Shrayes Gunna Yaamini Jois Joanne Kim Saniya Koppikar

OPINIONS THE SIDEKICK

2022 APRIL

The Women Who Made Us

In honor of Women’s History Month, The Sidekick columnists wrote stories about influential female figures in their lives.

Goodall captures hearts of girls with chimpanzees

Noor Fatima

Staff Designer

@CHSCampusNews

When I was in second grade, I read a certain book from the classroom bookshelf. It was part of The Magic Treehouse Fact Tracker series. It was called Pandas and Other Endangered Species

In this book, there is a section about Jane Goodall and her most well known research, in which Goodall lived alongside a group of chimpanzees, studying their behaviors.

Reading about these chimpanzees that shared human attributes with us was inspiring. I was already a child who was interested in science, but it always felt so disconnected to me as a young girl; all the cool scientists I had heard about were men in fancy black coats. Using math I did not understand, studying subjects that were interesting, but not what I found interesting.

I am a very visual learner, so the concept of being able to simply observe in an experiment excited me.

Even better, a woman could do

it.

Goodall sparked my interest in science. From then on, I wanted to become a biologist. I thought it would allow me to work with animals like Goodall. Looking back, I’m not sure that would’ve been the case.

It is the spirit that counts, though.

Goodall’s conservation efforts also showed me the importance of environmentalism. Her methods of research gave importance to the test subjects and their emotions.

Goodall’s work gave me a clear reason as to why we need to conserve the planet in a way my younger brain understood and connected to.

She is the root of why I don’t mind taking a moment to pick up trash from a beach, or to consider how much plastic is in the packaging I consume.

She inspired the part of me who loves environmental science and learning how things work in the wild.

The Sidekick staff designer Noor Fatima considers Jane Goodall, an English primatologist and anthropologist, as the woman who made her. Fatima thinks Goodall’s research of wild chimpanzees has impacted her outlook on nature since childhood. Ashley Qian

Memories of my mother paralleled in role models

Shrayes Gunna

Staff Writer

@shrayesgunna

My mother is Hindu but every night before dinner she prays to Jesus Christ. I’ve never fully comprehended this paradoxical aspect of her identity, but I’ve accepted it as one of her fatal flaws. She can never make up her mind: her indecision fuels my constant curiosity.

As I ask her about her past, the stories gushing from her lips and emotions painted in her sad eyes as she reflected redefine my conception of her and let me into a hidden collection of her memories.

My mother was born Vishwa Shanthi Gunta. Now, all her legal documents read Shanthi Gunna, the transfiguration of her name reflecting the multiplicity of her experiences.

She was born in 1975.

At age 5, she was sent to a Catholic boarding school nestled in the sprawling city of Vizag beside her small hometown of Palasa.

At age 22, she married Shankar Gunna, and she relinquished her dream of becoming a doctor, pursuing engineering instead.

At age 24, she made the difficult decision to move to the United States, forcing herself to orient to a foreign landscape.

And at 29, she had me.

She was the antithesis of traditional, never taking leave from work to tend to my needs, instead chasing after her goals alongside cultivating a family. As soon as I could really process words, my mother would greet me with an outpouring of tales about her work as a Vice President at J.P. Morgan Chase managing 27 men.

My mother has never been submissive to society’s norms. As an Asian woman working in a field populated primarily by men, she had to be bold, steadfast and ten-times as hardworking as her male counterparts.

And so she is.

She shaped who I am, instilling a fond respect and appreciation of the class, sophistication, power and majesty of femininity. My idols have always been women, all elegant, intelligent and trailblazers in their respected fields.

My idols now are diverse and poignant, each holding the sort of conviction and strength I appreciate in her.

When Selena Gomez crafted “Living Undocumented” to shed light on the stories of illegal immigrants, my mother encouraged me to embrace my culture and analyze its intersections with politics and social justice.

When Taylor Swift sang “pack your dolls and a sweater, we’ll move to India forever” in her song “Seven,” my trips to India with my hand clutched in my mother’s come to mind.

When Gemma Chan represented strength and independence in Crazy Rich Asians breaking societal expectations, my mother was making parallel strides for representation in the STEM field, embodying the same values and drive.

When Princess Diana walked barefoot across minefields in Africa driven by her heart, my mother joined institutions from health clinics to the local homeowners’ association to be a voice for her expansive network of friends and acquaintances.

My mom never wears her heart on her sleeve, conditioned to keep in her feelings. But if you

The Sidekick staff writer Shrayes Gunna regards his mother as the person who shaped him. She influenced Gunna’s choice in female role models, who hold the qualities that he admires in his mother. Rachel Chang were to sneak up on her as she I follow her prayers with an watched movies through the “amen” accepting and loving her night, you’d see her crying at the for all she is. cheesy love story fixed across the TV. Most people wouldn’t really understand my mom nor recognize her valiant efforts and growth, but I do. She is the woman who made me, by influencing my idols, encouraging my passions and adding fuel to my fire as it flickers out. So every night,

Mirroring the woman I want to become

Anette Varghese

Student Life Editor

@AnetteVarghese

I learned to walk along beaches that were brimming with white sand and had crystal clear waves lapping at the shore of the Sunshine State, Florida. I was often chased by a newly immigrated mother of two toddlers, who ushered me to run faster.

My mother, Sali Varghese, is not someone who is fond of change, but she made the choice to move abroad from Kerala, India. Thus began a chain reaction that would end with me sitting in my bedroom writing in fluent English, choosing the right words to perfectly articulate how her effort changed the entire trajectory of my life.

No one has ever known her to be afraid of anything, so it was a shock to her when her youngest daughter was afraid of everything from heights to water. She was so fearless in fact that she annually reminds me of my first grade fill-in-the-blank Mother’s Day card chalk full of lies that so eloquently states her fear of snakes, mice and bugs.

Fears aside, we are quite alike. I developed her love for time management, and occasionally, a sharp tongue. We share similar face shapes, and thankfully, I take after her in the eyebrow department. I also plan to follow her bold steps into the medical field as a nurse.

Something she is fond of is consistency. Throughout our many “permanent” home addresses in America, my mom has been sure to take us to church, especially on Sundays, which is why I can accurately tell you which church in New Mexico has the best ambiance for a nap. Which is why I have never made plans on a single Sunday morning since age 4, but I also value that consistency in my life.

Both of us choose the silent treatment as our choice method of punishment when upset. Both of us are morning people, and both of us like our coffee black. While I might be exactly fiveand-a-quarter inches taller than my mom, if she squints extra hard she might see just a sliver of how much she has built me.