After several appliance letters and a long wait, my friends and I have
finally been accepted at Syracuse University in Syracuse New York. Joanna,
Kristen, Connie and I are more than thrilled to be finally going off to
university together. Alas, our 'college life' will finally commence.
It felt unusual waking up so early after such a long lazy summer vacation,
but the excitement made it very much effortless. After a rather quick ride of
an hour and 20 minutes from Rochester to Syracuse, we reached campus. We tried
so hard to tame ourselves, no one likes psyched freshmen. Traditionally, we had
to join a certain sorority. My friends have begged and pleaded me to join them
in their ultimate sorority of choice; Kappa Kappa Gamma. I obviously couldn't
refuse, since we were all in this together, might as well be in the same
sorority.
Kappa Kappa Gamma is one of the nation's largest and most well-known
sororities. They are stereotyped for being attractive, rich snobs, but don't
get me wrong there are also a whole lot of kappas who are awesome, fun-loving
and great girls, just not enough to make me stay in that sorority. It was
absurd. All members, including my friends were mesmerized by the bubble-gum
wrapped world of the Kappa life. Our rules were preposterous and our senseless
gatherings engaged heavy debates about whether slumber parties should be held
on a weekend or our cumpulsory tanning sessions would be conformed to those who
are dark skinned. I've never been surrounded by so many airheads in my life,
and the worst part of it is that my friends have become infatuated with the
whole idea. I could not recognize them anymore. But what had really disgusted
me and forced me to leave was the continuous gossip I was hearing during my
stay. It had revolted me, and was a major turn off. This wasn't for me and I
wanted out.
I packed my bags and left very simply, no one noticed me anyway. During my
walk around campus I encountered a group of girls sitting on a bench and
couldn't help but over hear their conversation. They were discussing the new
Gatsby movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. One was dissing the whole movie and
the other was defending it to the death. I eventually gave my own opinion on
the movie, being favorable to the girl who liked it. Quickly, one conversation
lead to another, and I ended up being invited to a new sorority; Delta Gamma.
Delta Gamma was like Kappa Kappa Gamma, but not on steroids. I got along
with the girls there. They were intelligent, artistic and creative, every
single one of them and I loved it. Until one incident that has drastically
changed my view of this house. One of the members has put on a bit of weight,
which I thought wasn't that big of a problem. The girl herself however was
hysteric and when I had come to ask her of her anxiety, she told me that she
now has to attend a diet centre during the upcoming holidays and loose all the
weight she has put on. She further explained to me that one of the rules of
this house was that no one should be above or under 100 pounds, regardless of
their height. Because the number 100 resembles a perfect 10, therefore anything
beneath or exceeding this figure is ugly. I could not believe it. These are
even worse than the Kappas. I questioned the head girl about this, whom I've
grown to be very good friends with, and she confirmed the rule.
It was not long till it was my turn to oblige to this rule. I could not
risk being allotted to Kappa Kappa Gamma again. The diet centre looked liked a
sanatorium. It reeked of metal and medicine. It was awful. As I registered,
they handed me a pile of seven books and a packet of mints. The books were
presumably to kill time I'd spend in the centre. I didn't mind though, I liked
books, and mints as well, although most patients neglected them, but made it
easier for me to steal them. My days in the centre were bleak, tedious and
lonesome. I could not bear this prison-like atmosphere. There was no way out of
it. They do have a garden with fresh air, but still, it was diet centre
air.
One day as I was casually sitting in the lobby, observing all the patients
and nurses entering and leaving rooms and going about their duties, a fellow
came in. He did not wear white nor did he look like a doctor and he carried a
pile of envelopes. It took me a while to figure out that it was the mail man.
As he was leaving, I've noticed that the door that automatically gets locked,
had not locked this time. I glanced at the registration desk and the nurse that
usually sits there was not in sight. This was my chance. I ran to my room,
gathered all my belongings, including the books I've collected throughout my
stay and made a run for it.
It was exhilarating! The cold air did not kill my excitement and I was now
on cloud nine. I was scurrying through the chilling streets of Brooklyn
till it had become dark and was desperately asking for a ride from any
stranger. One eventually stopped for me. It was an old woman. "What's a
young girl like you doing in Brooklyn at this time?" she peculiarly asked.
"Any girl from around here would've known that the night time is certainly
not suitable for a young girl to be walking around!". "Ma'am, It's a
long story, I'm not from around here, I need to get home may you please drop me
off at the train station, wherever that is". The woman took me there and I
was very grateful to her, however I had nothing decent to offer her other than
a book. She declined my gift and said that she was merely 'helping a sister
out'.
I took the next train to Rochester. Finally, I've found peace. My mom was
certainly happy to see me although she also took pity on my unpleasant
appearance. I've donated all the books I've collected on my journey to charity.
I now attend Rochester University and have ditched all Gamma rules.
This story is based on Sindbad the Sailor's 4th voyage. This adaptation has a modern twist to it however is still parallel to the events that happen in the original version.
Link to 4th Voyage:
I can certainly see the similar events. Well done! There's one thing I don't understand though, how are cannibals and the ditzy members of Kappa Kappa Gamma alike? I'd be very grateful if you clarify that!
ReplyDeleteYou might not be familiar with this message, but as Muslims a common phrase or idea said to those who talk badly behind others' backs is resembled to a cannibal. This has been explained in the Quran; “…nor let some of you backbite others. (49:12)" "Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? (49:12)”.A strange comparison is made so that man may hate backbiting to the utmost extent. Does anyone of you like to eat the flesh of his brother who had died? Would he like to cut his dear brother’s flesh with a knife or with his own teeth and chew it or devour it? Imagine this scene. Can anyone ever commit this gruesome deed! Doubtlessly, it is an extremely abhorring thought. Eating corpse is the deed of a vulture. This is an example for making people detest backbiting. We have portrayed the members of Kappa Kappa Gamma as cannibals, because they gossip and talk badly behind on another's back.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you knew you had quite a sense of humor to your story. The diet centre and pit hole comparison got me cracking up! And you got the Kappa stereotype spot on! I also like how totaaaally different the setting and crisis the main characters face but still relate to the original story..very interesting. Thank you for sharing! I loved it I loved it I loved it!!
ReplyDeleteYes, we knew it would be funny if we used something very unexpected and absurd in our story, hoping the ridiculous resemblance would be of interest to readers. We've compared people that are on a diet to prisoners. We believe that most people who are dieting feel this way and therefore similar to Sindbad's time in the pit hole. We find that another way to modernize a story is to make it as relevant as possible to readers, even if that means exaggerating our feelings towards things in our everyday lives; for example the pit hole is diet, Sindbad's great adventure is the journey one will endure during his college years, and so on. Thank you for your comments!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely hilarious! Your story's so different from the original but both the main character's feel the same, which made it a lot easier to understand. I've noticed your story has less dialogue than the original. I personally would've liked to see more dialogue, even more than the original, but that's just me! I do however wish you could explain the title. Is it Gamma rules as in Gamma is awesome, or the rules and customs that are obeyed by Kappas. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYes, the story varies in so many ways from the original, however we though that it is most important to keep the character development parallel. As you said, character's do share the same feelings towards the situations they faced, as this might be the only thing both stories have in common and are identical. As for dialogue, the original story itself does not have much dialogue and since this is a modernized and abbreviated version of the original, then we see that dialogue must be shortened as well. Characters in the original speak very "proper" English, almost poetic like, where as characters in the new version are informal. For example the old woman in the second story says that she is "helping a sister out" which is slang for assisting. The title is actually both of what you have guessed; the traditions that are carried out by the Kappas, as well as saying that Kappa Kappa Gamma is awesome. We figured that this sentence is most likely to come out of a Kappa member's mouth, therefore we found it most suitable to the story.
ReplyDeleteThe language and description used in this story was by far the best from the "With Al Sahwa" series. I really enjoyed reading this. The girls' excitement with joining the sororities, it really gives you the freshman way of thinking in a way. I hoped she didn't go back home as I think its a sign of weakness to do so, I'm sure she could have found a sorority she feels comfortable being part of. Other than that I really enjoyed this and would give it 5/5
ReplyDelete