Syed Amanullah

The person I am today is greatly influenced by my surroundings and my upbringing. I was born and raised in Chicago. I am 17 years old, and I am finishing high school and attending a local college as well. Since I was a young child, my parents have taught me to be honest, respectful, and to work hard in life. On multiple occasions, I have made mistakes and gone against their teachings, which never ended well. Of course, I learned certain things the hard way, but I feel that this has molded me to be the person I am.

At home, I try to be nice, respectful, and obedient to my parents and siblings. But I feel like I take them for granted. But as time went by and I grew older, I began to realize how important family is, the values of family and staying tight-knit. I have made many mistakes in life, but my family always forgave me and guided me to do the right thing. I went to school until third grade and then stopped for a few years to do a religious course. Afterward, I started homeschooling and have been since. That is what really changed me to be the person I am now.

Up until a few years ago, I did not have a goal in life. I did not care much about school or getting ahead in life. But slowly all that came back to bite me again when I started to study to graduate, I was behind in all the subjects. I began to regret wasting my time in the past few years. So with the encouragement and support of my family, I buckled up and set course to catch up and excel in life. That greatly paid off and now I am not behind, instead, I am ahead by a few grades, and I started college before I even finished high school.

Along with my family, I lived in the same community for my entire life, and that has also contributed to my upbringing in some ways. I go to the mosque, which is our place of worship, regularly, and attend classes, talks, and, seminars regarding the teachings of our religion. Islam, which is our religion, teaches us to be modest, kind, peaceful, generous and thankful. Hearing this all my life I try to keep it my nature.

Altogether I feel these things are the factors that made me who I am. If I feel I am slacking off I look back at my previous mistakes and the lessons I have learned through them. I try to distinguish how I am at home vs how I am outside. I don’t want to act as I do with my friends. I try to be a better person every day.   

There are plenty of good things about Chicago. It is a very diverse city and has plenty of opportunities to learn. However, it is not the best city, because of quite a few reasons. Some of them are crime, racism, corruption, taxes, and the weather. These are things that people dislike about Chicago.

The likelihood of an individual being a victim of violent crime in Chicago is 1 in 91. There is a total of about 119,060 crimes annually, including murder, theft, robberies, burglaries, and assault, just in the city of Chicago. That makes it a very unsafe place to live.

Taxes are another drawback in Chicago. The taxes on everything is very high. Chicago holds the title for the highest tax rates in the nation. People try to shop online or in the suburbs to avoid paying extra on taxes. Another factor is the weather.

The weather in Chicago during the winter is cold and very windy. The average temperature in the winter is 22° degrees Fahrenheit. This becomes hard for people because, their cars may not start, and their windows can freeze up. Others get sick in cold weather.

Chicago has many great schools, colleges, and universities. There are many opportunities for learning at the various different schools. If you want to change majors or start a new one there is a chance for you. People travel from all over the world to study at colleges and universities in Chicago, such as Northwestern University, and Loyola University. That is what makes Chicago such a diverse place.

When people from different countries and different walks of life come to one place to learn and prosper in the world, they can educate others about their religion, culture, and different backgrounds. We can learn their language, their way of living, and how they cook. Their food tastes different. For example, Indian food may be a little spicier than American food. People may not know exactly how it tastes until they try it themselves.

Now that there are many diverse communities, there are many options for food. There is Authentic Indian, Middle eastern, Italian, Greek, and Chinese food readily available for anyone who wants to try something new, or eat their traditional food. I think its great to have such good food without having to go all the way to that country. There are places in Chicago, where there are streets lined with many restaurants of one cuisine.

Chicago is often known as the Windy City, for obvious reasons. However, this place is close to my heart because I was born and raised in the city of Chicago. Chicago is one of the most diverse cities by being a home to people of various cultures, religions and backgrounds. There are many different kinds of foods. There are also many opportunities to learn.

As you walk into my bedroom in the morning, there is a faint ray of sunlight shining through the window. The glossy blue walls are reflecting a bluish tint in the room. As you look around there is a mattress lying on the navy blue carpet. I am sprawled on it, resting on a pillow and covered by my comfortable blue blanket. I am in a deep slumber. All of a sudden, there is a loud siren ringing, from the loudest alarm clock sold in the market. It is supposed to wake even the heaviest sleepers. However, unbelievably, I have not moved a muscle. My mother walks in and tries to wake me up. All I do is groan and complain about how early it is. Then comes the cold water and me jumping out of bed wiping the droplets from my face. After washing up and returning to my room, I make my bed and start my day, leaving the room clean and organized. If you come a few hours later, you would see a completely different scenario. The bed is messy again, the pillow is on the floor, and clothes are scattered around. That means my siblings have been through my room. I do not bother tiding it, until they have gone to bed. I clean the room a bit, and turn in for the night. This is a typical day in my bedroom.   

She is the most important person in my life. She cares about me the most. She took care of me from the moment I was born till today. She has sacrificed a lot for me. I would never be able to repay her. She gives me hope and encourages me to try something new even if I think I am not ready. She has supported me through every little or big event of my life. She cooks food for me and tends to my needs. She made sure I had the easiest experience throughout my schooling process. She is my hero. I feel like I can never fully appreciate her efforts. She is my mom. And I love her to the moon and back.  -ORIGINAL-

She is the most important person in my life. She cares about me the most. She took care of me from the moment I was born till today. She has sacrificed a lot for me. I would never be able to repay her. She gives me hope and confidence, and encourages me to try something new even if I think I am not ready. She has supported me through every little or big event of my life. She cooks food for me and tends to my needs. She made sure I had the easiest experience throughout my schooling process. She is my hero. I feel like I can never entirely appreciate her efforts. She is my mother. And I love her to the moon and back. -REVISED-