a thank you note for you.

by: Sanzida Begum

As Thanksgiving gets closer and closer, I want to thank every single person that has entered my life because you have all impacted my life one way or another. Whether you have hurt me, left me behind, were left behind or are still here today by my side, you all have left footprints in my life.

To my middle school friends who left, thank you for holding me up just when I was beginning to learn what was expected of me as a Bengali girl. The first middle school I went to I was a confident little girl with a bright perspective of the world but right as six grade was ending things took a turn for me. When my innocence was taken advantage of, the loud, cheerful girl I used to be was gone and replaced with a girl who faked her confidence and had to keep a painful secret. So thank you to my middle school friends, the ones from seventh and eighth grade. Thank you for making me laugh and smile, and briefly forget about the summer before. Thank you

for letting me make up lies about why I was so upset and thank you for not being able to detect my lies. Thank you for letting me lie about the incredible things that happened to me so that for just a few hours of the day, I could pretend like everything was fine. Thank you for being in my life for the short while that you were. Even though we may have lost contact, I now two of you tried to hold on but it just wasn’t meant to last and thank you for letting go. Just know I’m happy for all that you are accomplishing and if there’s ever a moment you need a shoulder or an ear, I will be here regardless of the amount of time that has passed since we last talked.

Vinyl Review and Radio Cover Reveal

by: Sanzida Begum

Title: Vinyl (Book 1 of the Vinyl Trilogy)  

Author: Sophia Elaine Hanson

Published: November 26, 2015

Rating: 5/5 ☆☆☆☆☆

Summary from Goodreads:

Blazing Fire

written by: Sanzida Begum

I remember wanting to go home, wanting to go back to New York where my siblings were, where my friends were, where my nephews were. I remember feeling out of place because I was always confused about doing things my cousins have done a million and one times before. I remember struggling to speak in bengali, struggling to make my cousins understand, struggling to hold up a conversation with my aunts and uncles. I remember the looks I got when I stayed to myself when my cousins were at school, because I felt so awkward...so different. I remember refusing to accept this place as my own. I remember refusing to become a part of this village. And while I enjoyed my time with my cousins, I remember counting down the days till I would be on a plane with the final destination set as home. And I remember the one rainy day and burning night that changed it all.

I remember the hot sticky air of the morning and afternoon even though the rain was pelting down hard on the tin roofs. I remember my hair sticking to my face as beads of sweat gathered on my forehead and on the bridge of my nose. I remember the uncomfortable feeling of my clothes sticking to my body. I remember wanting to run into the middle of the yard as the rain poured down and left muddy puddles into the ground. I remember drinking as much water as possible since the heat has left me parched. I remember the sound of rain hitting the tin roof, the pitter, the patter and the calmness the sound brought with it.