Day Eighteen...biggest insecurity

Oh wow this one's gonna feel like I'm pouring my heart out, like I'm talking to a psychiatrist about my deep dark secrets.

Here goes, my dear Internet friends, but mind you keep it on the down low.

I'd say my deepest insecurity is dying not on the right path. Everyday, during our prayers there is a line that we say and it's "guide us to the right path." Many times i  just say it systematically and methodically, not much thought going into it. I'm really not the all out uprightness person, I've got my share of sins, but for me this happens to be my biggest insecurity. It's easier said than done that "oh the right path is clear from the wrong one" "Just read and you will be filled with knowledge" Bull! I couldn't disagree more, but then i guess that's whats always keeping us on our toes, right?

Day Seventeen...Something which has mad a huge impact on my life recently.

As an Egyptian I've grown up passing day in and day out  Masjid of Imam Al-Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad. I knew who he was and his position in Islam, i passed by the Mosque many times, maybe entered it once or twice. I knew that he had been killed, and that  his head lay in that  mosque. Why or how i never did care to find out.
About two years ago there was a lecture that i stepped into with a friend, the lecture was about the Battle of Karbala and Imam Hussein's role within it. I think that event was the domino that pushed the chain effect of me picking up books, reading and educating myself. What took place in Karbala is a humanitarian lesson for everyone, not just for Muslims. Imam Hussein symbolizes the stand against oppression, and the ultimate sacrifice as he stood against a tyrant, Yazid, Who despite knowing who Hussein was, did not hesitate to kill him and mutilate his body. I can honestly go on about this forever but it'll suffice to say that learning about this event had and will continue to have a huge impact on my life.

Day sixteen...someone who inspires you

This girl I've known just for a little while compared to the large scheme of things, but i remember when we first got talking. I was trying to study for an exam and she was waiting for her class and we kicked it off awesomely. We had so many similar goals, so many aspirations that we wanted. After half an hour of talking it felt like I've known her forever and till this day she's one of the few that gets what i want of life and inspires me in many ways <3

Day fifteen...to do before i die

I think my biggest fear is to die without having done anything with my life, to live a life with no meaning. Maybe this is why I'm always having a yearly crisis of "what have i done with my life?" Over the years I've accumulated a list of goals that I'd like to do before i die but i think really more than that i just want to live a life that is filled with meaning, a life dedicated to others, dedicated to justice, righteousness, imagination, uniqueness and adventure. That is what i'de like to do before i die. Is that too much to ask for?

Day fourteen...I can't live my life without you

I need to tell my mom to stop wearing white cause it washes away her face..jokesss

I love my mom to death, I may not always show my appreciation but i can't imagine life without my mom. She's my everything, that it's hard to even put into words the amount of feeling i have for her. Sometimes when i think  about the day when death comes calling( i know horrible)  i always hope that i die before i ever have to see any of my parents or family gone. It paralyzes me that this part of life would even happen. 

May you have many more years of health, blessings and happiness my awesome mama. Ameen

The revolution of Egypt

                          

Yes i call it a revolution, and nothing short of that.
this is not just some uprisings or merely protests but finally a call for overthrowing a decedent regime
it is a a total and absolute change from what we as Egyptians  lived in of Apathy, lack of care and repeated slogons of  " there's nothing in my hands to do."

We've tasted enough oppression and how sweet is the taste of change. We haven' t yet seen progress but the fact that Egyptians no matter their religion, social standing, or gender are out in the streets taking matters in their own hands is something.

The fact that thousands of Egyptians started collecting the garbage off the streets is something
The fact that people are working together as one hand is more than just something, it's everything

May God protect them and stand by them.

Day thirteen...Art is larger than just the artist

nuf' said

Today is the day

that i am proud of being Egyptian.

The day that hundreds of thousands of Egyptians went to the streets to protest an oppressive regime

the day that the Egyptian government felt threatened enough to close down the metro system, twitter and phone lines

The day where mothers, women and children went out alongside with men.

The day where they said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!


I honestly hope this goes further than just a one day protest, more than just a revolution but a change of the whole system, not to the worse but to the better.

Day Twelve..Favorite memory

This was during a Fast-a-day we were hosting at our high school back in 2005. And even though it's very hard to just choose one memory I can say without a doubt that this was one of the best memories I've had
( along with a few others) The work that everyone put into making it happen, the amazing feedback received from people, the fun and stress we had putting it together, yah it was awesome!

Day Eleven..something i hate

Oh hot damn! this one is easy. is that bad?

I hate people who use culture in the name of religion. I feel like giving them a slap or two to wake them up.
keep your sick culture to yourself and don't soil religion with it.


I Hate people who take advantage of little children, cruel, sick B******s !

Day Ten...most treasured Item

Lord have mercy! i honestly had to think all day on that one, i even had to ask my sister. I put it in a way to make her understand saying " if the house was on fire and i could only take one thing with me what would i take" her saying your clothes was of no help whatsoever. Funny thing was while worrying myself silly over all this i freaked myself out when i thought my favorite necklace got lost and wasn't around my neck. Oh silly me, i was wearing my favoritest ( yes it's a word, i just made it up) and most treasured item this whole time.

My friend gave me this necklace as an Eid gift once upon a year ( last year) and honestly, if i don't have it around my neck i freak out. Maybe it's the fact that i can trace Allah's name on it with my hands that puts me at ease. That whenever i hold it, it reminds me of the fact that God is always near and that i could be as silent as could be yet still making Dua ( a prayer) within. Who knows really, we function in weird ways.

Day nine...getting me through it cheesy-ness and all

The lady in the green t-shirt would be my best friend. Unfortunatly, we dont have any electronic pics together. funny eh? Honest to God, my cheezines doesn't do it justice but i've been through alot with her. especially that those teen years are full of drama, lord knows from where. She knows me, my crazy family and still chooses to be my friend. life was pretty successful and making us live on opposite ends of the country and maybe we don't even talk to each other that much but if there's someone who i can always pick up with a conversation like no time has passed, it's her.



P.s  so i was out of town on the weekend, had no access to internet and it turns out i had a automatic posting fail! I'm so good at this technology stuff! what? be thankful i know how to log in. seriously you guys!

Day Eight.. My hero

 Imam Ali though inspires me in every way possible and everyday i learn more and more which makes my love for him increase, not only as a character who went down in history but as a person who was a husband, a friend and a father. It does not seem hard to have mercy on the ones whom we love, but this is the man who had mercy even on his enemies. After the prophets death he was a figure who pushed forward the Islamic Ummah. The one whom the prophet said about him "I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate" As i read his sermons i can't help but wonder at his eloquence in speech and knowledge. I'd encourage everyone to learn more about him especially as youth he stands as a great model for us in ever essence of the word. 




Disclaimer: for all those who tell me what about the prophet, Having the prophet as a hero is a given.

Day seven...the person you do the silliest things with

This is such a hard one! I think I act very silly at times and with all my friends.
 Although the person whom i could say knows me at my silliest and i could just act plain retarded in front of is this lady in white here. I'm impressed, she takes it really well!


This is normal i act like this 99% of the time

Day six: something which makes me laugh

My friends! Those silly gooses, i love them to death.

day five...and how i love it

I love glorious little sliver looking pots...and painting

I may not be a talent in painting but its something that i love doing. Granted i don't do it very often nowadays either but when i do it's such a humbling feeling. I think anyone who paints knows what i'm talking about when i say i could sit there for long hours on end just looking at nature and seeing how the light falls on trees, streets or anything really and just feel an awe at the perfect state of nature. To me painting is just another way of contemplating Gods creation, another form of worship.

Day four...start a fire?

I know i know, it looks like the thing i want to do again is start a fire and i look like a fire maniac here but i promise that's not whats going on. See  this picture was taken during the camping trip i went on during the summer. The one where we stayed in tent right in front of the beach, yeaaa that one! it was also the one where it thunder stormed two days in a row and our tent turned out to be not waterproof YA It was just awesome, wish i could be doing that again.

Day three... and the cast is

                      

                                                                             Ugly Betty! 
I'm not a T.V person i hardly ever watch shows but i fell in love with Ugly Betty. I think each of us has an Ugly Betty inside of us or hope to at least. Meaning that we all want to in a way dress in whatever way, be whatever we want, eat whatever and not give a hoot about what others think. I loved that she was so uplifting so inspiring despite the way people acted towards her in the workspace. She wanted to be her own self and not just another carbon copy of all the other workers who acted in a specific way to fit into the "fashion" industry. I think we can all relate. Ahhh look at me over-analyzing shows as usual!
I actually thought it would be a great addition to have a Muslim Hijabi girl on the show, everyone at the company would initially pick on her but then would fall in love with her after they get to know that hey, Muslims are successful and have a taste for fashion as well ;)

Whats that?  I'm dreaming too much? pshttt watch me start a show!


  








Am i the only one who loves her color coordination? 

Day Two...ya we're tight

                                         
                                           Don't you just love those uniforms

That's my little brother and I, first day of school, Lord knows when. Me and my brother have had this relationship where when he was born i called him "sumaya" a girls name, talked to him in the feminine instead of masculine and for a while he pretty much addressed himself in the feminine as well. I think it was because when he was just born he peed on my leg and from there it started. If this isn't love, i can't tell you what is. Also when i was in about 9th grade maybe and him in 7th we hated each others guts. It didn't play too well for my mom since i remember us being on vacation at the time and refusing to sit next to each other on the Airplane. Being the strong Egyptian woman that she is though, she threatened she'd have the plane turned around and take us back. I think after we got through that phase though we've grown a lot closer. We can sit around having late night conversations about taking over the world, our dreams and the trip to North  South Korea that we plan on taking together and just life in general. So even though we've had our ups and downs we've still managed to not kill each other, which says a lot in the friendship department.

Day One...Not fobbish at all.

This is what i go to school to learn..awesome fobbish poses!

15 facts about yours truly: 

1- My sister who's younger by six years apparently looks like my older sister

2-  things I'm passionate about. My religion, Justice, History and Ideas 

3- I would rather learn something from a course then get an A without having learned anything

4- I love love love swimming, sometimes i wish i could live in water

5- people don't laugh at my jokes, they laugh at my laugh 

6- Owls just amaze me. I think they're beautiful beyond compare

7- My idea of fun is reading books 

8- I love my hair short and i think i want to keep it like this for years to come 

9- I use the word "love" a lot but usually when i say it i mean it

10- I am born in a generation that is not mine. I love old poetry, writers, music, art, clothing, fashion but maybe i am born in the right time since i have the right to still act as those generations did and its nothing out of the ordinary.

11- I had to take the Drivers education class 3 times just because I've moved so much

12- I believe that i can change the world and i tell myself that i will :) 

13- I'm very into trying new things, especially new food

14- I have to read the book before watching the movie

15- I'm very social yet i very much value my alone time

30 Day photo challenge

So i just read about the 30 day photo challenge by "Colors of My life" and am excited to be joining. This should be interesting it'll allow me to ponder my thoughts and take a look back down memory lane. wooot!
The challenge is to .... just look at the picture.



            


So who joined this? link your blogspot

The pretty things the sun does.

During winter break i was visiting family down south and i love the fact that when i walked out each day it was to this scene. The trees whether covered by snow or glistening in the sunlight always made me a little bit more cheerful inside. At times I'd see a deer or doe pass by and bluebirds were constantly singing their little voice boxes out. I think i can get used to this.

The silence on the streets is deafening

I snapped these shots on New Years while I was visiting a little town in the states. It was eerily quiet on the streets. It had rained the day before and the weather was not making matters any better. In those alleys it was a weird combination of serenity and an eerie sensation of abandonment. I sort of liked it but then again i sort of didn't

My little Golden swordfish

Necklaces are the next best thing to a Krispey Kremes donut, which are unbelievingly amazing. So the other day when i was browsing an antique shop and found this baby i couldn't help myself. Also despite the fact that i hate fishing i couldn't resist. I guess a part of me will always associate it with lazy summer days, chilling by a beach somewhere with a coke in hand ( minus bees that sneak inside) Just saying you know!

Say what.... I'm so lost!

One would think that with all the updating I've been doing for the new year, end of the year/resolutions, i'd be up to date with whats going on except for the fact that i feel that the new year has already snuk ( past tense of sneak?)  up on me. Don't as me why, i just feel like it has. Maybe it's because even though school started today for me, I'm nowhere near my school? just maybe! Maybe Its because most of my resolutions were to take place once i started back to school and since ( have i mentioned that i still haven't started) I still haven't started school, i just feel like I've been falling behind.

Ok new resolution, STAY ON TRACK!

Hair be gone

So I finally did it, after weeks and weeks of telling myself i'll get a haircut. I did. And just to show my brother how much i trust him, i let him cut my hair! like all of it. It feels weird wrapping my hijab and not have a bump in the back. It's weird yet satisfying. I love it even though  it didn't exactly turn out exactly like i wanted its still nice. My face shape took a whole new look or whatever.

since my hair is more curly than straight this is more how it turned out. close enough

I could swear though that i look like Audrey Hepburn, except for some odd reason my mom doesn't agree 

I resolve to stop breaking into song at every opportunity... Or atleast stop watching Glee..

Sometimes things work out in the perfectest ( word?) way possible. Alhmdllah, ulter duper excited for an upcoming "thing." Once the ball starts rolling i shall inform. Also, seriously couldn't have asked for a better way to spend the last day of the year. Eating sushi with my siblings and forcing my sister to try her first sushi while chanting "eat it" "eat it" because lets face it, peer pressure is the only way to get things done! Making a fire in the front yard and trying to grill everything and anything on it while watching snowballs get thrown at my dad. Check.
Last but not least, Dancing in the rain. SO check.

AS per usual, new year resolutions!! ( i just looked at my past year resolutions) and i can honestly say that i haven't looked at them since the day I've written them.eeek! Since new year resolutions are only written down to be broken, i will not write down my New Year Resolutions! Ha!! Take that system. What now? huh? huh?

On a totally unrelated note, i just went into Wal-Mart and this lady got this ultra freaked out look on her face, went into the next aisle and started walking faster.

then when i walked out, a lady made up for it by telling me that Jesus loved me!

I love people here!!