Page 29 - ADU Voice Volume 4 Issue 1

FALL 2024 • • • 29

“A Snapshot of Chaos” When taking this photo, the first feelings that consumed me were wonder, longing, and pride. I
was overlooking my country’s outstretched boarder as it touches the sea and kisses the sky.
This view is hugged by cedar trees,
their pines ever so visible, creating a
WRITTEN BY: BUSHRA MOHAMMED ALI (1094356) (AA Campus) striking image of our Lebanese identity
where we take pride by our cedar lands
and Mediterranean Sea, our captivating

tumbling upon an old Polaroid today, long nature and heaven touching mountains.
buried in a forgotten drawer for years, felt like This view captured my soul, so naturally
Sunlocking a time capsule, instantly unleashing a I had to freeze it in time. I don’t visit my
flood of memories. Memories of being the youngest country often, for that it’s soil, water, and sky
in the chaos, that was my childhood. There they were, call out for me every so often and the sense of
my two elder brothers, standing tall and proud as if they freedom overlaps me when I am being hugged
hadn’t spent most of their childhood conspiring against by its air. In the photo you can see how the
me. Don’t let their innocent faces fool you. If pranking nature twirls around the land and how the sea
little sister was a sport, these two would have won gold. touches the soil, ever so gentle and always
mesmerizing. Being born Lebanese puts you
They kept me out of their football games and terrified in a tornado of emotions from constant spur
me with date seeds, which I was convinced were of events happening in the country which
insects. Honestly, it wasn’t all bad. Sure, I was the makes us like a rising Phoenix, burning,
easiest target, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t part of dying, but always coming back to life to live,
their chaotic world. We had our moments, those rare to love, and to continue going forward. When
occasions when they’d let me crash their fun. Yet, we are met with such instances, we always
on most days, they’d bribe me with treats to keep turn back to look at our identity, our ethereal
me from tagging along for football. On their more land that we belong to and the sky that we
creative days, they spun scary stories about little girls look up to, at the sea that we take pride in and
getting kidnapped, all to ensure I stayed safely away. the nature that we envelope ourselves into. For that this photo, for me, has captured everything I am
and will always be, a proud Lebanese and a rising Phoenix that is always so strong and resilient.
And here’s me with my “twin” on a ride, my brother who looks so much like me that
everyonethought we were twins, even though we disagreed. Of course, I couldn’t enjoy the ride
alone; I had to be “supervised.” Not that he cared about my safety; he just wanted to squeeze
in next to me and ensure my fun was thoroughly ruined. Classic elder brother moves, right?

The last photo speaks for itself. I’m the only one smiling, while my brothers 3rd :“ Hope Revives All”
look as serious as ever. Now, surprisingly, over the years, we managed to fit
together in the same frame, with all three of us smiling. Our bond is stronger than WRITTEN BY: MARIYA THARANNUM (1086788) (AD Campus)
ever, built on love, laughter, and memories that even a date seed couldn’t break.

I
stand now on deserted ground, left barren And where once there flew birds and butterflies
and bereft. All that color, all that fragrance and bees atop my crown, eating from my fruits
A.D RUNNERS UP! that I grew from my own flesh, now and nectar, singing sweet songs, there is now
snatched away by that evil, evil creature. The silence. Screaming, piercing silence. Some days
wind! She ripped away my treasures, leaving I cry, some days I howl. Other days, I just...exist.
2nd:“From the Sea to the his captivating picture was taken me scarred. She did all this, without feeling an Standing still, unnoticed. Over the span of time,

in Lebanon in the courtyard
Sky: The Heart Calls” Tof Harissa Maronite Catholic ounce of pity. She laughed, high and shrill, as this particular activity developed into a habit. I
she tore away each flower like needles being discovered that I rather like the quiet. Like being
Church where the statue “Our Lady of plucked. Like the devil having shattered the a mere observer, without interfering with nature.
▶
Lebanon” is overlooking the city of Beirut. dreams of little children. My arms, once full I observe sprouts, as they suddenly emerge from
WRITTEN BY: RAYAN AL SAYED (1085628) (AD Campus) their seeds, and buds as they slowly unfold ▶
of blooms, now stood awkwardly bare.