Generation F

by Molly MacDermot

  I’m lucky that I live in a home saturated with reminders of people I love. My maternal grandparents passed away when I was young so I didn’t get to spend that much time with them, but their presence lives on in the objects and furniture that I see every day. Growing up in this house has given me valuable intergenerational experiences, and I have gained an appreciation for my family and our value for authenticity over perfection. Although it isn’t as polished as a lot of other apartments, I bet those apartments wouldn’t be able to hold two generations’ worth of paintings and endless family memories. Our house may look peculiar and incomplete, but it tells a story that is truly priceless.

  85 White Street

  LINDSAY ZOLADZ

  Is it possible to define a generation in a single word?

  “A lot of people are nervous. I have heard some people say that at 12:00 all the money will come out of the ATM. A lot of people don’t want to be in a plane at midnight. Still, I don’t think it will be so bad.”—the December 2, 1999 entry from the “Y2K Journal” I was asked to keep in my seventh-grade English class.

  I hate the word “millennial.” By the time I was in my early teens, it already felt retro-futuristic—a leftover remnant of fruitless Y2K anxiety or, even worse, a reminder of Will Smith’s novelty album Willennium. I’m not sure what I would have chosen had I been given the opportunity to name my generation. I just know I wouldn’t have chosen “millennial.”

  The media has been even less creative in deciding what to call the generation after us: I’ve heard some say “Generation Z,” some say “postmillennial,” some even combine those first two into the cringeworthy portmanteau “zillennial.” (Ugh.) But over the past year or so, the bright, optimistic cohort that makes up this demographic has proven that, no matter what we call them, they’re out to change the world. When it comes to gun laws, environmental activism, dismantling racism, and so much more, this as-yet-unnamed generation is leading the charge to a more humane world.

  My mentee, Gia, and I have had some enlightening talks about the similarities and differences of our respective generations. Because of media stereotypes, I am used to the word “millennial” being used to generically connote “young person” (or, especially if it’s coming from someone of an older generation, “entitled, lazy young person”). My conversations with Gia, though, remind me that youth is temporary and that my generation has a more specific identity—and responsibility to those coming up behind us.

  I asked Gia how she’d define her generation (and what she thought they should be called) and she told me she wasn’t yet sure. I then remembered myself at her age, seventeen, and it made me realize how few of the phenomena that we now associate with millennials even existed at that point. Smartphones didn’t exist yet, nor did social media as we understand it today. I’d argue that we had more trust in institutions—from the economy to the real estate market to Social Security—before 2008. The world we inherited and the concepts we are commonly associated with had not yet taken shape. It reminded me that, in defining generations, we must be patient. I’m in no rush to name the one coming up behind us. But, now that I think of it, Generation Girls Write Now has a nice ring to it.

  SOPHIA DEMARTINO

  YEARS AS MENTEE: 1

  GRADE: Senior

  HIGH SCHOOL: Susan E. Wagner High School

  BORN: Staten Island, NY

  LIVES: Staten Island, NY

  MENTEE’S ANECDOTE: Elle is the absolute sweetest person you can ever meet, and I am forever grateful to have gone through my first and last year with Girls Write Now with her by my side. We have laughed, cried, and so much in between because of how strong our relationship has grown since day one. Although our writing is very different, our stories, our experiences, and even more have brought us together and have only proven how strong this relationship really is. I am sure that our relationship will continue after I get shipped off to college, and even beyond.

  ELIZABETH ROY

  YEARS AS MENTOR: 1

  OCCUPATION: Global Sales Operations Manager, Spotify

  BORN: Peachtree City, GA

  LIVES: Brooklyn, NY

  MENTOR’S ANECDOTE: Sophia and I hit it off from the beginning. Even though we have different backgrounds, we speak a common language. We can spend hours talking, laughing, and having fun. Sophia’s bravery to speak her mind and live her unique life has given me the courage to make bold choices both professionally and personally. I have no doubt that our friendship will continue when the program ends and she goes off to college. I’m eternally grateful to Girls Write Now for bringing two kindred spirits together.

  silenced

  SOPHIA DEMARTINO

  Life is precious, and I am sorry that it took this long for us to recognize and realize it. Now we are here to fight, and we are here to stay.

  They say what they are doing is right, it is the will of the gods that control them, that they are saving the lives of so many innocent children because they are not able to speak up for themselves. They call their protest bravery, their March for Life a symbol of hope and defiance because a child has the right to life no matter how the child was conceived. These pro-life supporters will often forget that the mother herself deserves the same right to life but is not granted that right because she has an unborn, voiceless child growing inside of her. Some pro-life supporters have gone as far to open fake abortion clinics to scare and terrorize pregnant women into not wanting an abortion. These mothers, no matter how old, are told that they should be happy they have the ability to bear children, even if it kills them or inflicts permanent physical damage.

  Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old boy, was shot within seconds of police officers arriving to the scene at a playground in Cleveland, in response to a 911 call. There was no further investigation, just immediate action taken by the police officials who responded to the call. The same people who had claimed to be pro-life began to state how a child should not play with toys that resemble guns, and how this was essentially the fault of the twelve-year-old boy. People began to speculate where his mother was, if he even had one. This incident came after recent events of police brutality against African American citizens across America, sparking a nationwide movement called Black Lives Matter. These members advocated for police training to include non-bias training, gun reform laws, body cameras, police accountability, and much more. This movement brought to light the many struggles an average African American faces, but because they were facing police brutality, many people silenced their movement with the counter All Lives Matter movement, which was based on blatant racism and ignorance against minority groups. And so his name, along with the movement, have been silenced and swept under the rug, even as similar cases rise in headlines again and again.

  Four years after Tamir’s life was taken, seventeen more children were executed on Valentine’s Day—not by police, but by a former nineteen-year-old student. He was always a threat to the school and has been expelled and reported to the FBI and police because of his threatening behavior. By this time, it was too late to act because he had already done his worst. America has a unique gun problem that is unlike any other in the world, and it comes with deadly consequences that don’t question “What if?” but rather “When will it happen again?” This time was different. Immediately, as the victims were carried out in black body bags, their friends had already created a movement that would ensure that these seventeen kids would be the last to ever die in a mass shooting by a weapon built to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. These mass shootings have become so common, these pro-life supporters began to testify and falsely claim that these survivors were actors hired by news outlets because the media loves the ratings. The supporters have continued to claim that “people kill people” and refuse to acknowledge that guns are a real threat to this nation. The All Lives Matter movement was painstakingly silent as teenagers, no older than I, took the stage and demanded immediate action.

  As a generation, we call BS. We ar
en’t even old enough to say the word “bullshit” in front of our parents, but we are still able to recognize that we are all potential targets for the very next mass shooting. We are still able to recognize that this government, that these supporters, do not give a damn about life because they are fighting for the total opposite of what it means to be alive. A strong movement like this has never taken place before and has forced the media to continually cover the Never Again movement as we advocate for the right to life under new pressures for gun reform. The adults that are supposed to be our role models have done nothing but give us a platform to voice our distaste for their ignorance, and this time is the perfect and only time we refuse to be just as silenced as everyone else. We will include and promote the livelihood of every person, of every identity and of all backgrounds, because it has come to the point where no one is safe as long as semiautomatic rifles are available to the public. After that, we have an even bigger agenda to accomplish, and if you think we’ll stop, think again. We are the change and the heroes that we have been waiting for, and we call BS.

  silence

  ELIZABETH ROY

  The idea for my piece manifested itself after some texts Sophia and I exchanged about the Parkland school shooting. Sophia’s bravery and boldness in her piece inspired me to step outside of my comfort zone and write a poem from the perspective of a person who suffers from mental illness. Our country turns its back on these people. Let’s end the silence.

  silence

  thoughts in my head swirl endlessly

  voices

  yours or mine?

  yours, never directed at me

  mine, echo louder than a cannon

  sorrow

  envelops me like an avalanche I can never outrun

  trouble

  all around me, surrounding all of you

  fear

  I am afraid . . . of you, of him, of her, of them

  of myself

  anger

  the rage inside of me might swallow me whole

  loneliness

  deep inside myself like the bottom of an endless canyon

  acceptance

  this is me. this is who I am. this defines me.

  ending

  it’s now. it’s here. it’s over.

  silence

  MANAR DIHYEM

  YEARS AS MENTEE: 1

  GRADE: Sophomore

  HIGH SCHOOL: MESA Charter High School

  BORN: Yonkers, NY

  LIVES: Queens, NY

  MENTEE’S ANECDOTE: I’ve never had a mentor before, but having Annette as my first mentor is a pleasure. My first year in Girls Write Now has been quite a ride. I tried writing in new genres, which is a bit out of my comfort zone. I feel that I’m more confident in my writing. Taking on new challenges has allowed me to connect more with my readers.

  ANNETTE ESTÉVEZ

  YEARS AS MENTOR: 2

  OCCUPATION: Poet, Office Manager

  BORN: Bushwick, NY

  LIVES: Queens, NY

  MENTOR’S ANECDOTE: It’s been a joy working with Manar, learning about her interests and beliefs, and “embracing awkwardness”—a mantra we came up with together when we first met. One of my proudest moments insofar as Manar’s achievements this program year was when a column she wrote for her Girls Write Now portfolio was assigned as supplementary reading material in her high school English class. She continues to shine bright and grow as a writer and individual, and it is a gift to witness and be a part of.

  The Hijab—A Shield or a Threat?

  MANAR DIHYEM

  I wrote this column based on an assignment from a Girls Write Now Journalism workshop. I also wrote this piece to reflect upon issues currently occurring in the Muslim community.

  Some people think that it is a choice for Muslim women to wear the hijab. Others say that it is a non-negotiable requirement. I am a follower of Islam and I am beyond proud of it. Therefore, I follow and agree with the words of the Qur’an—the words of Allah—as it reads that it is essential to wear the hijab if you are a Muslim woman. Unfortunately, due to misrepresentations of Muslims in movies, news reports, and social media, misconceptions are born and spread like wildfire. Despite the bigotry, I choose to wear the hijab, as it is a necessity: a sign of strength, courage, and devotion.

  THE BEGINNING

  I began to wear the hijab in the fourth grade. I hadn’t even hit puberty yet. Mama told me that wearing a hijab is “a sign of strength.” When I first entered school wearing the hijab, I thought people would make fun of me, but I was wrong. People thought I looked “cool,” which I found confusing. I’ve had to answer a whole lot of intrusive questions like: Do you sleep with that on? Do you shower with that on? Don’t you get hot in that? At the time, I was the only hijabi in school and was always told I was “unique” or “different.” I never thought of removing my hijab, nor do I plan to.

  ASPIRE TO INSPIRE

  “The Qur’an actually tells women to cover themselves so that they can be appreciated for who they are as humans instead of being looked at lustfully. Men are also told to dress modestly and to lower their gaze in front of women so as to avoid looking at them lustfully, a sort of veil in itself.”* Within a society that views Muslim women as oppressed, it’s a sign of resistance to wear the hijab in spite of these biased perceptions. In fact, it’s a source of empowerment. There are many role models in the Ummah (Muslim community) who publicly and proudly wear the hijab, such as the journalist Noor Tagouri. Tagouri appeared in one of my favorite TED Talks, “Calling on the 10,000,” about Muslim identity. The two cousins, Yasmeena Rasheed and Fatima Abdallah, knowingly and intentionally motivate and inspire many through fashion content shown on their social media platforms. As the years progress, they’ve gained thousands of followers on their Instagram and YouTube, especially. They empower us to prove the bigots wrong, as Muslims are not animals who kill, abuse, and fight, as American pop culture often suggests.

  FAKE NEWS

  The media has dehumanized people of the Muslim community, and the president, Donald Trump, encourages this dehumanization. He has enacted unjust rulings, such as the Muslim ban, also known as the travel ban. This ban prevents Muslims from entering the U.S.A. In movies or on the news, non-Muslim actors are hired to say the phrase “Allahu Akbar” before a bombing or a shooting. What people can never seem to understand is that all the phrase means is “God Is the Greatest”—simple and innocuous. These misrepresentations promote ignorance to what the Muslim religion truly is—peaceful. Muslims are to attack if being physically attacked. Despite that, harming others is beyond a sin; it is disgraceful. Such legislation and stereotypes affect Muslims’ self-perception and others’ perceptions of them, affecting their confidence and shattering their pride.

  NOT BEHOLDERS OF GRUDGES

  I don’t blame people who are ignorant to the truth of Islam. They base their knowledge on what the media tells them—fake news. Those who are ignorant are fearful of how we dress and who they believe we are—monsters. When in reality, we fear ignorance. The Qur’an tells us to stay away from ignorance and those who follow it. “Pardon them and overlook—Allah loves those who do good” (Qur’an 5:13).

  OVER IT ALL

  The media continues to give off negative ideas about Muslims. On the news, when there are shootings or life-threatening accidents, eyes go on the Muslim. Politicians, like our current president, encourage these distorted ideas by passing unjust legislation affecting the Muslim community. People tend to be easily influenced by their leaders, causing them to be negative toward women who wear the hijab and making some Muslims insecure about wearing theirs. It would be a dream if we could vanquish ignorance. Then people would know the absolute truth they deserve. Nobody would give nasty glares to the old lady on the bus praying as she is wearing her hijab with pride. I’ve always been proud of wearing what is much more than a cloth, a hijab, despite the ignorance and hatred spread about my religion. There are many successful Muslim women who proudly wear
the hijab and deliberately influence and inspire young Muslim women to champion their faith and confidently persevere wearing theirs, too. To some, the hijab may be a threat. To Muslim women who wear the hijab, it is a shield—the definition of courage.

  * Syed, M., “What You Need to Know About Muslim Women, by a Muslim Woman,” Teen Vogue (March 27, 2017).

  Moonflowers

  ANNETTE ESTÉVEZ

  I wrote this poem to honor my best friends. This piece reflects Generation F, as it highlights the empowerment and strength in sisterhood.

  For Jas and Leesah, my Bushwitches

  Oye: las lluvias que caerán sobre nuestros cuerpos

  y mojarán las flores que nos crecen por dentro

  Our friendship—prayer

  a sunset amethyst

  I trust y’all, blindfolded

  knowing only the sand and your hands -

  the gift of ocean

  in the absence of candles

  We wish on waves

  rising to meet our stars

  We manifest constellations

  This coming undone

  becoming a garden

  of teethof eyesof what if

  what if isn’t always doom?

  What if we are art as we are?

  What if we believe ourselves

  worthy of love this constant?

  What if we don’t? Then

  soilsmokeopen doors

  heartbeat-to-heartbeat-to-heartbeat

  We: bass reverberating infinite

  We shake thorns from our chests

  feeding the earth with their seeds