Have you ever lied about something to make yourself “fit in?” Well if so, you should be able to relate to a girl named Jabeen Akhar. “Why I Lied to Everyone in High School About Knowing Karate” is a short story about Jabeen Akhar and why she felt the need to lie and continue lying so she can keep her story up. Jabeen Akhtar lied to everyone in her high school about knowing karate, because her father made her believe that from a young age she had to be “exceptional” and she wasn’t living up to his expectations. She also did it so she could feel as if she was important enough to get the slightest bit of recognition from someone around her. She wanted to feel accepted by her peers, like most everyone at her age does. She felt as if she wasn’t important, wasn’t cared about, and she had no self-appreciation. Jabeen only wanted to feel loved and accepted by her family, friends, and peers while she feared what might happen if she showed everyone she was just an average teenage girl.
Jabeen’s father constantly sat her down and went over things that she needed to learn so she could be exceptional. Evidence of this can be found in paragraphs 46 and 47 where it says, “He went over everything again, drawing and drawing and drawing. Parallel lines, perpendicular lines, right angles, acute angles, obtuse angles, straight angles. He drew a little box where two lines intersected, asking what type of angle it was. ‘This is an easy one,’ he said. I felt myself shrinking in my seat. I looked at the phone attached to the wall, the yellow cord spiraling down, the plastic jug of cherry Kool-Aid on the counter, anywhere I could for answers. ‘I…I don’t know…’” This shows that her father really wanted her to be the best or exceptional at something in life even from a very young age. Her father most likely gave her a few traumatic memories like this all because he would do anything to get her to do better.
Jabeen has opened up about feeling the need to be seen and heard after quite some time. If you look at paragraph 70 you will see that she expresses this by saying that, “maybe the yearbook feature would prove that I deserved a little air time, some recognition. Something more than just the little square photo with the masses. The yearbook feature could say what I couldn’t to my friends and peers and teachers over the span of ten years roaming the school hallways alone: look at me.” This proves that she has wanted people to notice her more than just the quiet girl that nobody wants to get to know. Jabeen tried to make friends, but she was always left out. Throughout her life she has taken notice of the fact that she has only been given any attention when she decides to lie.
After about 16 years of life, Jabeen had come to the conclusion that she just wasn’t as special or talented as everyone else. She just couldn’t seem to find her sense of self. This can be inferred by what Jabeen says in paragraph 25, “I knew it would never happen based on merit, based on who I really was. So I told a lie. A lie was a shortcut to grandeur. A lie could help fill the bland, infinite void of mediocrity.” What she said shows the reader that Jabeen really does believe that she is a nobody, nobody important, nobody special, just a nobody. She lied so she could feel like someone. Someone important enough to give your attention to.
Jabeen Akhar, an average teenage girl, lied to her highschool so she could know what it feels like to be a part of something. Mr. Akhar, Jabeen’s father, expected her to be exceptional because they were immigrants and he feared that if they weren’t exceptional, the U.S.A. would send them back to their country. She always felt alone since she couldn’t be the exceptional kid her father wanted her to be, so when she got the chance to be able to say “look at me” she took it even if it was a lie. Because of the pressure put on her from her father, she couldn’t ever escape and find out who she truly was or what talents she could have in a different part of her life. A teenager never truly knows who they are. Even when you think you do, something happens and everything you thought you knew is flipped upside down. Lying is just a way some people cope with their own problems. At the end of the day it is crystal clear that Jabeen lied to try and help figure out who she is. And who knows, maybe after she told this little lie about knowing karate she could’ve been inspired to take a few classes, and become exceptional at it.
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School Assignments
RandomI'm bored but have no motivation to do anything and I say a few other people posting what they've had to make for school. If you do decide to read this then I apologize ahead of time because I might not know what else to post so because of lack of s...
