I was born in the West Bank city of Nablus on April 30, 1986; the first born child to my parents, Fawaz and May. As I was growing up, nothing around me seemed out of the ordinary or even remotely remarkable. Sound of bullets, kids discussing politics, destroyed buildings, masked men in funerals, checkpoints, a disproportionate number of handicapped youth, and the fact that we had to be home every night before the 6 o’clock curfew- all these were facts of a life that was, to me, completely normal. I did not know any better.