Syed

                               <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">  <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"> **__ Raziq M. __** <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">Romeo and Juliet Collage Project ->[|R&Jcollage] <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"> ** By: Mukund Manikantan ** <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> Raziq Mohideen, 13, is a very nice, friendly person who was born on March 26 1997 at Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. Not only did he grow up to be a kind and helpful kid, but also has learned to respect and understand his religion of Islam. Now, as a young adolescent, he lives in Edison, New Jersey and attends Herbert Hoover Middle School. Throughout his life, like very few people, he has had great enthusiastic and supportive friends who have helped him along the way, early on in life. Not only were they all important, but also as he says, “They were all unique in their own distinct ways. With just a couple of important traits, Raziq Mohideen seems to be a great well rounded person. <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">**__ Growing Up __** <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> Unlike many other people, one thing that makes him stand out is the fact that throughout his childhood, he didn’t have one favorite “kiddy toy”. This may seem weird; however, this is because he was used to be fascinated by toy cars. From my perspective, it seems that he took it really seriously, when he used the word, “**obsessed**”. He used to go over to his friend’s house and play traffic jam, lining up cars one behind another and pretending that they can’t get through. From the way that he mentioned his experiences with them, I can tell it played a huge role when it came to fun and entertainment during his childhood. <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> After the toy cars, the next thing of importance used to be his school life, back in elementary school. His 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Ulrich, truly did her part when it came to connecting with the students and especially Raziq, whose mind always had been very playful. Usually, we’d all think of teachers being good if they gave very little homework, but that wasn’t the reason here. On certain days throughout the school year, she would let the students bring in any toy of their choice to class. This simple act let Raziq and many others enjoy childhood just a bit more. <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> In third grade, Raziq met his first best friend, James. “We really liked each other and even got our parents to meet each others. James was funny and personable. I ended up meeting some of his friends Raziq remembers, like Joey, Lex, and Eugene.” <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> The role of his school doesn’t stop there! As Raziq himself says, “One memory that will always stick out like a sore thumb is when I got in trouble back in kindergarten. On the bus, I was just sitting there, waiting to get to school. However, I guess I was swinging my legs just a bit too much since somebody told on me. I had to go to the office and I was very sad because it was the day we brought our teddy bears to school to get a check up.” It’s clear which elements have creating the great traits we see in him today: great teachers, interesting subjects, memorable memories which we can all laugh at now, and most of all, freedom to be the kid he was on the inside. <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">**__ My Life Now… __** <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> Slowly, yet eventually, Raziq has gotten over his “kiddy-ness” and has somewhat “grown up,” as I may call it. Lately, he has started to play recreational soccer, taking violin lessons, and going for occasional swims. Not only has he learned more useful skills, buthe has also realized that he has to stand up for himself. At first, he had been doing everything that his parents told him to do, from studying to doing things that he really didn’t have an interest in. For example, when you ask him why he started to take violin lessons, he’ll say that he only joined because his parents forced him to. This was also the reason when it came to swimming; his parents said to him that being able to swim would be a very valuable skill in crucial moments. However, Raziq slowly understood that there is no point in doing something that he doesn’t like, so he told his parents that he didn’t like taking swimming lessons. Now, instead of being forced into things he doesn’t like he spends more time on the computer, on YouTube, and playing games as well as playing soccer **for real**. <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> You may be wondering why he continuing playing soccer; well, that’s because of his interest from when he was young, in being just a bit active outdoors. Since he was a kid, Raziq had truly enjoyed the experience of riding his bike around n Roosevelt Park and playing outside. Not only did this encourage him to stay in touch with Mother Nature, but also helped him stay fit and healthy. Even though he plays soccer and rides his bike a lot, he doesn’t consider himself as active at all. As he states, “Well, I know that I am smart, since I have good grades. Plus, people always call me ‘smart’. However, I can get a bit out of control, **aka**, violent and irrational at times. I am sometimes a procrastinator when it comes to homework and projects, but I can get thing done sometimes when you don't rush me. At the same time, I may need a little push once in a while.” It seems that Raziq is a multi-sided person with a lot of complex characteristics making him very interesting to know about. <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">**__ Hopes, Dreams, and Wishes __** <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> In the early stages of life, when your ten to sixteen years old, you have many goals, or at least your supposed to. So, like many people, Raziq has also set his goals and devised a method to achieve them. Raziq shares, “I have a few goals. One of them is to get a high-paying job in what I like. To do that, I need to keep doing well in school, score high on state tests, and get into a studious university. Of course, I also need to do extra-curricular activities. That's why I take soccer lessons and play the violin. Also, I plan to join the student council this year and maybe in college. I will do community service projects. This will all help me get a good job. Next, I want to be a good Muslim. My religion is Islam, which requires me to do numerous things in my daily life I have to learn the Qur'an, pray five times a day, and eventually go to Mecca, etc. I am trying to pray more and more each day, and I pay attention in my Islamic Sunday School. I will memorize the Qur'an bit by bit. I do my best to believe in Islam.” <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Seems to me, and probably anyone else is that he has his goal and self-expectations set out very early from the start. Hopefully, if he does follow the methods that he has laid out, he might actually be able to achieve all of his goals. <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Once Raziq does get into college, preferably one of the better colleges, which offer very high degrees and lots of good valuable information, he plans to get a good education. However, the interesting part is that he is not yet sure what field he wants to go into when he grows up. He seems very interested in marine biology because he thinks the “ocean is fascinating” and also because he is fascinated by marine life. In addition to that, he says that he wouldn’t mind being an environmentalist, because of the increased issues concerning all life on Planet Earth. Next, he has also considered jobs involving use of computers and technology, since he is very good in using programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel. And lastly, Raziq has even considered professions such as teaching due to the fact that he enjoys explaining things to other people who need help. Since, he is filled with numerous possibilities and options, the choice of a career might be a bit easier since he’ll be ready for any opportunity that comes his way. <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> After his hardworking years in college, Raziq plans to be close to the rest of the world, when it comes to settling down. After considering that he finds cities to bustling with crowds and lots of people, he decides to live in a city suburb, much like Edison. However, he would like to have a big house with two floors, a basement, and the latest technology installed. There will also be at least two TV’s and a fast computer as well as energy-efficient appliances. With all of this dedicated planning for his future, Raziq look like he is prepared and ready for whatever the future holds. <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"> Raziq surely does look like a normal kid from the outside, however on the inside, he withholds a lot of fascinating traits. From his enjoyment in outdoor activities to his carefully planned future, I Raziq can see that he is a unique person overall. With many friends and family to support him he has become a really nice friend who can help, and encourage others. With such great qualities, who wouldn’t want to be friends with Raziq Mohideen?

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