21 Day Gratitude Challenge: Day 6+7

Which artist has inspired you? Mucha. Alphonse Mucha.

How have you changed for the better?  I remember when I consciously decided to become more patient. It was in 2009 and Ramadan came once again. As I just read that Ramadan is the best time to create new habits and improve one's character, I thought I should give it a try. I knew I wan't a very patient person, so I thought that I should start that year. I mean, if I managed during Ramadan, then it will be easier to be patient outside of Ramadan.

It. Was. So. Hard.

Especially when you don't drink or eat anything during the day. But somehow I managed. And as I went through various situations throughout the years, which refined my patience skill, I know it has made me a better person. 

21 Day Gratitude Challenge: Day 5

What Is Your Most Precious Memory?

 The ones with my dog. Growing up I have been blessed in encountering many dogs and owning a dog. I had a great pyrenees, yup, the huge, fluffy, white dogs. They may seem scary, especially when they fight with other dogs or stand on their hind legs, but they are very patient, loveable, cuddly, always hungry & sleepy. If they wanted they could overpower me or anyone, but they are so lenient with us, and give us all their love. All they ask in return is love, food and shelter. They don't judge you but love you just the way you are. This is the same for other types of pets. 

21 Day Gratitude Challenge: Day 2+3+4

Sorry, but I completely forgot to write the past two days. So here we go!

Who Do You Know That You Can Never Repay? My mom. She sacrificed a lot for me and suffered a lot. If I were to count everything she has done, I would never be able to repay her. 
What Do You Take For Granted? Clean drinking water. I try not to waste water but everytime I go back to visit the country of my origins, it's tough to drink. 
What Inconvenience Are You Grateful For? I look way younger than my age which means that when I'm older I won't look old :P

21 Day Gratitude Challenge: Day 1

Now that the blog writing challenge is over, did you think that I would stop writing? Well, I'm sorry, but I will annoy you with my posts for another 21 days :D

This time, I took up another challenge: the 21 Day Gratitude Challenge by KindSpring.

For the first day, the prompt is: What Do You Have Enough Of?

I have an abundance of a lot of things, mainly food. Maybe it is because I have always been grateful of the food on the table that there was a never a substantial lack of food. This sense of gratefulness increases during Ramadan, as during that month every bite and every drop of water tastes more precious and fulfilling. I find it so precious that every year, I thought up different ways to not waste food and not to eat excessively. For example, eating fruit is good for you, no doubt, but during Ramadan it becomes more difficult to eat a variety. We used to throw away so many fruits because it was difficult to eat them due to the reduced volume of the stomach and the summer heat. This year, I came up with the idea to drink the fruit instead of eating it. How do you drink the fruit? By blending it and making a fruit juice! So everyday, we would drink different fruit juices, especially a whole watermelon (the big ones, not the small ones). And it would last only 2 days! And now I'm grateful that my brain sometimes works to let me come up with efficient ways to solve a problem :P

Dream Job Writing and Start-A-Blog Challenge: Day 7

Today is the final day of the blog challenge and the writing prompt is: What Revolution Will You Lead??

Well, good question! It's very similar to the previous question and as I still don't have an answer, I don't know how to answer the writing prompt! At the moment, I feel like doing a random and crazy thing to show that Musliims aren't bad. Or maybe I should just stick with food as it is the thing which brings me most joy and love, especially sugarrrrr. 

Dream Job Writing and Start-A-Blog Challenge: Day 6

Today's writing prompt is: What difference do you want to make?

I want to make a difference in the world. The kind of difference that Lady Diana, Mother Teresa, Pope Wojtyla or even Nelson Mandela did, but on a smaller scale. I'm not sure that I have as much courage as they did to commit so much of themselves or inspire people in their cause. If you think about it, they have sacrificed a lot. The more you give to the world, the less you can think about yourself. And I want to be selfish for a little while more.

But if I close my eyes, I imagine a field full of flowers. The sun is shining and it warms you up. When you breathe in deeply, you can smell the meadow and the fresh air; you can hear the bees buzzing; you can feel the breeze whispering among the tress and then swooping down to kiss your skin. There are children from every background, culture, religion and ethnicity, who are laughing, playing, helping each other in the daily chores.
A place where one can visit to get in touch with their inner child and nature. A safe haven where children can grow happy. A place where you have to share positivity and goodness. A place where you can feel and will want to spread love, unity, peace, joy, etc. This is my end vision.

The problem is that I don't know what it is and how to achieve it. 

Dream Job Writing and Start-A-Blog Challenge: Day 5

I'm sorry but I completely forgot to write yesterday. I was hooked with  Quantico and then when I came back to real life, I was again worried about terrorist attacks. The tension here is getting high and I can feel people staring at me. Sometimes I can feel their anxious and hostile thoughts. I try to be as normal as possible and to give out peaceful vibes, but that's just me against a whole crowd. I don't think they realize that we are just as scared as them. Just as sad as them. Just as offended as them.

Well let's move on yesterday's writing prompt: What's your elevator pitch?

I don't know but I'm feeling this urge to start creating something visual. Something artistic. Maybe I should show them here also? 

Dream Job Writing and Start-A-Blog Challenge: Day 4

Today's writing prompt is: What's one thing you're proud of?

You won't believe it but the thing I'm most proud to date, is finishing the last semester of undergrad uni. That last semester was craaazyyy!!!

I had 4 courses, the thesis, three part-time jobs, a part-time internship and two funerals on the other side of the world. Oh, and let's not forget my 1.5 hour journey to get to uni and then back. So in total of three hours spent in the public transport. My daily routine would be: leave in the morning for my part-time, courses, part-time, internship, come back home at night, have a quick shower and dinner, and then write my thesis until 2-3 am, get some sleep and the whole cycle would start again. In the week-end I would have another part-time but at least I could catch up some hours of sleep. And it lasted three months.

I had my emotional breakdown on the last day of my finals, when not only I has no sleep the night before, but I still had to write a bloody conclusion, abstract, acknowledgements, index and sort out the layout! I printed my last thesis copy at 9pm that night in the uni library, bound it and left at the front office for the thesis readers. When I went out of the uni doors, I was mentally and physically exhausted. But not the emotional side, as it was waiting for me to just come rushing out. When I tripped and all the things in my arms fell, I just started crying. As I was gathering it up, I just continued crying. As I walked towards the car where my dad was waiting (good thing I called him to pick me up), I continued crying. As I was in the car, I continued crying. It just wouldn't stop.

And then, when I woke up the next morning, I forgot what my life was like before the thesis. I just couldn't remember what I usually did on a Saturday with no responsibilities and deadlines. It felt so weird, as if I just came back from a trip.

If you're wondering how I managed to get through all that chaos, it is because:

1. I organized my time in such a way that I was productive as much as possible. For example, if I had an idea during work, on how and what to write for a chapter of the thesis, I would grab the nearest paper and pen, and write it down. I didn't wait until I was at my laptop to write because there was a risk that I would forget it.
2. During those long bus rides to or back from uni, I would force myself to read The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. It helped me to keep my head above the water and post-pone the emotional breakdown. 
3. Knowing that all my classmates and friends were going through the same thing, made it bearable. That means that we supported and motivated each other, even if it meant just sharing an afternoon snack talking about the most silliest things. It gave you a boost of energy and happiness to start a dreary job. 

In the end, it made me feel that I was strong enough to go through anything life throws at me and had this really bright outlook on the future. Of course life always has surprises and it tested me very soon. But that story is for another day (maybe). 

Dream Job Writing and Start-A-Blog Challenge: Day 3

After yesterday's rant, today's writing prompt is: what do people thank me for?

Hmmmm......I find these types of questions difficult to answer as: a) I don't want to sound like I'm bragging b) I don't keep a tab of what people say to me. 

So, let me think........................................................................................................

*****************************After 2 hours******************************************

People have thanked me for being kind. Not because I gave them something materialistic but because I gave them some of my time to listen to their problems and actively asking questions, especially this question: "Why?" If asked in the right tone (depending on the context), it's a great way to keep a conversation flowing and it shows to the speaker that you are interested. Needless to say, you have to truly listen and not fake it. It's really disrespectful, especially if you keep asking questions and urging them to talk on. 

Dream Job Writing and Start-A-Blog Challenge: Day 2

Today's writing prompt from Live Your Legend is: What really makes you angry about the world?

Well, this isn't difficult, seeing what happened recently: humans make me angry.
Humans who kill innocent people to gain attention.
Humans who have a political and economical agenda to increase profits in exchange of human rights. Humans who forget that they are adults and thus can affect a child's life in a positive or negative way. Humans who only believe that their way of thinking and living is the right way.
Humans who get consumed by greed, hurt and anger.
Humans who'd rather blame others instead of working together to find a solution.
Humans who don't want to learn new things.
Humans who stop imagining to improve the world.
Humans who stop trying to help other people because they have been hurt.
Humans who take their loved ones for granted.
Humans who forget that other human beings have people whom they love.
Humans who have lost enjoying seeing, listening, feeling and tasting the beauty in this world.
Humans who listen to their ego instead of their inner child.
Humans who think that they can never change because they are too old.
Humans who forget how the children's psychology are affected by seeing their loved ones fight and die.
Humans who forget how short life is and how lucky that we are still alive.
Humans who forget that we can choose to do bad or good actions.

And now I've realized that we humans are a sad lot. And that instead of anger, this list has turned into pent up frustrations.

If you're wondering why I haven't gone into detail about the Paris attacks, it is because there is more than enough emotions going around that my tears have dried. The only thing that seems blatant, is that it seems like 9/11 all over again: an extremist group rises in the middle east as the current government is too liberal -> magically has enough money to buy enough arms to start a civil war -> lots of death, torture, orphans and emotionally unstable people -> recruit them -> brainwash them -> the extremist group blames the West -> attacks the West by doing horrible acts -> the West now has a 'legitimate' reason to attack -> lots of death, orphans and emotionally unstable people -> the group is eradicated -> somehow the region the West attacked is profitable -> post a head of state approved by the West-> a new extremist group is born near the region. And the whole cycle starts again.

Do you know who real losers are? Us. Because the only information is from the media who can just feed us what those in power want us to believe. Because when there is an attack, it is us who lose our loved ones first. And this is great for fear, hate and violence to ferment.

And I'm wondering how can we, mere civilians, actually make a change if those in power don't listen to us?

Sometimes I'm really tempted to drop everything and find a small plot of land to farm and just live with a few animals. No drama.  But at the same time, this would mean running away from the problems. And this won't bring change.

Meh, this post sucks.

Ps. That theory up there: it's generalized. And it is one theory out of many.
Pps. Please remember that this is only an opinion out of thousands of others. I just puked all my thoughts out without filtering them. So don't take it at face value.

Dream Job Writing and Start-A-Blog Challenge: Day 1

Hi!

As this is the only blog out of the other four blogs which seems to be never updated, I've decided to accept the Blog Challenge from Live Your Legend here.

The first writing prompt is: "Tell us your story"

No, I am not going to tell you my story. I still don't feel comfortable for the internet people to know about me but I am going to tell you why I joined Live Your Legend and wanted to start this challenge.

I want to change. I want to be more active. I want to take steps in the real world towards achieving my goals, and not only in my head. I want to see results. I want to leave a little bit of me in this world by doing something which will affect positively someone. Something that will be continuously be passed along to others. I only have the final goal visualized but not the steps to be taken nor the challenges which I will face. But if I keep them in my head, nothing will happen. I will start with baby steps, but they will be steps nonetheless.

It sounds so cheesy but I don't want to wake up one day when I'm too old to move, to be full of regrets for not trying, for not taking courage, for not pursuing, for not being determined, in achieving my dreams and goals. I want to do something now that I have the time, energy and resources.

But first, I need to figure out more concretely what this 'something' will be.

Who knows what will happen now that I have decided to take action...