Circumspecte

*This article was published in the Oct 30, 2008 edition of the Mount Holyoke News. Many years from now people will talk about the “Obama Effect.”Generations will talk about the revolutionary movement ignited by one man’s fervent belief in people’s ability to come together to effect positive change. Should he win the election, he will be known as the first black President of the United States. Should fate decide to swing the pendulum in the other direction, he will go down as the first black democratic Presidential candidate in the United States. That is all good and dandy. What I do not want him to be known as is the knight in shining armor who rode past Africa when he became president. True, Obama might not be caught dead wearing shining armor, and if he did, many Africans would probably stare at him in bemusement rather than despair. However, within the context of him being the savior many Africans have been awaiting for centuries, the probability of a major upset is certainly high.

So in my economic development seminar, we talk about a lot of things. One of the things we discussed last week was the effect of the financial crisis on African countries. Many of us agreed it might end up doing more harm to African countries and essentially worsen their already bad economic situations. But after some thought I decided to play devil's advocate. What if I said that the global financial crisis might be bad for the rest of the world, but could essentially be a good thing for many African countries? Would you consider me plain ignorant, naive or maybe, an extremist who knows nothing about what she's saying? Probably. I would too. But before you start throwing out the accusations, take a minute to consider a couple of things. Trade: ---------- It is expected that the level of global trade will go down over the next couple of months due to the relative lack of capital in the global system and as a result, reduced levels of production. Argument: --------------- This

I feel the need to write, for I know not how else to express myself To let these words surge forth from inside me, a weak reflection of the intensity of my feelings, yet nevertheless quite helpful in relaying what the blur of sensations is like I feel the need to formulate - form everything up word by word before It is too late I have many questions, and I ask them seemingly endlessly with no response in sight And even with age the structure of the questions but little change But still I write on, for I know not how else In a world where virtually everything is illusion and the only truths seem to be incommunicable So for what use are these words that I write, when the language of the soul yet remains a mystery?

Okay, since I seem to be on a trend of being very personal with my entries, here’s one that might be pushing the edge a bit. In recent times I find myself opposing or rejecting just about everything I thought I knew about myself, life, and so on. It’s literally getting out of control because I’m encountering new ways of thinking about things, about doing things, and about reacting to things that happen, and while it is all very scary to me, at the same time it is so refreshing and exhilarating. So once again, I encounter this question: “Who are you?” Just a mere couple of months ago, I wrote an entry about having fulfilled a whole bunch of dreams, and even going beyond those of my wildest imagination. Now, I am at a point where I have a foggy notion of my goals…but nothing so elaborate. I’m graduating in May inshallah, and I haven’t an inkling of what my next step is going to be immediately after. But come to think about it, I’m not that worried cos I happened upon a similar stage with

I often remark to myself about how similar our lives are to the very systems we set up. Like cars speeding on the highway, we seem to head in similar directions but often end up at different destinations Now, before you contend the fact that we head in similar directions, stop and think for a moment. Yes, stop right there in the middle of that highway and ponder about a couple of things. Namely: your life, and the lives of others. What does everyone want? To fulfill one dream or another, to find or discover something, to have more or less of something, to change the state of a situation, thing, or idea. Even a person. How do we get to where we want to go? Now that's where the cars speeding on a highway analogy comes in. Some of us decide that we cannot possibly get there with other people tagging along. So instead, we decide to work all day and all night, to buy that "multi-turbo" car with the fastest technology - as must be evident, I know next to nothing about cars. So,

I bumped into myself the other day I said sorry and almost walked on But there was something strikingly familiar That made me wonder where I knew this stranger So I turned back to call her And there she stood wearing this wistful smile “You didn’t even recognize me did you?” The sadness in her voice was almost painful to hear “I’m sorry but who are you?” I asked She shook her head but answered all the same I am she who you see when into a mirror you look Tis sad you do not know me for I am you “My image you mean? That’s what I see in a mirror” “Nay – I am more than just the image you see in a mirror I am what you should have been working on Instead of your image, how others see you I am your personality, the entirety of your emotions Your thoughts, beliefs, emotions and perceptions I am the part of you that cries, that feels I am the you you do not know I am thin even though your flesh is not I have been starved of attention for so long Whilst you worked on what others see Your face, y