Raisa Tahsin
Writing for Engineers
Professor Missy Watson
February 26th, 2019
The Fearless Warrior in Us
I recall reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians for the first time, the springs of the couch creaked under my nine-year-old body while I bounced up and down ecstatically. Tucked away in the corner of my living room, in my own bubble, I remember hectically turning the pages trying to soak in as many words as possible in the shortest amount of time because god forbid, I have to put the book down before I can finish reading. My heart was racing; reality had slipped away from me as I was immersed in the realm of Greek mythology. Percy Jackson, my constant companion, was beside me battling a gorgon. Annabeth Chase used her tactical battle skills to gracefully counter an attack. In my mind I was beside them, helping to avert crisis and restore balance to the Earth once again. Percy Jackson and the Olympians tells the story of a young boy who discovers he is a demigod and joins a summer camp for people like him. All his life he felt alone and ostracized but when he finally met people he could relate to, he learned so much about the world and himself. At first glance, the series is just Percy and his friends going on missions and saving the world but there are much deeper themes such as friendship, confidence, acceptance, and self-love.
While reading the Percy Jackson series I experienced the unparalleled feeling of not wanting to put a book down for the first time. The anticipation of needing to know what happens next. Trying to stop my eyes from wandering to the end of the page because I could not handle not knowing. Never have I read with such vigor and enthusiasm; this book series showed me how wonderful reading can be, how each page was a new experience I could store in a mental drawer to look back at later. Rick Riordan, the author, brilliantly used imagery and sensory details that made it seem as if the entire story was playing out before my eyes in real time and this opened up a whole new world for me. I have never been a very creative person and always favored math and science from a young age. Prior to this, I didn’t know it was possible to imagine scenes so vividly even though I would never have thought of them on my own. Thus, the idea of concocting such wild and elaborate scenes from words on a page was foreign to me.
As most nine-year-old children, I did not have enough experience to form an individualized perspective on life. Going on planet-saving missions with Percy Jackson and his crew helped me form opinions, gain perspective and mature as a person. Even though Percy Jackson was the protagonist of the series, I was inspired most by Annabeth Chase who was a driving force in the success of each mission. She took the world by storm, entered each challenge head-on and had no regards to what others thought of her. She was kind, selfless and emotional but also strong, confident and unapologetic. From the beginning of the novel, she was a force to be reckoned with and I was captivated by her character right from the very start.
Annabeth was my first female role model, she was my inspiration and who I aspired to be. I knew I may not be able to battle titans as she does but there are so many other fights worth fighting. Annabeth taught me that being a girl does not mean I have to be quiet or unopinionated, rather I should voice my thoughts and be unapologetic. Her character demonstrated that I do not have to try hard and suppress myself to ensure others like me, but rather I should be bold and raw and emotional and then I will attract the right people. She helped me break through the cage of societal norms for South Asian girls and gave me the confidence to be who I wanted to be.
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series widened my horizon in the world of reading and gave me the opportunity to witness battles, conflicts, and adventures but also develop ideas on self-love, bravery, and courageousness which shaped me into the person I am today. I remember when I finished reading the series, all five books, my outlook on life had changed. I know this may sound a bit dramatic, but I never considered that I did not have to inherit the mentality of my heritage. On my journey of discovering myself and working on being more outspoken, my parents have been supportive, and, in my opinion, their mentality has shifted in some ways as well. Because of Annabeth Chase, I gained the courage to break free from the shackles of Asian culture where girls are taught that being well-mannered and liked by all should be my priority. She taught me that no obstacle in life is big enough to give up on my dreams. From her I learned to embrace my nature and that there is nothing wrong with going against what is expected of me. I am eternally grateful to Annabeth Chase for showing me that I can be a fearless warrior like her.
Literature is such a big driving force in the changing of mentalities and perspectives. Through literature, I was able to gain an entirely new way of thinking and literature has affected so many others in the same way. My best friend, Yeasha Rahman, recalls how reading the Uglies by Scott Westerfield in middle school helped her overcome colorism which is so deeply engraved in South Asian cultures. The Uglies is about a dystopian society where when kids turn 16, they get an operation that transforms them to a stunningly attractive person. The main character, Tally, dreams of getting this surgery so she isn’t one of the “uglies” anymore. Just when she turns 16 the villain of this story, Dr. Cable, blackmails Tally. If Tally doesn’t go to the Smoke, where rebel “uglies” live away from the societal pressures of being perfect, to get intel he will never let her get the surgery that would make her pretty. In the Smoke, she meets many people who talk about their opinion of “pretty” and share philosophies. After spending time in the Smoke and making friends there, Tally learns that beauty goes much deeper than beyond the surface. She starts to doubt the importance she gives to physical beauty and comes to the realization that instead of changing herself to be accepted by others; she should accept herself for who she is, and only then will she be truly happy. Not only does she learn to accept herself, but her definition of beauty expanded, it dawned upon Tally that physical appearance is not the only characteristic that makes someone beautiful
In the Uglies, Tally had an awakening and realized what she truly wanted when she was blackmailed. Yeasha had her own awakening in high school where she learned self-care and self-love. Posts about people saying, “so what?” to societal expectations were scattered all over social media and this paved an entirely new era of embracing yourself. Soon, it became the new wave. People wanted to look different. Soon her insecure thoughts slowly started to disappear. After her awakening, when she visited Bangladesh towards the end of high school her aunt commented on her dark complexion. Yeasha recalls her previous behavior and how she would agree and search up tips on how to lighten her skin, but now, she didn’t care. It dawned upon her that “if I had one person dislike my skin tone, I had a hundred appreciate it. The positive outweighed the negative. Me being light or dark skinned doesn’t change what I’m doing and who I am as a person.” Yeasha related to Tally, they both wanted to become this image of pretty that was portrayed by society to finally be accepted. In retrospect, Yeasha enjoyed reading Tally’s self-acceptance journey, learning to look at things in a new light and eventually learning to love herself. Yeasha, a warrior in her own story, fought through the obstacles placed before her and finally learned to love and accept herself. Truly an honorable battle.
As Bengali-American girls, Yeasha, and I have shared many similar experiences that have shaped us into who we are today. Our culture is one of love, family, community and amazing history. However, Bangladesh has been riddled with “societal norms” that put immense pressure on young boys and girls to aspire to be something other than themselves. Specifically, two major issues in Bangladesh are sexism and colorism. It has been engraved in Bengali culture for parents to raise their daughters to be quiet, soft-spoken, and docile. From a young age, girls are conditioned to keep their opinions to themselves and strive to be liked by everyone. Physical appearance is a big deal in Bengali societies, recently Bengalis have begun to overcome these standards but one trait they cannot seem to destigmatize is dark skin. By following Western and European culture, light skin is romanticized in Bangladesh and people who are darker are told to look into skin lightening techniques. These issues have been so engrained into Bengali mentality over the years and they have been passed on through generations on end. Fighting issues so much bigger than yourself can seem impossible at times but all it takes is someone to get the ball rolling and support from the right people. In our case, Yeasha and I were able to break past the norms forced upon us through brilliantly crafted female role models that inspired us to think differently.
It is important we read books we can relate to, but it is equally as important to read books that are thought-provoking and challenge our perspectives. I’m sure that Rick Riordan and Scott Westerfield never expected that their writing would help two young girls overcome years of societal pressures and Asian stereotypes. For Yeasha, the Uglies provided a new lens for perspective. Through Tally’s self-love journey, Yeasha was able to embark on her own. Percy Jackson and the Olympians gave me a role model and the inspiration to challenge what was expected of me. Annabeth was a role model to me, and Tally was Yeasha in an alternate universe, such different relationships yet we come to the same conclusion, there is no such thing as societal norms. Normal means being yourself.
