Razane Cherk

There are currently no responses for this story. Be the first to respond. Photo by Rafaela Lima from Pexels “She’ll never be an athlete or anything, but she tries,” said the P.E. teacher to my mom as I stood there beside them, holding back my tears. My mom laughed and hugged me. “She prefers reading over exercise!” The P.E. teacher nodded and smiled in a condescending, knowing way as if she was the world’s leading expert on interest in exercise.

A bit late to the party, but here we go! The author in Rome, July 2019, before “that which shall not be named” began. People always ask me about my name when I introduce myself, so I thought I’d start this with an explanation. My name comes from the Arabic word “al-razana” (الرزانة). Someone who has “razana” is calm, wise, and doesn’t make rash decisions.

It’s time to embrace aging and all it brings. Photo by Nkululeko Mabena on Unsplash My fear of aging started with a single, shockingly white hair. “Mom!” I shouted as I stared, open-mouthed, at the tiny hair that had somehow sprouted from my 20-year-old head. She came running, probably thinking I was dying considering how loudly I had shouted. “What’s wrong?!” “Why is this hair white?!” I asked, distressed, showing it to her. She laughed and shook her head. “Your dad went grey early, too.