Recent Changes

Sometimes I wish I was a kite detached from my string of “Hazara” and flying away over the pomegranate tree where Amir read me stories, and I would be somewhere with my family and we could live together on the same street. And we’d read each other stories and fly kites and laugh and people who were angry or bad would not be able come there. I know that’s a bad thought to have, but I still have it every once in a while. I sometimes pray that I will be allowed into a place like that someday.
I believe in kites, and people, and their ability to be strong when things go badly.
Hannah Lambrecht

I believe in uncertainty, my life to this point has been a river of change, sorrowful and catastrophic. Today I enter Pakistan, the close twin to Afghanistan, the country of my birth, now tinted with the red with communism, red with Russian blood, red with blood of friends, family,
Afghanistan- kabobs, kites, Hassan... lost in a sea of red,
I believe in a sea of uncertainty, I don't know what America will hold, I don't know what I will do with my poems, I don't know... How will we make a living Baba has lost every thing... His status, house, money, will I be able to enrich myself enough to pursue a writing career? We might however it is not guaranteed...
How can I anyone human know what is in the universe, was it created by Allah? The Clerics say so but my father said never to trust them, What do they know of life they live in a box filled with verse and ideology. And if I die today they can't assure me of if I will go to Heaven or Hell they can't, assure me if there is even a Heaven or a Hell... I believe in uncertainty.
Will I ever see Hassan again? I am uncertain, he lives in a foreign a country now one that is dead to me, how can I tell whether he will survive the monster that is war devouring everything in it's path. Will he be wounded , maimed, killed, or untouched, I don't know?
All I can be sure of in this life is that it will be uncertain, I can't be certain that I will see the next day, that I will find a wife, Hassan, God, I am uncertain...

I believe in kites. I believe that they are representations of what humanity could be. Running kites is something I’m good at. I’m not very sure why, but I know how they work, just like I know how people work.
Because kites are like people. They can be temperamental and sail away on the wind, and never come back. There’s a hidden sort of strength, though the fabric is thin and the string can break, just like a person.
I believe that running kites is like figuring out how a person works for the first time. You can watch the way they sit in the sky, and from there you can see how they will end up. Sometimes I’m wrong, but not often.
Sometimes I wish I was a kite detached from my string of “Hazara” and flying away over the pomegranate tree where Amir read me stories, and I would be somewhere with my family and we could live together on the same street. And we’d read each other stories and fly kites and laugh and people who were angry or bad would not be able come there. I know that’s a bad thought to have, but I still have it every once in a while. I sometimes pray that I will be allowed into a place like that someday.
I believe in kites, and people, and their ability to be strong when things go badly.

This day affected me more than I could have ever imagined. I could barely bring myself to look at him. I didn't eat and I didn't sleep. The guilt from it all was eating me from the inside. When I framed him for stealing my birthday presents and he left my house I thought it would get better. It didn't. Even when I sought out a new life in America with my father I couldn't forget that day. My life was a living hell. Nothing could change how I felt and even when I thought it was getting better I would have a dream again.
After living in America for over 10 years, I journeyed back to Afghanistan. My father's best friend, Rahim Khan, had called me. He told me that there was a way I could get better. He knew what I had done even though I had never been brave enough to tell him. When I arrived, I was in a country I did not know. The people were scared and everything was broken. I met with Rahim Khan and he told me that I would be able to save Hassan's son. He showed me letters that Hassan had addressed to me. Rahim Khan had saved them for my return. The letters he had written to me talked about his life. He had grown up to live his life even better than I had. He had forgiven me so easily. He didn't resent what I had done in any way. He still believed that I was his best friend. He even told his son about the times we spent playing in the snow or hitting our neighbors windows with projectiles from our slingshots. He seemed to have forgotten how terribly I had treated him. The truth is he didn't really forget, he just forgave. He was a better man than I was for that. From that day forth, I lived my life. I told my wife what I had done, no longer ashamed of my actions. His forgiveness was a gift that would trump all others. I no longer live with guilt and regret. I knew that he was happy and that was really all that I was looking for. Forgiveness has healed me. This I believe.
Meredith Sherock
This I Believe...
I believe in the approval of my father. Growing up under his towering shadow, I have been a shell of a lost child. Without a father, without the true unfaltering love of a family, I have always desired the forgiveness of his eye. Every insult behind my back criticizing my weak character, every praise focused towards Hassan, every drink in his office that I could not sit by his side, the void within me expands. I want him to acknowledge my existence.
Those few moments where I have found peace within myself, Baba was never there to congratulate me. His investment in my interests has never been present. When I found confidence in my writing, not once did Baba ask to read my stories. The rare surge of happiness I found in my work was quickly killed by the presence of my father. The smile on my face was nothing he should have feelings towards. This was just another episode where Baba would turn upon me with an indifferent glance, encourage me to figure life out on my own, and never again to bother him with my silly interests.
With a father known throughout the area as being so open to love, I find it ironic how he refuses to show it to his own son. Since I was young, Baba has always put earning the respect of others before establishing himself at home. How I hate those orphans that he saved. Only a man like Baba could love the millions of fatherless children before his own fatherless son at home. The character that he exhibits towards Hassan is what pains me the most. I, his true child, is left in the shadow day after day by a poor, worthless Hazara that has done nothing to prove his character. I cannot understand why Baba is able to favor anyone over me, when I have been loyal to earning his trust since I was born. Even though I acknowledge my natural order above these strangers in Baba's life, he fails to figure it out. I have lived too long under these unknown people who absorb Baba's life. Every time he ignores me in his office, too busy working for me to tell him about my day, the feeling within me that desires his time only heightens. All I want is to prove to Baba that I am worthy of his time. I want him to know that I am worth all the respect that he shows towards others, that I am not the coward that he thinks I am. I am not an empty person.
Why is it that a child of his own blood cannot represent him sufficiently? Every blow that Baba makes towards me only expands my belief that I am not worthy of his past. Baba, known so well for his courage and inability to falter under any power, produced a son so cowardly and alien to his ways. All I want is to be like him. To win. I want to find a moment where Baba will pridefully claim me as his own, the son of blood and virtue that he always wanted. I believe that I can be capable of his approval, but only if I find a feat so significant that he finally realizes my existence. I believe that once I find this moment I will find happiness, a confidence in myself and my relationship with Baba that I have never experienced. Only when I become Baba will he call me his son.
My first word was his name. What I need now is for him to know mine.

Isaac Wilfred
I believe in loyalty.
I believe that serving someone that I love is the greatest joy that one can have in life. Serving Baba and Amir has been my pleasure since I was brought into this world, and I always have and always will do it with a smile on my face, for I know that it takes a great burden off of them. They will not have to cook or clean and have more energy to do the tasks that they were meant to do.

Megan Schwabauer
This I Believe...
I believe in forgiveness. It is in human nature to make mistakes, but as long as those mistakes are forgiven then people will be able to live their lives. Forgiveness is the greatest virtue of humanity.
When I was very young I betrayed my best friend. I believed I had done something unforgivable, something that would hurt him forever. I stood by and watched him be raped by two boys who were in our school. I could have said something or rushed in to save him but I didn't. Instead, I walked away. I was a coward. Someone who wasn't worthy of a friend such as him. He was loyal and would protect me no matter what, but I had failed him.

I believe in forgiveness. It is in human nature to make mistakes, but as long as those mistakes are forgiven then people will be able to live their lives. Forgiveness is the greatest virtue of humanity.
When I was very young I betrayed my best friend. I believed I had done something unforgivable, something that would hurt him forever. I stood by and watched him be raped by two boys who were in our school. I could have said something or rushed in to save him but I didn't. Instead, I walked away. I was a coward. Someone who wasn't worthy of a friend such as him. He was loyal and would protect me no matter what, but I had failed him.
that day. My life was a living hell. Nothing could change how I felt and even when I thought it was getting better I would have a dream again.
After living Rahim Khan, had called me. He told me about Hassan's life afterthat there was a way I could get better. He knew what I had left.done even though I had never been brave enough to tell him. When I arrived, I was in a country I did not know. The people were scared and everything was broken. I met with Rahim Khan and he told me that I would be able to save Hassan's son. He showed me letters that Hassan had addressed to me. Rahim Khan had saved them for my return. The letters to me showedtalked about his forgiveness.life. He had grown up to live his life even better than I had. He had forgiven me so easily. He didn't I had done.done in any way. He still

I believe in loyalty.
I believe that serving someone that I love is the greatest joy that one can have in life. Serving Baba and Amir has been my pleasure since I was brought into this world, and I always have and always will do it with a smile on my face, for I know that it takes a great burden off of them. They will not have to cook or clean and have more energy to do the tasks that they were meant to do.
I don't believe that what I do is unworthy. I take no shame because I know that Amir and Baba truly care for me, and I have a good home here in Baba's house. I am protected from the outside world and harsh treatment that other Hazara servants are given. Baba cares for me as if I were his own, I have received many gifts, including the surgery on my upper lip that has altered my physical appearance for the better. If Baba did not care for me, he would have never done these things to begin with. I am safe under his care and I know that I will always care for him and for Amir.
I know that my loyalty will never waver, for the sacrifices Baba has made for me have been so great that it would be an insult to not return the favors. I was born to serve, and that is how I will die. I know my place as a Hazara in Afghanistan society and it doesn't bother me for I know that what I do is great in the eyes of the family of whom I serve. I am valuable, not worthless, and my loyalty will always stay true. With this in mind, I am not Hazara, I am great.
I do believe in loyalty.

I believe in forgiveness. It is in human nature to make mistakes, but as long as those mistakes are forgiven then people will be able to live their lives. Forgiveness is the greatest virtue of humanity.
failed him.
This day affected me more than I could have ever imagined. I could barely bring myself to look at him. I didn't eat and I didn't sleep. The guilt from it all was eating me from the inside. When I framed him for stealing my birthday presents and he left my house I thought it would get better. It didn't. Even when I sought out a new life in America with my father I couldn't forget that day.
After living in America for over 10 years, I journeyed back to Afghanistan. My father's best friend, Rahim Khan, told me about Hassan's life after I had left. The letters he had written to me showed his forgiveness. He didn't resent what I had done. He still believed that I was his best friend. He even told his son about the times we spent playing in the snow or hitting our neighbors windows with projectiles from our slingshots. He seemed to have forgotten how terribly I had treated him. The truth is he didn't really forget, he just forgave. He was a better man than I was for that. From that day forth, I lived my life. I told my wife what I had done, no longer ashamed of my actions. His forgiveness was a gift that would trump all others. I no longer live with guilt and regret. I knew that he was happy and that was really all that I was looking for. Forgiveness has healed me. This I believe.

I believe in forgiveness. It is in human nature to make mistakes, but as long as those mistakes are forgiven then people will be able to live their lives. Forgiveness is the greatest virtue of humanity.
When I was very young I betrayed my best friend. I believed I had done something unforgivable, something that would hurt him forever. I stood by and watched him be raped by two boys who were in our school. I could have said something or rushed in to save him but I didn't. Instead, I walked away. I was a coward. Someone who wasn't worthy of a friend such as him. He was loyal and would protect me no matter what, but I had failed him.
This day affected me more than I could have ever imagined. I could barely bring myself to look at him. I didn't eat and I didn't sleep. The guilt from it all was eating me from the inside. When I framed him for stealing my birthday presents and he left my house I thought it would get better. It didn't. Even when I sought out a new life in America with my father I couldn't forget that day.
After living in America for over 10 years, I journeyed back to Afghanistan. My father's best friend, Rahim Khan, told me about Hassan's life after I had left. The letters he had written to me showed his forgiveness. He didn't resent what I had done. He still believed that I was his best friend. He even told his son about the times we spent playing in the snow or hitting our neighbors windows with projectiles from our slingshots. He seemed to have forgotten how terribly I had treated him. The truth is he didn't really forget, he just forgave. He was a better man than I was for that. From that day forth, I lived my life. I told my wife what I had done, no longer ashamed of my actions. His forgiveness was a gift that would trump all others. I no longer live with guilt and regret. I knew that he was happy and that was really all that I was looking for. Forgiveness has healed me. This I believe.