Nardien Sadik

Undergraduate Winner

Painfully Silent

 I learned the hard way to keep my head down, never frown,

enemies equal problems.

 We don’t have the luxury to make waves so we quietly do as they say.

Because a job is a job… a job I need right now. Yes Ma’am and No Sir, I learned quick.

 Worried they’d make a fuss so I made sure to play nice. I have too much on the line.

This is after all the dream I fought so hard to achieve.

Living in the land of the free when people back home would kill to be me and have true democracy...

 The only problem is,

that pesky English won’t stick.

My tongue doesn’t like how it feels in my mouth, almost like it’s pushing the culture right out.

Replacing roaring laughter with quiet chatter and taming my crazy ideas of equality

before they become a reality.

Not sure if this always happens when pursuing your dreams?

But it’s almost like every aspect of who I am is expected to change so that I can be seen as someone worthy of equality.

Because the moment I misspeak,

they frown at the accent I was born with,

judge the shade of melanin that my body comes in, and assume they know all about me.

Making sure to remind me I am not a native, and that I should be thankful.

 Never had the luxury not to be grateful I’m anything but ignorant

I get it.

It’s easier to dismiss an immigrant...

But,

I won’t be tamed.

I’ve been through more than you can imagine, worked hard to have a voice that mattered,

so trust me when I say I’m resilient.

 Truly,

I’m not JUST an immigrant.

I have passion, work ethic, and I’m brilliant. Something you wouldn’t know the first thing about because you never took the time to hear me out.

 We are the same,

the difference is I earned it.

Put my whole life at stake for this moment, And you act like I stole it.