Introduction Letter

David Muhieddine 

English 210

Professor Creaney

February 4th, 2020

Introduction Letter

Dear Professor Creaney,

My name is David Muhieddine, I am a sophomore at City College, my majors are Economics and Political Science. I would like to pursue a business law degree after I complete my undergraduate studies. Some hobbies I enjoy are boxing, muay-thai, and brazilian jiu-jitsu. And so, I am very interested and passionate about mixed martial arts. Another interest of mine is travelling since I’m fascinated by foriegn cultures and influences. In terms of my background, I am a second generation immigrant from Lebanon and Brazil, which also concludes as to why I love to travel. One of my most profound experiences while travelling abroad was when I accompanied my father on a trip to Syria as a young child. At the age of seven, I had such a unique experience by visiting holy sites and historic monuments. Moreover, I developed a divine appreciation for the Arabian/ Pheonician traditions. The Middle Eastern region is a complex melting pot filled with an enriched sense of culture.   

Despite the unique experiences I gained through traveling, my childhood was very different and atypical in comparison to others. With my parents maintaining two different cultures and faiths, it established a great strain within the dynamics between my family. Since my mother came from the tropics of South America along with a perfervid military background, and my father coming from the Middle East where his childhood raged with violence and death, strict rules were imposed throughout my household. Withal, the traditions and cultures maintained by my parents were completely disparate. By possessing such unique pressures as a little boy in choosing a religion to believe in, my childhood was stifled with the uttermost perplexity that heightened each time I entered the church on Sunday mornings and the mosque on Friday evenings. Over the years, I felt like the end result in a game of tug of war, my arms being pulled in two opposite directions, and finally tearing my body in half.

Taking a stand, I finally informed my parents about my views and how I felt besieged within my home; I learned to seek fortitude and stability through my own beliefs, which gave me the confidence to exercise free expression. The growth in maturity was vital for me to take that leap, to follow a code, a system, a religion. Through opening up to my parents and explaining thoroughly why I felt this way, I grasped their full attention and  provided them with an outside perspective that did not pertain to their own. The minute I finished speaking my mother approached me with open arms and said, “As long as you make the right decisions in life, we as parents, will  always support you, regardless of what your beliefs are.” After she said those words, the great pressures I had once felt finally vanished, leaving me with a euphoric feeling and a sense of relief. Just the notion of acceptance from my beloved parents assisted me in reaching my safe haven, a place of warmth and welcome. 

Being of mixed descent opened many doors and opportunities to understand the teachings of both ideologies. Through time, I began to shift my focus from praying to one god to enlightening myself on what the Bible and the Quran sermonized. In retrospect, I simply became a student willing to learn about the Christian and Islamic faith. I concluded I should have the right to examine the religions my family practiced, while navigating my own understanding of what these practices meant. Having done so, I discovered the commonalities of both abrahamic creeds and how they promoted peace and love. From the belief of the miraculous birth of Jesus to his expected return, Islam and Christianity share profound connections. 

The assigned reading about Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. focused on dealing with conflict through the use of social ethics and morality. By establishing such a strategy, the reading touches upon the various approaches one can utilize when tackling problems and issues. There is a great emphasis on how social conflict impacts several groups of individuals which may result in a detrimental outcome. In my experiences I feel that a social scientist is someone with a neutral perception of society that eliminates biases and foists a powerful sense of fairness when analyzing copious conflicts. And so, the basis of the assigned reading connected with me due to my origins and my experiences as a bicultural product. 

Sincerely, 

David Muhieddine