Girlz. We be Stars

Must admit. I loved it. Wrote it up in my other Canada2beirut blog a while back but you know me. Gotta come with it here too. Sorry if it’s not completely related to what I say here. But. We’ll see meaning in it, nuh? We be good like that...

End of semester came. It’s the last class for first year English at University. They’re doing presentations. I’m sitting in the back listening. Taking notes. Thinking of possible grades to give.

Kids are good. Topic was on representations of Arab youth in middle eastern music. Got a whole range of artists in the presentations, all the way from French-Lebanese rap to Palestinian music from the occupied territories, to old Syrian classics.

One after the other. They got better.

But they were done. Had few minutes left so I went up there and I said “well, it’s over folks. Been a pleasure. I can’t thank you enough for such an amazing experience, and I’ve felt very welcome with you guys as this was my first semester in the country … “

They said thank you back. It ends there. No? no. It came.

Applause. Loud. Louder. Louder. Louder. Louder! With wooohooos and table stomping. On and on and on. Boy oh boy. Can’t express the feeling. You get. When. You hear an applause from the heart baby. From the heart.

That meant the whole world to me and everything in it. Maybe I like to be a star. On stage. Up in class. Performing in front of those eyes. Receiving people’s validation. Confirmation. Applause.

Maybe I’m cut like that. To survive on their love and growth and bonding.

Dunno. But if I die tonight, I die one happy girl. Who. Maybe. Loves being a star in her classroom.



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