease. The scorebeing 6-0 we were quite confident that we would win. The losing score ofthe opponent team however, drew them to work harder. With thepowerful rays of the sun within our eyes and with the flash of thephotographer’s flash, we lost the next two games. Our coach watchingus, came to us with advice. Our form was correct, but our minds werenot in the right place. With her motivation, we went back on to the courtsand won the game 8-2 in a eight game pro-set. That was a day that I shall never forget. It marks just the beginning tomy life in the realm of tennis. On the way back home on the bus, weenjoyed snacks and discussed the highlights of everyone's games. I felt asense of accomplishment and the seniors now expect a lot from me inthe future. At the end of the day as I looked up to the night sky, I sawopportunity for growth and was grateful for the win. It was just going toget a lot harder from then on. Both, with tennis being a mental andphysical game. 9

Advice: Longing for my Tomorrow Yesterday's’ minds mixed with dedication, hard work, and ingenuityhas resulted in today. As a guiding principle, life shrinks and life expandsin direct proportion to your willingness to assume risk. Every time I tookthese bigger risks, the opportunity for a bigger payout was always there.Out of the eighty some years that an individual lives, not even a fourth ofthe time is spent doing things that really value. After high school comescollege and then the real world of life begins. All the time I have familymembers ask me about what I want to become, but simply put I justdon’t have an answer yet. This life has to be filled with varying moments,and in order for me to make the best use of time, I must choosesomething that I am happy with and that is different. I will end up spending 180 days for at least 13 years within classrooms.As an adult, I don’t want to get up everyday only to go to a desk and tostare at a computer screen for eight hours. This decision is no way aneasy one as it puts one’s future and life into the big picture. This is whereopportunity and risk come in. Life is a daring adventure. I believe that weshould not soar with time, but rather ride on its back. Despite the worldputting you down, even close family members, do what your heartinstructs you to do. As my cousin put it into his perspective,the judgingpeople, their opinions don’t matter because they don’t matter.Judgmental people are of a lower morale authority of those who don’tjudge. And we, the people who don’t judge, have a responsibility to crush,to destroy those mean, judgmental bullies. And we do that with anoverwhelming positivity and we do that with our extreme open-mindedness. The haters are always going to hate and hope that younever see happiness. They live lives yearning for what they don’t haveand are filled with jealousy. This advice that I received, may be the bestin terms of following my self and respecting my self image.This meansthat I should be to take opportunities and risks despite the negativeoutcomes that they might yield. My future is not going to consist of alinear path towards success. Rather, it is going to have its ups anddowns. It is with the implementations of mistakes that an individual 10

must make themselves better. Don’t let other people’s opinions swayyou, yes follow other people’s advice, though listen to your own heart. 11

Nefarious: Fear As we grow up, we're often encouraged to think of fear as a weakness,just another childish thing to discard like baby teeth or roller skates. Asstated by John Lennon, “There are two basic motivating forces: fear andlove. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, weopen to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, andacceptance. “ My previous fear ties in with the people that are the closestto me. Parents are well known for wishing their children, ‘sweet dreams’when tucking them in for the night, but I experience tremendous fear asthe sun sets and my body insists that it is time for bed. I may not havefeared the darkness that glooms, but I did fear the dreams that awaitedfor me on the other side of sleep, as I closed my eyes and drifted away.Drifted away to another world, that took over my body and soul, leavingme motionless and paralyzed. The figments of my imagination roamedfree and wild, taking what was close to me and snatching it away. Myemotions were considered toys and were played with as I tossed andturned yearning for the night to end. It has been five years since thisphobia had taken over my slumber. Of these two have been of beingafraid, which has resulted in constant loss of sleep. I believed that what Iwas imagining and seeing would one day come to life. The dreams that Ifaced seemed real, and were often the ones that hurt me the most. Butwhen the same dream repeated on occasion, I was left paralyzed. One night, when a dream returned for the third time, at the momentmy persecutors were about to renew their pursuit, a feeling of truth wassuddenly awakened in my mind. It was a dream, where anyone thatplayed a significant role in my life was being snatched away suddenlyand violently. Slowly one by one friends and family members were takenaway by a shadowy figure and the emotions that I felt just had to be real.Instead of fleeing, and by what must indeed under the circumstanceshave been an effort of will, I leaned against a wall and resolved tocontemplate with the closest attention the shadowy figures that I hadglimpsed. On a night when lighting was illuminating the sky, this dreamseemed to continue. I fixed my eyes on the principal attacker, who 12

somewhat resembled darkness of evil, with the figure having a sharplaugh and huge grin. The hairs of its eyebrows were thick , a woundappeared on its shoulder, and a crimson red liquid dripped from its longclaws. I usually never remember dreams, though this vivid pictureremains in detail due to its harsh effects and repetition. In its screechingvoice it spoke,”I will take away anyone who puts happiness into your life,and once that is done, I will come after you!” That night I awoke and layawake, screaming for my parents. As they came to comfort me, I didn’ttell them about the dream due to me not having them worry. The fear ofsleeping was put into me. Though as time progressed and I understoodthat it was nothing but my imagination, my fears dissipated. When I think of what I fear now, it's very simple. I imagine my life, whatmy life would have been like without the educational opportunities that Ihave received. Fear is an indicator. Sometimes it shows you what youshouldn't do. More often than not it shows you exactly what you shoulddo. The best results that I've had in life, the most enjoyable times, haveall been from asking a simple question: what's the worst that canhappen? Fears stop individuals from living life to the fullest. 13

Siblings by Birth, Friends by Choice For four peaceful years it was only me. No fighting, no screaming, nosibling drama. I was four years old and had just started pre-k when Icame home from school to find out my mom was pregnant. I was veryworried being the oldest child that I was going to get less attentionaround the house and was going to be relied on to help out with the newbaby. As the school year continued, I started to actually get excited aboutthe idea of having a new brother or sister. A. From the day that my sisterlay eyes at this majestic world, my life had taken a drastic turn. No longerwould I be the only child. No longer would I get all of the attention. Andno longer would I be the only one in my parents’ eyes. It was February 11,2005 in JFK Medical hospital that a new soul was born. I knew the timewas nearing, but I had no idea it would be that night. It was two o'clockam when I was sleeping. I had lazily put on my pajamas and crawled intomy bed that seemed to have been calling my name for hours. Flippingthe light switch, I rolled over and snuggled with my favorite pillow. In themiddle of the night the phone rang and my grandmother awakened meto the glad tidings and news. Named Rida, my sister came home dayslater to a welcome committee of family and friends. It was a new changefor me, actually a very drastic one. Excitement engulfed every bloodvessel as the cute little baby slept within a deep sleep. For it was I whowas going to teach her, and for it was I that was going to be her closestfriend. But these bold emotions unfortunately did not last that long.Months went by with people visiting and wishing their congratulations. Ibecame a speck of dust lost within a thick carpet as friends and familyspent time with me. I will agree to it, jealousy did feed me, though it wasthrough my sister alone that I came at ease. The cute child would stare atme and play. She would laugh, make different sounds, fall, and shelearned how to crawl right in front of me. I saw the early years of herchildhood take root as I was there when she spoke her first word and Iwas there when she first walked. These moments brought me closer toher, though a scar still remained from before. As she began to slowly talkand walk, she gained more attention than ever. Yearning and crying was I 14

for my past life to be revived. I fed the gracious soul and spent countlesshours with her, because of this mysterious connection. Soon time camewhere I could not let her out of sight. She depended on me to know whatshe wanted. This connection was tightened by a bond of love,compassion, and a sick sense. In the end, what resulted from this newfriendship and previous jealousy was an atmosphere of understandingand love. She is my sister by birth, though a friend by choice. Time hasgone by with her starting school. Soon she will promote from elementaryschool to walk through the doors of middle school. Our relationship hasevolved with time. The compassion that once was does not remain. Weargue, we fight, and scream into each others faces. We both shall neverforget the initial years as they won’t come back. 15