Savor by Fatima Ali

Author:Fatima Ali [Ali, Fatima]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2022-10-11T00:00:00+00:00

I forwarded the pieces in the Times and the recent segment of Voice of America in which I was interviewed to my family. One by one they congratulated me, and then, one by one, they reminded me to stay humble. The Chopped victory hadn’t been easy, but I still wanted them to see proof that all the sacrifices they’d made on my behalf had been worth it. I wanted so much for them to be proud of me, to validate my choices and hard work, but, as usual, it seemed that there was more I had to do to win their confidence. When Mohammad and I next spoke I could hear the pride in his voice when he told me how happy he was for me.

“Thank you,” I began, but unable to keep anything from my brother, I continued: “I feel like everyone reminded me to stay humble,” referring to the family emails that he’d been copied on.

“We all just want you to be happy and stay focused on what’s important, which is your craft,” my wise big brother explained. “Don’t let the media attention go to your head.”

I wanted to argue and say, I’m not! I would never! But I knew there wasn’t any point. Mohammad knew me better than I knew myself, and he was right that I relished the attention. I craved the validation—even from the faceless masses—telling me how talented and interesting I was. A predictable reaction to having a detached dad? Probably. Unsurprising from the daughter of a distracted mom? Possibly. These thoughts ran through my head in the silent beats on my end of the phone as I absorbed what he said from my apartment in New York.

“You’re doing so great, Fati,” he encouraged me from the other side of the world. “Just stay focused on your craft and the rest will fall into place.”

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