Day 8

What do you like most about your writing?

I have been thinking about this question for the last 2 days, ever since I got the prompt in my email during Friday dinner. This question sure stumped me. What does it mean?

Then I had a clarifying thought yesterday as I was getting out of bed. It was like a lightbulb had gone off in my head. I finally understood the meaning of this question.

The thing I like most about my writing is that it’s therapeutic to me. It’s the words I cannot never say out loud. It helps me get my most inner frustration out and cope with the situations I’m dealing with on a day-to-day basis.

The other thing I like most about my writing is I can make the stories playing in my head come true. It’s like pulling my thoughts and imagination out of my head and putting them in another place where it will never again bug me.

Day 9

What do people incorrectly assume about you?

During my 3rd year of college, while I was working toward my first undergraduate in civil engineering, like most of my classmates, I was supposed to go intern for a company. Unfortunately, internship was scarce at the time with most of the engineering jobs overseas in the Middle East, I only had a few options for internship.

My search radius was 50 miles, which was wide considering mom didn’t let me drive and my old car could barely get on the freeway. Throughout the last 2 years of my first undergraduate, I had a total of 3 interviews and at all three interviews, the moment I entered the room, I felt a sense seeping from the interviewers.

They all seem to have this assumption about me, “Can this small person handle the job?”

I was a 4-foot-8-inches female in a field that’s dominated by tall males, of course there ought to be stereotyping and of course, I didn’t get any of the internships.

Looks can be deceiving and at first impression, yes, I am small, but it doesn’t mean I can’t do anything. I think after 3 years of me repeating, “I don’t need help,” my aunt finally got it as she’s no longer telling my uncle to help me with mowing my lawn or my garden chores, unless I ask for it.