Lusting for Literacy

"He did not merely recite scripture. He seemed to absorb it, drink and understand the verses as if the words were of secular, everyday origin rather than through the divine transmission of the Prophet. I wanted that same connection to text. I lusted for Joel because through him I first learned to desire the ability of others."

"Throughout my life, I have modeled myself after others. In high school, I would borrow other peoples’ characteristics. Sophomore year, I would catch myself wanting to become Sharma. I would be funnier, less serious, and very interested in Mos Def and black studies. Later I would want to become Seth, to get A’s without even going to class. And then by senior year, my wandering eyes would find Moran."

 

"The many elements to my personality were like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, stolen and collected from all those that I admired. The intelligence was borrowed from Seth; the racial commentary was a remnant of Sharma; the rare bouts of sincerity I learned from Moran. And the lust was from Joel. I had gradually imprinted these people into my psyche. I was a composite of these collected qualities and traits."

     First and foremost, I enjoyed the duality presented in this piece. Sadia Kalam seemed to bounce off her peers, integrating bits and pieces of her friends' personalities to form a more virtuous self. This topic has always interested me because without an opposite, or at least a differential, there can be no individual. There can be no hero without an antagonist, nor can there be a hot without a cold. The two sides of the poles in these examples shape each other, affirming the existence of their counterparts. I believe that everyone possesses this thieving quality because everyone is shaped by each other in some way. In essence, what I took from this piece is that Sadia would not be herself without the likes of Joel, Seth, Sharma and Moran in the same way that I cannot exist without a we or a them.