Pak Attack

Core Moral Belief

My Core Moral Belief:

Be grateful/thankful for what you have through actions, not just words.

I think over the last few years, especially when I hit high school, people have done a lot for me in terms of staying up late nights to do projects, major tasks in Leadership, or even just being there as a friend and the other way around. I’ve done the same to others. And obviously, verbal thank you’s were also exchanged when task of great magnitude was taken on by myself or someone else. But what’ve I’ve noticed is that you don’t really care if someone says a verbal thank you because saying the words “Thank you” doesn’t require efforts. Pay people back in equal terms. Well honestly, it doesn’t have to be equal, it just has to require more work and energy than just the words thank you. Actions speak louder than words because action requires energy and work. If one really appreciates something, than a thank you in action is the only thing that will keep that force that’s appreciated by your side. 

Picture Day

Haha I know this is a super weird picture of me and keep in mind I NEVER ever take pictures of myself (Only videos) and this one doesn’t count either because it was a mistake. I was actually testing out my camera for my second episode of Pak Attack (if you notice the background its the same room where I recorded all of them) and accidently hit the picture button. I guess I was looking how to change the settings or something and I stepped back to think while I must’ve started the timer. I really don’t know why I saved the picture but I found it while looking for a picture for this blog. I think people see a worried Momin Samad and one who’s looking confused when really, this was probably one of the most exciting moments of my life. Even though at that moment I was confused because I was trying to work the video camera, I think this picture captures both realness and a completely different story behind it. What I like about it is that the face wasn’t planned and it wasn’t one where you smile for the camera like 99% of all photos of people including myself, they’re so generic. But I guess that’s just how pictures work. You smile for it to cover up a different emotion. 

21 Jump Street

Honestly, this was probably one of my favorite movies I saw this year and maybe in my entire short 17 year life. This was my third time seeing it with Baldwin and Sharjil and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. But honestly, I do think that 21 Jump Street is the most relevant and untypical teen movie I have seen. This is because obviously it is the most recent and as a result, the cliques, just like in real life, have shifted and new ones are created. What is amazing though is that the movie does literally show this change by showing two high schoolers in the early 90’s and then to present day high school and even the two main characters who have to undercover in the new high school can see the shifts. Some of the stuff that was considered nerdy back when Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum were in real high school are some of the things to be considered cool when they went undercover and I think this is the case in real life. Sure the movie was exaggerated a lot but that’s what makes a movie a movie. The theme though was still stating how things have changed in high school dramatically. What’s funny though is that even though it did have different stereotypes than other teen movies, the plot to other teen movies was identical. The nerd, who was considered a nerd back in the day , played by Jonah Hill actually ended up fitting in with the popular kids in the new school he was undercover in. I really enjoyed this movie more than Rebel without a cause. It also kind of reminded me how I saw the changes in high school though pop culture too. Things that would’ve been considered nerdy pop culture when I was a kid are things now that are popular to do and vice versa.  

Talking to My Parents about the Movie

I’ve actually, for some odd reason, had a discussion like this with my parents before and they said the same thing. For two people from Pakistan, and from what they said, they think teenagers in general, whether in America or Pakistan are just crazy in general. When I told them about the plot of rebel without a cause, they thought it would just be a normal plot for the movies and dramas they used to watch in Pakistan. Then it hit me. For Pakistan and other third world countries around the world, I think a teenage revolution, where the idea of teens wanting to do whatever they wanted, came but a little later than the one in America. I realized that these countries want to be exactly like America and especially their teens think that whatever Americans do is awesome. So they copy them. Whether it be musical, or corny punchlines in movies, or being like Michael Jackson who came later, many countries around the world want America’s culture, not their ideals though. That’s a big difference. I went off on a tangent again (I do that a lot) but I just learned something about American culture and its affects on other countries in this discussion with my parents. 

AP Lang Rebel Without a Cause

I actually kind of enjoyed Rebel Without a Cause. The only reason I liked it was it gave me an idea of kind of where teen rebellion started. I talked to my parents about it, which will be saved for another blog, but I just thought the movie could have symbolized a shift in America. Even studying history before, teenagers were expected to listen to their parents, stay quiet and just obey their mother and father but I think the time setting in Rebel without A Cause was where things started to take a turn. I think the events in that movie were a little extreme like driving a car off a cliff but thematically, the idea of teen rebellion is the same today, if not more tense. Parts of the movie were exaggerated and sometimes underplayed like when the son leaves at night, I would expect a father to be angrier and try harder to stop him but he doesn’t. Overall, even though it was cheezy, people have to recognize that the movie was made in the 1950’s. And I think the reason it’s so famous is because it really did spark a revolution in teenage thought. I’m not saying that teenagers started rebelling after watching this movie, but I think the movie did shift culture. 

High School Movies and Reality

I think all teen movies have parallel plot lines and exaggerate the state of high school as the portray the jocks ruling and everyone else just a subject to their power. Obviously this is not but I think throughout literature and media, the vision of the author or  the filmmaker can be seen. What I mean is that an author or filmmaker’s books or stories are based on real characters or situations in their lives even through it might not be an autobiography in any case. But Denby makes a good point in stating that the makers of these movies probably weren’t the most popular kids in their school. What is always portrayed in teen movies is the nerd coming out on top which, as Denby states is the actual reality of life. Roles like that high school quarterback who rules all, the blonde bitch, the goths, the nerds, and the stoners. What’s funny though is that as time progresses and cliques change, the cliques in movies also change. In a recent film I watched called “21 Jump Street” the cliques have totally changed from when the two characters entered high school but its funny that the plot is the same as the nerd becomes the popular one in the new high school. I know this clip has a weird title but just watch the beginning as they walk down and literally name all the liques they see. Its not that separated in real life but still. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X77ikqJHsM8 

Even though its not like that at all at most schools, especially ours, I think there still are cliques and the problems they come with it are the same.

I think that cliques are a major problem today in high school and even though they’re not as defined as in movies, the struggles that some kids go through is still pretty severe. Now most of the time I don’t think these kids verbally express that because they know that it will only get worse and they think that its high school and it’ll only last four years, just like in our discussion. High school is an effed up place but I think that some people straight up don’t care because it will only last four years. As a result, now you have some people who really care about the issue of cliques and some who just want to get through high school. Oh and also, something that bothered me about Monday’s discussion when leadership was getting ripped up. We’re not trying to end cliques at ALL. They will always exist and should because they’re only friend groups. But just like in movies and even real school, you notice the social structure of them and their roles. I think leadership’s goal is once again to NOT eliminate cliques but only allow them to change roles sometimes because both you and I know that some of the groups in high school get hated on not by kids but also by administration while others only get love from them. And yes leadership is part of this high school system and by many is seen like the actual problem but that’s only because you have kids in there not doing their duty. And even I hate them myselfs and I’m in the organization. Listen, nobody or nothing is perfect so we’re still working on it. Better to try at something and risk failure then do nothing at all. 

Sorry I went off on a tangent there but bottom line, the cliques you see in movies are really blown out of proportion in terms of definition of cliques. But one thing is for sure is that the same conflict and struggles people face in the movies exist in real life but its much quieter because no one walks around every corner of AHS with a video camera showing the whole spectrum. 

Pak Attack: There’s More to Life than Math Books

Throughout my elementary and middle school careers, ,I think most people who known me before knew who I was. I know I get repetitive and annoying with this sometimes, but bottom line before sophomore year of high school, I was the kid who always could be asked for math help, or the kid who got 110% percent  on tests. (To be honest, ZI probably could have gotten myself somewhere nice if I continued it). But something people didn’t know about me during the time of elementary school and middle school was that the serious side of me that I showed to people wasn’t the only side of me. Maybe you can call it not being my true authentic self. But I don’t believe in that. I have two sides to me and I think really all humans have many sides to them but people judge them by the only one they see which I think is extremely unfair. The only people that had seen the joking, relaxed, and funny side of me were my actual friends. And in my book friends=people who I was comfortable with. And for some reason, back then, it was people who were similar to me which was Muslim males my age, going through the same situations at me who I met at the Mosque. The only reason I didn’t bring out that side with my school peers was because I thought that they would think I’m weird. In a way I kind of created a false image for myself by not bringing out that side but I thought I had a good reason for it.

But even after joining leadership and gaining some confidence with going to Haiti and such, that loud side of me still didn’t get out. Those two were probably some of the most significant events in my life and they actually got me thinking but yet, no action. Still the quiet Momin. I felt like after these events I had a lot of bottled up thoughts and energy waiting to be released and this is when Pak Attack came in. I decided that if I was going to show this side, I needed to go all out and not live with the same regrets and fears of not showing people the other side of me. Yes, it seemed crazy, a kid who was barely confident to go all out in displaying his other side when he couldn’t even do it on a one to on basis. But this “all out approach’ for me was starting a show. To be honest, I wanted to do it ever since I got interested in Youtube. I always loved watching youtube videos and it is where that funny and joking side came out of me. So I decided I was going to give my energy back and start a show called Pak Attack on Youtube. It did take a lot of thought because again, part of me didn’t want to be judged but I said eff it. It just needed to happen. (This might seem corny as hell but this picture kind of symbolizes the struggles I had with showing my personality and kind of what my friends saw in me)

So I went through with it, and not only did I just push a little but I went all out in advertising it, creating new images for facebook, and learned editing and skills unheard of to me. And this is the point where everything changed. I think I learned two things from this process. As the momentum of the show progressed and the more and more people I told started telling others, it put me in shock. When I told people that me, the boring, quiet, test acer Momin Samad was creating a comedy show on youtube, not only were they interested, but they were actually excited and gave me much love. And I thought that the “popular” kids in my grade would hate it and give me shit for it, they actually embraced it and spread the word. (Not to say they ever hated me). For the most part I didn’t get hate other than a few doubters (some of whom close friends) who said I’d get less than 100 views. But bottom line, I came to a self realization that me showing my other side to people was something I needed to do for a while. It wasn’t going to make them isolate me, but to honestly be happy in school, a place I hated for a while, I needed to show my other side to people and Pak Attack made me realize that. I expected to get a lot of hate but the exact opposite happened. And the funny part is that after the first episode which was horribly edited with low production quality and didn’t reach my intended goal of 1,000 views in a week, teachers and students in school, some who I didn’t know at all, came up to me saying they wanted more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn1pd64zO0c

Now even though the Pak Attack run lasted for a couple weeks and few episodes, it made me realize the importance of showing people my other side and risking my “safe” life. Lets face it, I was going to be miserable with the continuation of my elementary and middle school life. The second part of this realization is simple. Pak Attack taught me more. It taught me that there was more to life than the stupid stuff society and my parents threw at me. I couldn’t go on living my life in the books and sucking up to people. Lets not get me wrong, I did get some resistance for Pak Attack and other situations but just starting that show just simply taught me how to deal with those situations. Without starting Pak Attack, I really wouldn’t have known a life more than books and algebra equations. Now I feel guilty that I’m going back to my past ways a little this year because of the great “Junior year”. But there’s not a single day where I don’t think about the show and starting it back up. You know what, writing this makes me want to bring it back even more. Get ready, summer 2012. Pak Attack will be back (Hopefully….Just saying don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t). But forreal…

Avondale in One Frikin Long Post…The School in My Eyes

Ok, so this has been on my mind a lot lately so I decided to write about it. No matter what we tell ourselves, or how good we think Avondale may be, its cliquey as hell. Now this year, I learned a lot about everything. What I mean by that is Iiv learned a lot through being president, taking a bigger role  in leadership, and even writing in general because of AP Lang. And I’ve noticed a lot of patterns at our school and these “cliques” that exist. So what I’m going to do is present to you how I believe our school is divided up and the groups that exist. I’ve been analyzing for a long time and been thinking about it a lot. Why would I do this? To be honest I don’t know, I guess it’s just something you naturally think about when your leading a class.

You may not agree but in my opinion, these are 100% true from my heart abd what I believe. And I may offend you or frustrate you with these but seriously, just think about them and youl realize that its true. Also the names of these groups/cliques aren’t the best names. In all honesty, i could have named them group 1 or group 2. The names are just here for sake of IDENTIFICATION. They may have little to do with the group, but whats underneath the heading is what counts. (Note: And BTW, I don’t hate any of these groups at all. Even though my tone changes a little, I think this is what a lot of the people OUTSIDE of the selected groups thinks about them). I could have made it better but here we go.

The Jock Partiers Now these group of people are the guys and girls that usually play sports and pretty much only talk to each other. They’re the ones with the Varsity jackets or the jerseys on game days. Even though some of them may NOT be on the football team, they’re usually always hanging around the football players. Now people may jump to conclusions that cheerleaders would be included in this group. I don’t think they are, especially at Avondale. But people in this group love to party and hang out only with each other. They drink and some take drugs BUT most  are NOT known as the druggies or alcoholics. That’s another group. But nevertheless, they do use drugs and I know some of them that even sell. Oh, and they’re all usually pretty attractive (I can’t speak for the guys). They’re the group of people that are “born” with popularity. The students who were popular and pretty from as long as you can remember, straight out from elementary school…..well they’re the same guys who have the varsity jackets on in high school. Teachers usually love these guys, just because their lives seem so “perfect”. But in reality, if you ask any of them, they’re not.

The White Exclusives These are the (usually white) kids who are in all the honors classes, are always sitting together at football games (because most aren’t on the team), and are all the people at the class board meetings. They go to all the school events, most sports games, and divide and conquer a big homework assignment together (“You do this section while I do that and then we copy off each other”)They are also the ones who you usually see wearing a cross around their neck but don’t go around telling everyone to listen to Jesus because quite honestly, there’s no one at Avondale that does that. These are the same people who are in the lip sync EVERY year and to be honest, are also the reason why the numbers in lip sync drop, every year. Trust me, look at the lip sync videos on youtube. The freshmen always have the most. Now if you were a freshmen, and you liked the lip sync, you’d obviously come back right? Of course but the reason the freshmen (or the previous grade’s members) don’t come back the next year is because they don’t feel apart of the vibe or THIS group, the group that pretty much controls how the lip sync is made every year. Don’t believe me? Think about it, go to your class board meetings, look at the lip sync videos, and think about the previous years. Now these are the type of kids who don’t fall into the first category at all but many times are friends with them but… secretly talk shit behind their back sometimes. Also, these guys don’t use drugs at ALL. They listen to all the rules and follow everything. Actually, Teachers love these guys the most. But no offense, this group gets boring after a while. Its the same thing every year for these people. But To be honest, I LOVE these guys. Most of them are my friends and people I chill with. But I never truly felt apart of this group. Its like I kinda worked my way up to be friends with them. And to be honest, they are seriously the nicest people I have met(well most of them). I seriously do love them but on the flip side and after noticing these things about them, I use to dislike them before I got to the level Im at in HS. And the things I hated about them back then (and maybe even now) is that even though they are the nicest people when you talk to them, they actually exclude a  lot of people from what they do. They don’t actually say it but a lot of people feel that way about them. And they might not even know they exclude people but just notice it. Look around you at the lunch room and even school or AP classes. They always sit together when they get the chance and are usually the loudest in these advanced classes. Just think about it and notice it when you go to school…

The Abstract and Funny Potheads This is a group at Avondale which I think is special and relatively new. For some reason, I feel like before and during my freshmen I never had seen people like this. These are people who are extremely weird….like SUPER weird. B this group of kids at Avondale are known to probably be the funniest kids in the entire school No seriously, the FUNNIEST kids in the school. Well, at least I think they are the funniest kids. They are known for this, I think, because they might do the dumbest but funniest shit ever. They are also known to be the jokers in class, the guys that are always cracking jokes during the teacher’s lesson, being loud and funny in the hallways, and the ones getting in trouble at the assemblies.  But this group is also notoriously known for using drugs. They are the people who sometimes come to school events but when they do, they’re either high as kites or drunk as hell. They post the weirdest and funniest facebook statuses and the most odd but hilarious pictures. I would say they’re pretty popular, in the sense that most people know who they are and what they do. And yes, most of these guys are the people you will see in detention or in the principal’s office (or vice principal’s I should say, especially at AHS). Also, teachers absolutely hate these guys. They’re the type of kids that Leadership wants to involve.But the people in this group think they get pushed back by them and therefore, most of them hate people like me..or at least I think so. But what’s weird with this group is that they’re relatively new and I feel like every year there’s more kids that want to be part of their group and COMPLETELY change from the previous year just to be in it. Seriously, I could give names of perfect examples, but just think of some people and you’ll get it. 

The Super Passionate Now this group of kids kind of works like the other gorup described above. They aren’t one big group but rather big groups in their seperate departments. For example, in Avondale there are sevral different things you can be a apart of. There’s art, band, music, sports, student government, technology stuff, theater etc. I think for each department, you have a bunch of kids that all hang out together and pretty much dedicate a majority of their lives to this. Some are crazy obsessed with their “thing” while others are at least close to that level. For them its going to the lunchroom for their department (as I call it), going there after school, and going there in the morning sometimes. And when its not that the’re talking about it with someone else. Well, maybe that’s a bit too far. But you get my point. And sometimes they don’t even realize they’re that crazy for it. Come to think of it and I hate it sometimes, but I think I can be included in this group and the department…you can obviously guess that. Come to think of it now, I’m always in C7 but I try to be less annoying as possible. I’m sorry if I’ve annoyed you because I probably have. 

The Study All Day Crew. This is pretty self explanatory but not quite. These are the people in seriously ALL honors classes who DON’T fall under the White Exclusives. They are the white, brown, yellow, even black kids whose parents are super strict on them and expect them to get over  4.00s. And these kids just follow those expectations, complain about them A LOT, but still follow them. They are known as the “nerds” in the school but they do many a times, play sports, but the sports that everyone hates, ya know? Like swimming, tennis, or even lacrosse. They’re the ones who join every single club, are in NHS, and do milllions of volunteer hours NOT because they want to, but because colleges will love it!   Or even if they play other sports, they are just bench-warmers, but in reality are doing the sports ,once again, is ONLY to get it on their college app. Oh and they HAVE friends, like a lot too. They’re not outcast so don’t get them confused. They are the quiet ones in class but when they do raise their hand, they give the right answer 99% of the time. Oh also, they absolutely hate the White Exclusives because they’re loud and obnoxious to them.

The Drifters These are the people who aren’t really that good in school and aren’t really in honors classes. They are in normal classes but are NO way a part of the partier crew. Sure their grades are average, and they have some friends. But its usually just a three or four. They don’t really talk to anyone else. But they are nice people, but really reserved. They go to school, come home, go to school, come home. They arent’ really in any extra curricular stuff at least involved with Avondale. Maybe they do dance or do some other random sport outside AHS but they DO want to be apart of something bigger. In some cases they are the people who are always on facebook and post a lot of statuses but get few likes. Ya know what I mean? No doubt people always read their statuses but they’re like “ok…..”.  They just move through the way of life normally, aren’t really a distraction, just another “guy” type of kids. Oh and they can seriously be ANY race. Most white, good amount are black, and few brown and Asian but they’re still there. And they are NOT all one big group. But they are rather the kids who are in the “middle” and kind of only have a circle of 2 to 4 close friends, maybe less. 

The Dark Outsiders Perfect descrpition: The kids you see sitting/standing outside the lunch rooms. They are usually wearing dark colors and may look angry all the time but are nice people, well most of the time. Most people view them as weirdos and freaks. And if you ever strike a conversation with them (which most people don’t), they’l talk about stuff that you may find odd as hell. TO be honest, most of these kids don’t really care about school or life. Some even take drugs. But these are the people that even though are outcasts, you ALWAYS notice. Why? Its usually because of the attire they wear. Really weird, dark, black, full of chains, big gauges, that kind of stuff. Never unnoticed but always ignored because of fear. Most watch anime, most know A LOT about computers and such, and many are artisitic. 

The Cheerful but Lonely Actually I think two groups can full under this. First in all simplicity, are Theater kids. They are really loud, crazy, and cheerful when they are with each other  but when they’re walking through the hallways and interact with people OUTSIDE of theater, they’re really reserved and quiet. Yes most do have friends but most other people don’t see that they do, especially the Powerful/Partiers and Exclusive Whites. The second group under this would be the kids who are the loud ones in class and annoying. They take a shit load of pictures of themselves on facebook but most of the time, people don’t care at all about them. Actually, sometimes, these people are kind of attractive but are also known to be the dumb ones, so no one cares about them. They blurt out random stuff during class in an attempt to be funny or cute but end up failing because people just ignore them. This one is a little confusing but I would say this group is theater kids and the annoying but ignored group.

Invisible/Special Ed Now these kids are the ones who are in special education classes, or have a mental or physical disability. Its seriously extremely sad how they go through high school because no one ever wants to talk to them. EVER. I know people that have taken the risk of talking to them and all the ones I see cry when they tell their story of meeting them. Most of these Special Ed kids would actually fall under the last category. Some of the special education kids hangout together but like I said, some, or most, are the ones sitting alone at the lunch tables. These are the kids who are usually working in the beehive. And you know what, a lot of other people make fun of this group. Because some of these invisible special ed kids don’t look like they have a disability but may do actions which seem odd. And they get mocked for it. Its ridiculous. Even though it is sad, it is true and no doubt this group exists but is invisible.

Straight up Loners Now these people are NOT A GROUP AT ALL. They don’t really fall under any of the categories and because of that, they sit alone at lunch tables. now DON’T get these people confused with the Dark Outsiders. Because at least the Dark Outsiders have each other. These people sit alone at lunch tables, and there are many of them. But the important thing to note is that even though they don’t fit in any other group, they DO NOT form their own group of loners. THEY STAY ALONE. Try talking to these people, seriously. We all say we would talk to that lonely kid but no one does.My challenge for you is to talk to at least one of these loners before the year ends.Trust me, just talking to them will make you realize a lot of stuff. 

The Hybrids Just a small note but no joke, I know several kids that are in and out of two or more groups or are a mix of them. They’ll hang out with these kids and then those kids. But what’s funny is that some of them either don’t consider themselves to be part of any group or admit to all the groups they’re affiliated with. Not really a group but something to keep in mind so I didn’t exclude anyone. 

EVERY SINGLE grade has these type of kids, especially the ones at the top. Oh and I realized that the way I organized it, the kids at the top of the blog are the ones with most power. The ones at the bottom are the ones with the least power. And I could have organized this into clubs and activities people do. So like Jocks, leadership kids, etc. but I didn’t. Because trust me, thats not how Avondale is and that d be so typical for someone to do that.  But really, I tried to make this as authentic and versatile as possible. Which means that if you choose any single kid from the school…they will probably (not always) fall under one category. Or that’s kind of how I tested it out. By thinking of kids in the school and creating the group. Every single kid is different but what’s sad is that like every grade has a pattern of this and in some cases it passes on from sibling generations. 

I think I could have included way more group but I didn’t want to give you your stereotypical high school cliques because that would be boring. Like I said, this is just my opinion. I am sorry if I offended anyone but I had to be honest, because it is truly what I see. If you disagree or have any questions or comments, hit me up. I hope you guys enjoyed and let me know what you think.