By Shanil
For this blog post, we were asked list who or what makes up our community with visuals attached. Anyone or anything that helps us grow and support us can fall into this category. Typically, there’s a long list of people that make up a person’s support system, but there’s so much more to include. At first, I thought I might take a few pictures of people and explain how they help make up my community, but then I thought, why not really show what my support system consists of? First, I should explain why people aren’t the most integral part of my support system.
During sophomore year of high school, I found myself alone at a Baptist Army boarding school in Texas. As a gay Muslim teenager from Los Angeles, I was very clearly out of place. They didn’t let us have our phones during the day so contact with my friends back home was scarce (even scarcer with my family). I had to rely mostly on myself because my trust for the adults at my boarding school was very little after they bashed the LGBTQ community again and again—even at an anti-bullying assembly. Ever since then, I’ve had a support system that’s mostly devoid of humans. I will include friends as a collective category, including best friends, as they are still an integral part, but below is what consists of my support system.
- Netflix
Netflix has always been there for me as an escape. Whether it’s binge-watching Bob’s Burgers, House of Cards, or Gossip Girl, I’ve always found solace in the platform that provides entertainment on-demand. It’s why I ended up creating a short film festival at my high school.
While Facebook may have been my first choice in high school, Facebook is more of a news platform for me now than a way to keep in touch with friends. Instagram, however, is a window into the world—you don’t need to be friends with someone to see life through their eyes. Also, that’s where I’m posting my abroad pics so hmu with a follow, ya feel?
- Friends
Naturally, my friends are what keep me sane and also from only chilling with Netflix all day long. They’re there for when I want to have fun, when I’m sad, or just lonely. One person in particular is with me on this trip without whom I would have been so lost during my first week—Anna Sumi. She’s the only other GW student at Sussex and she’s also one of my best friends. We traveled Europe together before starting school and integrated our friend circles to make sure that we both stuck together and could still rely on each other if sh*t went sour. Also, without her, I wouldn’t have any good pics with European landmarks 😛
- Snapchat
I’m addicted to it and I’m sorry to everyone who has been personally victimized by my insanely long Snapchat Stories from last year. I’m trying to make amends by keeping them a little shorter but bear with me, okay? Snapchat lets me keep up with friends in a way that Facebook doesn’t. I can use it to have a more personal connection than texting but not have to actually be present for the conversation. It’s just—it’s a damn beautiful invention and I thank the Snapchat gods everyday for it.
- God (He’s not a fan of pics in Islam so I’m just gonna leave a description instead.)
A lot of my friends assumed that I left my faith in the closet when I emerged from it. Other LGBTQ individuals are perplexed at how I’m still Muslim. I, however, have spent years trying to come to terms with being a gay Muslim and can finally, proudly be both. I left my religion shortly after finding myself in Texas, blaming my situation on my religion and gave up talking to God, praying, and attending religious services. Since then, I’ve taken the time to realize that I can still be both without compromising the other. Instead of explaining my thought process over 8,000 words, I’ll just say this: God doesn’t build his creations only to hate them.
These days, I still try to find time to pray in my own way and regularly remember that Allah is out there and that I am—or at least try to be—His faithful servant.
So yes, people are still an important part (this list would be mostly people if I included everyone in my support system) but technology has also become an integral part of how we are shaped and how we grow as individuals. I mean, without the internet, I would actually have to use a librarian and spend more time than I already have to at the library. Instead, I can do my reading in the comfort of my own bed. * †
* By read, I mean Netflix.
† Also, I just realized that my bed should’ve been on this list but I’m already in bed and I have like five episodes of Suits left so bye.