It’s About Gratitude: On Ramadan
“This period of devotion also brings with it unique challenges particularly in balancing academic responsibilities, religious duties, and social expectations. Nothing tests your patience quite like a classmate unwrapping a hot cheesy slice of pizza right next to you while you sip on air.”
As Ramadan has arrived, we see the hallways of Comp Sci High light up through the striking resilience and ambition of the Muslim students making sure to keep that bright smile on their face. Muslim students across schools embark on a deeply spiritual journey of self reflection that many just believe is highlighted with fasting and prayer. This period of devotion also brings with it unique challenges particularly in balancing academic responsibilities, religious duties, and social expectations. Nothing tests your patience quite like a classmate unwrapping a hot cheesy slice of pizza right next to you while you sip on air.
Welcome to Ramadan at Comp Sci High, where Muslims students juggle fasting, late night prayers, and homework as if we were olympic athletes. Well that's, of course, without the medal and the snacks. We are hungry, starving for a change. A change where teachers offer a little more grace, where classmates trade jokes for empathy, and where the struggle of fasting during a busy school day is met with understanding rather than indifference.
For those unfamiliar, Ramadan is a sacred month when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset over the course of 30 days. No food, no drinks, not even water. Yes, even if it’s hot. Yes, even during gym. While fasting is about self-discipline and religious growth, it's hard to feel enlightened when you’re running on 4 hours of sleep because you stayed up for Taraweeh prayers, only to wake up at 4 AM for Suhoor (the pre fast meal). Between waking up before sunrise for Suhoor and staying up late for Taraweeh, many of us walk through the day in a fog of sleep deprivation and growling stomachs. Picture us bleary-eyed, trying to analyze an essay while our brain is in “low battery” mode and our stomach sounds like a distant thunderstorm or better yet, a volcano ready to explode.
We aren't asking for much, we aren't asking for a trophy. But, we are simply asking for a little grace from teachers. That wouldn't hurt. Teachers still pile on assignments like we're running on unlimited energy. It’s already tough explaining why we were half asleep in class without also worrying about our grades dropping due to a lack of consideration when it comes to things like extensions.
Let's talk about the real challenge, other students. Some classmates are cool, curious, supportive, respectful, and even offer to eat away from you. Others? Not so much. I can’t count how many times somebody thought it would be funny to taunt a student observing Ramadan with a bag of Takis, chewing gum extra loud, or letting out a big exhale after a sip of water. Like it's some type of social experiment. No, we aren’t allowed to cheat by eating “just a little bit”. These people are provoking, irritating, as they are tempting those who are committed to maintain their fast. Then, there are the self appointed Ramadan “experts” who don’t observe Ramadan but somehow know all the rules. “You can’t swallow your spit,” they whisper with the utmost confidence. And of course their source is an unreliable wikipedia page. Funny though: we really could.
It's not all bad. Ramadan is more than just hunger and exhaustion. It's a month of peace, forgiveness, and reflection. There's something special about breaking fast with your loved ones, family and friends, after a long day of schoolwork and fasting; it makes every struggle feel worth it. It’s a reminder that while our stomachs might be empty, our hearts and sense of purpose are beyond full.
For me Ramadan is about navigating life while carrying all my responsibilities on my back. After school, I have an internship that occupies most of my time, and when I come home, there's no break. In my African household, my mother cooks for different local mosques and our family, which means the kitchen is always busy and the dishes pile up as we have to run on a timely matter of iftar. My older sister who juggles both college and her job as an elementary school pharoah, and I are left to handle them. The exhaustion doesn't stop there. In the mornings, I have to make sure my younger sister is dressed and out the door by 7:30 AM. Cooperation with my younger sister is like trying to negotiate with a dictator. She will scream and display her full ray of attitude as she rolls her eyes acting like i'm running her existence by making her lotion on up. If there's one test of patience greater than fasting, its getting her out the door in the morning.
But let's be real: 7:30 isn't nothing to me. Sometimes I’m up until 3 AM chasing deadlines, running purely on adrenaline. And somehow, instead of breaking me it enlightens me. It reminds me that no matter how tired I get of the epiphany of my lifestyle, I refuse to let up on my choices, especially the ones that I desired in a sacred time of my life.
My mom, seeing my exhaustion, often tells me to go to sleep, feeling bad for me as she watches me push through another late night. But I know my path. I choose my own destiny. The fatigue, the struggle, the endless balancing act — it's all apart of something greater. I refuse to ket exhaustion define me. Instead I let it shape me into someone who doesn't back down!
Even with all this, I wouldn't change it for anything. The struggle of college applications, rejections, and waitlists have taught me resilience, and Ramadan only depends that lesson. It reminds me why I push forward. It strengthens my discipline, deepens my faith, and renews my gratitude. Ramadan 2025 has arrived at a defining moment in my life, and while my plate is full, my heart is fuller. This month reminds me that Ramadan is not just about what we sacrifice, it is about expressing the gratitude we have for the institution of Islam as a religion commemorating how far we have come.