I am not American, Czech or Lebanese. I am not atheist, Buddhist or Muslim. I am not black, white or yellow. I am not air so stop thinking about moving in my sacred sphere without facing the brunt of an inescapable gravity. I am not water so doesn’t matter how many different vessels you put me in, my essence will survive. I am not diamond either so even if you build the world’s safest locker around me, I will escape. The world will continue to create models after models to understand me and it is my privilege to defy each one of them. It is the task of this world to predict my movements and it is my job to surprise them time after time. It is their prerogative to create snares, illusions, traps and it is my destiny to escape whether it is logic, religion or love. I am not the country I live in, not the food I eat, not the education I get, not the religion I follow, not the gene I inherit but the hope I carry deep in my soul. I am what I dream. Published in Daily Times, March 10th 2018.