How did they do it?

How did they do it? Those world leaders, those role models, individuals that people usually look up to… How were they able to get through their bad days? You know the days when you get up and realize that things aren’t going the way you want them to. How did they adapt to the constant walls that are built throughout their lives and careers. How were they able to face all that is tough and sad, and still be able to wake up in the morning and say “Today I am going to leave a trace in the world for others to follow”.

I wish I had their guts, their power, their spirit that got them where they are and that made them face whatever is considered their obstacle.

How did Helen Killer wake up every morning knowing that that day she was going to get through what most people believed she wouldn’t in her life time? I wish I could talk to her, see how she thought, and know the secret that kept her going all these years. How did Nelson Mandela stay 27 years in prison, faced injustice and inequality?

I’m not talking about the amazing things these role models achieved by the end of their journey. I’m talking about the journey itself! They did not know that if they kept that same attitude they’d succeed. Heck, people around them made sure they never thought that.

It’s funny how some people might stay inside the house the whole day feeling depressed because of something that is considered insignificant when compared to the obstacles that people like Helen Killer, Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Einstein and many more faced.

I’m simply amazed. We shouldn’t admire them only for what they accomplished at the end of their voyage. Yes, Nelson brought justice. Yes, Prophet Mohammed made sure that the religion Islam reaches the world. Yes, Martin Luther King Jr. made history through his gift of speech and work against racial segregation and discrimination. But what is truly admirable is how these remarkable individuals sailed through their journey facing the bad weather and the constant waves that laid them back in each step of their journey.

Maybe they enjoyed the quietness of nature. Maybe they had a hobby such as painting to take their worried and busy minds on a vacation. Maybe they even listened to a particular type of music. Maybe they just believed in themselves. Each one of them must have created a way, a thing that made him/her continue and go through the barriers that they faced.

So now all we have to do is figure out where is our sanctuary? What makes us go on to achieve our dreams and fight for what we believe in? Is is the support of a family member? Is it some sort of passion, or simply putting a goal that must be accomplished in a period of time?

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I found a list of motivational and fun songs that would sure make you feel better and face your obstacle:

1. Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
2. Chariots of Fire – Vangelis
3. The Final Countdown – Europe
4. We Are the Champions – Queen
5. We Will Rock You – Queen
6. I’ve Got the Power – Snap
7. It’s My Life – Bon Jovi
8. Affirmation – Savage Garden
9. Beautiful Day – U2
10. What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
11. I Feel Good – James Brown
12. I Can See Clearly Now – Johnny Nash
13. Lovely Day – Bill Withers
14. Walking On Sunshine – Katrina and the Waves
15. Live Like You Were Dying – Tim McGraw
16. I Believe I Can Fly – R. Kelly
17. You Gotta Be – Des’ree
18. When You Believe – Mariah Carey/ Whitney Houston
19. Hero – Mariah Carey
20. I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
21. Bad Day – Daniel Powter
22. Man In The Mirror – Michael Jackson
23. I’m Alive – Celine Dion
24. Tub Thumping – Chumba Wumba
25. Lose Yourself – Eminem
26. Remember The Name – Fort Mino
27. Till I Collapse – Eminem
28. Return to Innocence – Enigma
29. O Fortuna – Carmina Burana
30. Orinoco Flow – Enya
31. Only Time – Enya
32. True to Your Heart – 98 degrees & Stevie Wonder
33. Fly – Celine Dione
34. Now We Are Free – Lisa Gerard
35. When You Say Nothing At All – Ronan Keating
36. New Day – Celine Dione
37. One Day More – Les Miserables
38. The Prayer – Celine Dione & Andrea Bocelli
39. Nessun Dorma – Pavarotti
40. Time To Say Goodbye – Sarah Brightman & Andrea Boccelli

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Hope you enjoy

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Source: http://www.goal-setting-college.com/motivation/inspirational-motivational-songs/

Do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?

Body image.

I received an amazing email that I want to share with you guys:

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” Recently, in a large city in Australia ,
a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym.
It said, “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”

A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster,
responded publicly to the question posed by the gym:
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To Whom It May Concern,
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.)
They have an active sex life,
get pregnant and have adorable baby whales.
They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp.
They play and swim in the seas,
seeing wonderful places like Patagonia ,
the Bering Sea
and the coral reefs of Polynesia .
Whales are wonderful singers
and have even recorded CDs.
They are incredible creatures
and virtually have no predators
other than humans.
They are loved, protected and admired
by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don’t exist.
If they did exist,
they would be lining up outside the offices
of Argentinean psychoanalysts
due to identity crisis. Fish or human?
They don’t have a sex life
because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex?
Just look at them … where is IT?
Therefore, they don’t have kids either.
Not to mention,
who wants to get close to a girl who smells
like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me:
I want to be a whale.

P..S. We are in an age
when media puts into our heads
the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of chocolate with my friends.

With time, we gain weight
because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads
that when there is no more room,
it distributes out to the rest of our bodies.
So we aren’t heavy,
we are enormously cultured,
educated and happy.
Beginning today,
when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, ¨Good grief, look how smart I am!¨  “

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<3

Happy New Year!

“We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”  ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

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Today is the day that people look back at the 365 days they spent, what they did, what changed in them (or didn’t change ). Today will also be the day they get a glimpse of their future and how they want it to be.

Every 365 days we get a second chance. A second chance that would bless us to live the life we admire to have. Either by making new goals or working on keeping the old ones.

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This year has been an interesting year for me. I believe that I’ve actually grown up this year more than I did the past 16 years. Here are some of the things I realized in the year 2009:

- Procrastinating is my sworn enemy.

- The hard work you put into anything, not matter how small it is, will pay off eventually.

- Don’t dedicate your life to pleasing every single person.  An old Arabic saying: (Pleasing everyone is an unachievable objective)

- Getting a blackberry would guarantee no more boredom.

- Some of the happiest moments I had were with my family.

-  A smile on our face can never do any harm.

- Commenting on something good you noticed in someone (i.e. I like your scarf, you did a great job…) would not only make that person happy, but also give you that blissful feeling as well.

- Dreaming of making a change, someway somehow, will drive you through the obstacles you go through to achieve that dream of yours.

- People, things, work, enemies, hobbies, and even yourself: Never make them your “center”. Your principles take that position. The rest are not stable centers. They’re bound to change one way or another.

-  Balance is the key to every door.

-  No matter how things get bad, always remember that you’re not alone. You have your friends, if not, your family, if not, you will always have God by your side.

- After being enrolled to an art class in school, I realized how much I like painting.

- Taking a day off and just chilling quietly in your room, reading a good book or even coloring for old time’s sake is a habit that I should do more often.

- There will always be something to do.

- Life isn’t always rainbows and roses. It’s also not always darkness and sadness. Just live through the tough times, they’re bound to end eventually. And seize the chance to enjoy the happy times as well.

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These are just a few things that I have discovered, and things that I will take into consideration the next year to come.

I hope the next year would be a better year. Now that I’m graduating from high school I have a fresh start to walk into the real life. A fresh start to change what needs to be altered. And to realize even more things than the previous year.

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I wish you all a happy and a wonderful new year!

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* Tell me something that you realized in 2009, and something that you want to work on in 2010!

** year olds

You know when you’re sitting with your friends and you wish you’d get to be a kid again…

When you’re a kid and your biggest worry was deciding what to do the next weekend. When your biggest fear was the fear of your friend finding the place you’re hiding in when playing hide and seek. When the question that you had the hardest time finding an answer for was a simple homework question?

Sounds pretty fun when you picture yourself back at that age.. But I discovered lately that it’s not so much fun living with it.

For the past couple of days my two little cousins Dana (11 years old) and Abdulrahman (9 years old) have been staying with us while their mother is attending a conference in London. They go perfectly with my 10 year old sister.

For the past couple of days I have observed how little kids can turn a simple game to an actual WAR!

Let me show you what I mean with the following scene that has been repeating EVERYDAY!:

I was sitting peacefully in my room studying for my math exam… All of a sudden I hear a small army’s running footsteps:

“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!”

“Hahahahahaha”

“Ruuunnn he’s cominnggggggg!!!!!!!!”

“goo goo goooooooooooo!”

*BAM!!!!!!!!*

(silence)…………….

“Hahahahahahahahaha”

“Go goooo!!!”

…………….

I step out of my room slowly to observe what I can only call a mini-war between the 3 kids. Yes.. 3 little human beings enjoying a not so peaceful game of ….. Well I still didn’t figure out what the game was exactly. They just ran as fast as they could, and Abdulrahman (he was a minority seeing as he was the only boy and the youngest) would try to catch up and hit them. When he does succeed in achieving his strongly aimed for goal, the roles get switched. Leena and Dana get to chase Abdulrahman all the way to hit him back. And this goes on for a loooog long time.

They always hog the TV with Turkish series that I am sick of.

They finish all the chips and candy we have stored (I cant find decent junk food to study properly!).

They take my guitar without asking for permission and they mess up the tuning.

When I take my guitar from them, they use my Guitar Hero without asking me for other purposes than actually playing the game! (Often it would be imitating Hannah Montana… A new enemy of mine..)

They play with my turtle (Shelly) by giving her “fake roller coaster rides” (sorry Shelly).
They never stop running, screaming… and they never stop asking for favors.

Don’t get me wrong, although I’m not too fond of the things my cousins and little sister are doing, I really like kids! but apparently not them…

Thank god I’ve lived through about 4 days… Just a couple of more and I’m free!

The following are quotes that I now believe in:

* “Any kid will run any errand for you if you ask at bedtime.” (I got tired of ordering them to sleep, so I just used them to help me clean the turtle tank)

* “You can learn many things from children.  How much patience you have, for instance.”  ~Franklin P. Jones (True dat!)

 

Have you ever went through situations like these? Where you found out that kids can be not so adorable?

Week #1

I discovered something… When you talk to a senior, no matter what subject you’re talking about, that person most likely won’t be concentrating on whatever you’re saying. I am a senior, and I can tell you that we’re thinking too much. And no, believe me it’s not always a good thing.

It’s 11:48 pm… and it’s past my bedtime! Yet I still can’t sleep… 3 words… College application process. In my previous post The C word I was complaining about getting accepted into colleges, but I haven’t really been through the application process. Well, right now I’m going through it, and let me tell you: it’s not fun. I spent half the time worrying and thinking, and the other half staring at a list of what I should be doing.

My booksmarks “Or if you’re an internet explorer user: my favorites” have been converted from links such as (YouTube, Facebook, Hotmail, Zamzar audio converter -for converting music-)… To: (Collegeboard.com, ets.org, commonapp.org, www.ucas.ac.uk, US News Univ Rankings…)      It’s an invasion

This is my first weekend, and until now I haven’t talked to someone that actually used the words “our first weekend” and “fun” in the same sentence. It even shows on our faces! A friend of mine (that is also going through the process) just told me that she met 2 graduates from last year in the supermarket. They actually told her: “wow you look like you haven’t slept in a week!” After a few minutes of laughing at what she said, my sister walked in my room and told me: “Why do you look so tired?! get some sleep!” …. -_-

I also think that I added 2 kilos to my not-so-perfect weight this weekend alone. Let me explain why… Usually during final exams I eat a lot of snacks while I’m studying (thinking gives me the urge to eat)… My mom takes this chance and puts nuts and fruits in front of me so that I’d be chewing something healthy for a change). But this is my first weekend (no exams yet) so no healthy snacks in the house. Since this weekend I filled forms and applications and I did my college research, I had a LOT of thinking to do. And not any type of thinking, but thinking that will eventually affect my future. So in the end… junk food became my snack, and the kitchen became my new room. I don’t know why but chewing and eating while working on something really helps me relax.

This hard phase is bound to end though. And I want it to end in a good way. I don’t want to regret not working enough or not studying for the standardized tests. So for now we just have to do things smoothly. Finish things before their deadline, manage our time productively, it’s only 1 semester and then we’re free! Keeping that in mind really boosts up my mood!

Sulafa a friend of mine has been reminding me this past week that this is our senior year and we have to have fun! I agree with her. I will try to look at the bright side of the application process more often (It may seem that that side doesn’t exist, but a dear wise person told me that this process will prepare me for more stressful situations in the future)I might be complaining in a few of my next posts, but I’ll try to keep it in a paragraph or 2 only. (I will try my best but I can’t promise).

This is a part of an article from the U.S. News’s “America’s best Colleges ” 2010 edition. I believe it’s true:

“Pick the correct school and you will, of course, become a road scholar, Noble prize winner, president/CEO/titan of Industry, managing partner of a major law firm, biomedical wizard, or perhaps, if you plan it just right, all of the above.”-Bruce Poch

“Thanks to Fatima Al-Bassam for providing these wonderful (much like herslef) pictures”

Back to… Mac?

It’s been about 2 months since I’ve posted something new in both my blogs. I apologize for that, but hopefully I’m going back to blogging with this new school year to come!

Ok  so after 2 days I’m officially starting my senior year!  yay!? I am excited at the fact that it’s a new year. Starting fresh is always good.. but the fact that I’m taking both Physics and Chemistry at the same semester is ruining it.. not to mention the SAT and the Subject SAT. Actually college applications alone would do the trick… (Over the summer I realized that complaining really does help make you feel better!) …  Ah this is going to be a …fun year?

So I was checking out new laptops in the market. Since it’s a new school year and my almost 4 year old HP is begging to retire… I have to release if from its pain sometime soon.. Searching the World Wide Web has proven to me that the Macbook pro is amazing! I’ve never had Mac before, I’ve always been strictly PC (Windows). I think most windows users would agree that it’s much easier. And plus the transition from Windows to Mac seems kind of hard, and we’re not very much into “difficult” stuff these days..

So as usual before buying any new hardware I got online and started searching and comparing between the Mac and PC….  Youtube did the trick! I found a couple of really funny ads that point out how Mac is so much better than PC!.. no viruses, no freezing, and I think everyone would agree it looks SUPERB!

The thing is, I’m pretty big on applications, and I’ve heard from various people that Windows applications for Mac are harder to find. I searched online and that didn’t seem to be a problem! Now everything is available for Mac! and even if its not.. (This is the pretty cool part)… you can actually run BOTH operating systems on a mac!! so lets say you miss your windows OS… a few clicks and it’ll appear on your Mac screen!

Mac Vs PC

I know we’re not a “Mac community” here.. which makes it harder to get local opinions.

And I’m still having second thoughts though. So a call to all Mac users: care to share your experience with your laptops? How’s it going for you guys?

Background Music

I nag. It’s me, it’s what I do, It’s who I am… and apparently my friends don’t seem to accept it!… Their reaction to my nagging comes in the form of not listening to what I say.. (They claim that my voice has a kind of barrier to their ears from all the nagging *rolling eyes*)

I love to talk and we all know it, I can’t deny it, you’ve seen how long my posts are!!! I’m not asking for much walla! all I am asking from you guys (Fati, sumer, samar, dany, naimah..) is to listen to me! ok so here’s a typical scene from an outing with my friends, we went to Fuddruckers the other day, (I arrived late and they all were giving me the “looks” and hidden laughs, I wasn’t too fond of that btw:)  )

Scene 1: *The group discussing new movies*

Sara: Hey guys there is this movie…

Fati: oh yes yes I saw that scene… !! (talking to the group)

Sara *with a higher voice*:  there is this movie that I wanna see..

Dany: Yea I told you about it! it was so funny! (talking to fati)

Naimah: Hahaha yea and remember that scene when…(talking to the group)

Sara *Sits quietly until someone notices her*

Sumer, who was playing with her BB, finally noticed me! yay! -_- and started laughing… The girls saw my face, saw sumer’s laugh, and joined in! I couldn’t resist so I just started laughing and tearing as usual…

This scene repeats a LOT! I don’t know, is it my voice? is it too low? I think my family would disagree.. Apparently the reason was that I nagged too much…

Let me explain how my beloved friends “clarified” this repeating phenomenon… “Sara nags. We get used to her voice. It becomes like the sound of background music in a song, we just don’t listen to it, but enjoy the song…”, so apparently I’m the “background music” now!

I realized this whole dilemma in London, where we went for our MUN conference… Scene 2: I was talking (a lot) and no one seemed to listen. It’s not like they were ignoring me, it was like they ACTUALLY didn’t hear me!!!  so I had it! I just spilled it out! “NO ONE LISTENS TO WHAT I SAY!” -__-  a moment of silence, then .. as usual…. laughter… So after that every time I say something,, I try to repeat what I said, and if it still didn’t work, I’d just stay silent, like moving and kicking in quick sand,  it doesn’t work so you’d stay still and stop fighting… so that’s what I do, I’d stay still and stop talking.. hoping that someone would hear that quietness and notice that I was trying yo say something!  And every once in a while it works! but sometimes it doesn’t…  but that’s life I guess.. as they say “yom lak o yom 3laik”

* btw if you’re wondering, nagging works! almost ALL the time! that’s why it’s nice..

The problem is, when they act like that… apparently everything around them does too!! example .. Scene 3:

We walk into our hotel room in London… Hanouf, Sumer and I were roommates… Therefore as expected everything they got, I got too…. So we walk into the room, and this TV screen was opened, showing the hotel’s name and a tab under that’s moving… saying “Welcome Sumer and Hanouf…”.. I waited… and waited… and waited for my name to appear! but guess what! Not even the TV is recognizing me!

“WHAAT! WHYYY?!?!?”, after saying that with an extremely whinny voice, Hanouf and Sumer laughed until the tears came streaming down their faces… And of course, a moment like that should be cherished! so Hanouf ran, got the camera, and took a video of my disappointed face… ahhh why?

Listen guys, you know I love you, and I know that you have a fun time seeing my reactions to these “scenes”… honestly I have fun too! It’s really funny!! But I always I talk and talk and talk and ask and say and explain.. NO ONE LISTENS!! not even 1 girl!!!! It’s actually scaring me!! ahh I am expecting an explanation with the laughing on the comments btw.. I DEMAND an explanation people!!!!

When I want to say something important they don’t listen! but when I get tongue tied or say something wrong, suddenly it’s like they’ve been waiting for me to say it so that they’d laugh about it non-stop! For example … Scene 4 (my typos)…  I miss-spelled the word “tulip”on msn in a joined conversation between me, Fati and Danya… I distinctively remember talking EVEN ON MSN and I wasn’t paid attention to!… So I wrote it as “tollips” and got distracted when my little sister came and asked me to fix something of her’s… I go for 5 mins, come back, and I see that the whole conversation window consisted of.. “LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO……OOOOOOL”… I wanted to know what was SO FUUNY?!  so as curious as I was.. I went up the conversation log up …up…  up  (the OO’s were there) .. until I reached the part where they were making fun of me.. TO MY FACE/screen…  I couldn’t help laughing at this! and then typed a whinny “ahhhh, u ALWAYs make fun of meee!!” …  therefore, the LOL’s double..….

They’re really diverse when it comes to making fun of me… sometimes about my typos, sometimes because I don’t pay attention to what I’m laughing at, and when I ask “what happened?” they continue laughing at me… sometimes about my nagging… sometimes for buying a BB gun or a new GTA PS2 game that I was SO excited to buy!… It’s all about diversity baby …

Scene 5: a certain someone that has very very creative ideas (Fati)… suggested that we play hide and seek at the middle of the night in the hotel hallway in London! I got SOOOO excited!!! Then,, the rest of the girls *cough* losers *cough*, said no .. I got so upset! and I … ehm, nagged to plaay! but they didn’t listen to me! I got so pissed, and FYI, every time I think about it, I get even more pissed!, and apparently you laugh when I do -_-…

ahh life is hard when you don’t get what you want from nagging, and even harder when your nagging isn’t even listened to!  I guess I’ll just have to wait and see…

“Nagging is the repetition of unpalatable truths” ~Edith Clara…  See? I say TRUTHS! So u better listen from now on!

* I know you guys don’t think that, and if you do, shame on you! *

Sigh.. Salam!  :D

Rarely seen

A room in an apartment in Riyadh. In this crowded room you’d see more than 5 different nationalities. People from all over the world sitting together having a cup of tea, some cookies, discussing politics, children and maybe even new food recipes. Husbands and wives sitting together, each discussing different experiences that they’d been through the past couple of years.

A Japanese woman sitting next to her hadrami husband. A Sudani women chatting with an American lady. A hadrami family having a nice conversation with a Saudi woman and the host who was Lebanese/Turkish. Every once in a while those side chats would turn into a group discussion, our future and what we have become.  A scene that I witnessed. A scene that I was part of almost 5-6 years ago…

Difference. Different beliefs, different ethnics, different looks, different countries. It was like a reunion of so many ideas, thoughts, nationalities…

This was a scene that had a ripple effect on me, a scene that made me think in a whole different way. A scene rarely seen here in Saudi.

When did this become so rare to be a part of? How many times would a person go through an experience like that here in Saudi… If ever? We lack that joy. The joy of introducing ourselves to so many different ideas and traditions, the joy of being a part of a global gathering. People from different parts of the world in one country, in one city, in one room.

In that group, we were the hadrami (7a’9rame) family. 7 members, 3 girls, 2 boys, and 2 amazing parents.

As a part of my family, we’ve been introduced to so many societies, so many cultures. We would spend a day with people from our extended family, a hadrami gathering in a house. Listening to our ancestor’s accent, being a part of our culture and traditions. We’d notice the normal things. The men would be in one side, the women in the other. As youngsters we’d join them, join our extended family, and try experiencing something new, talking our native accent.

Personally, I love it when I talk to grandmothers. they’re so cute! They usually ask me “Ha sara? Did you pass in school?” like not passing my grade would be an option, like there was no such thing as a percentage or grades, ahh their old days… I would cheerfully respond with a “Yes!” …why explain the complicated system of today’s education, when you can make them happy and proud with a simple word and a big smile .

I love those traditions, where you go into the living room,  greet everyone in person. When you kiss the hand and the forehead of an elderly even if you don’t know her. I’d watch little kids running around playing hide and seek, with their gold bracelets on their hands (Usually gifts from their grandmothers). Noticing the “Henna” on their hands, listening to their conversations. Hadrami social updates are pretty much the same anywhere…. It’s either someone got married, someone passed away, or someone had a new baby! And that someone always seems to be related to you in a complex way that I will never understand. “Ahmad’s mother’s aunt had a new grandson!”… “Do you know your mom’s uncle’s daughter got married?”…I never understand them!  Sometimes I’d be lucky enough to get the family name too! Ba-alhadad, Ba-alhamdan, Ba-tog (ba6og, yes the gum :p )… those two letters (Ba) are like screaming “Hadrami”. Two letters that I hear a LOT when receiving updates!

The next day, we would be hanging out with friends of my parents. No segregation, every man and his wife and their grown up children in one living room. Discussing books, education, politics… A  totally different atmosphere than the one we’d been in the other night. Sometimes we’d even be lucky to join in with American friends and turn it into an international sitting.

Being introduced to so many societies, so many traditions, so many living impersonations of countries… Ah the feeling of being a part of a growing world.

The other day I was invited to a ceremony. A person from our extended family was married to an American woman. They had a new grandson. So as all hadramis do, they had a small gathering of the family. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the event (something I regretted a lot). I went in to call my mom, and I walked into this room. My first gaze into the wide living room brushed a smile on my face (not that smile of politeness) But the smile of true joy! The room had hadramis and Americans all over. It had a grandmother wearing her “dara3a” and a nice colorful veil, sitting next to a trendy American woman. I was fascinated by the diversity, the merging of two great societies. I saw little kids running around like the ones in the hadrami gatherings, even with golden bracelets, but, some were talking English. Questions varied from “Did you pass?” to “How was the Model UN trip?”. How fascinating is that?

The whole ride back to our house, I was asking my mom the same question…”How?” How did two great families get together? How did two nationalities fit in the same place, had the same conversations and communicated in such a smooth way.

Aah that feeling that I felt the moment I walked into both those scenes. A moment to remember. I know now that nothing can stop love, nothing can stop respect and nothing can stop having fun even when more than one country is involved. It’s “Diversity” people…  It’s a remarkable thing that we take for granted every day, a thing that we don’t appreciate it’s bliss.

” We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” ~ Jimmy Carter

Salam!

The C word…

TOEFL, SAT, IELTS, RAM… those letters when combined, they create that feeling. A feeling of stress. A feeling of panic and mostly a feeling of fear in almost every high school student with one year left to graduate. Those feelings would cause students to panic when taking the tests, and maybe even lead to a lower score. But in the other hand, those feelings would be the encouragement to start preparing for such competitiveness in order to achieve what you really want in life.

I get that these tests help colleges admit students; they may even help students to show their abilities in different subjects. But what happened to old school grades? Aren’t they enough? don’t we suffer enough everyday of the year (except summer, but that changes when it’s your last summer in high school). College. It has become everything that anyone talks about; it has become the center of our conversations. Those conversations also became a habit in every gathering.

They always seem to sneak up on us, those “talks” about our future; they’re kindda fun when discussed with friends. We start planning what would we do there: meet new people, have late study nights, go on road trips… until we start discussing the serious parts, then it gets scary. But with family you don’t know what to expect out of this conversation. You don’t want to shed their dreams and expectations. For me, what I’m doing and thriving for is not just for me, I want my parents to be proud of me, I want them to be proud of the daughter they raised, the daughter they gave the first book to, the daughter that they will inshalla see one day holding a bachelor’s degree in her hands, using it to enter the real world to fight and change for the best. They’ve had such a ripple effect on me and my behavior, then again, my whole family had that effect on me, I’ll talk more about my incredible family in another post…

Anyway, so these “talks”… They come up everywhere, whether its meeting someone new, eating lunch with friends, or even when making dip to watch a movie. They sneak up on us like they’ve been hiding all that time, and as soon as someone mentions the word “college” they blow out and hang on to that word, bringing armies of thoughts and opinions about the future. Aah those talks…

As DAS students, it’s like we’ve been created to face these fears (maybe because we go through them everyday in school). We have ambitions; we have goals that we want to achieve. And we know that the way to achieve them is by going to the right college.

We can use many roads. The road to the land of “liberty” (USA) where you could choose from 51 states varying from different weather, people and colleges. The road to the land of “Queen Elizabeth” (UK) where you could benefit from outstanding education while still being close to your family. Or you could just stay here, in what I like to call in omegle “the land of sand” (KSA) Stay with your family. Lately people have been going to Bahrain, where you will still be with your family, but with a hint of independence.

Choices choices choices… Where to go? What to study? Questions that pop into our heads like little fire crackers that are fun, yet can cause u pain when used inappropriately….

We try to take breaks, run away from these choices that will define and shape what we will be after 10 years from now, making a choice like that, being afraid that you’ll regret it.

It’s not easy, not at all… and whoever said that it was obviously didn’t go through it the same way we do…

Along with all those wonderings and doubts, we start looking at ourselves. Asking, am I good enough? Will I ever become that person? What if I end up being a total failure in my major?

Those thoughts lead to something that isn’t accurate; they lead to something that will make you underestimate yourself. That thing is comparing you with others. Sometimes you have to so that you can improve and develop, but the way that people look at it is in a different way. While we were making dip at my friend’s house we started chatting, and of course that topic slipped its way into our conversation. One of my friends wished that she was as smart as a girl in our class; she wanted to have her personality and her intelligence. But why? She was supposed to thank god for making her the way she is. She is unique and special in her own way, just like every one else is. DON’T, I repeat, DON’T compare yourself with ANYONE! Doing that, you are insulting yourself. You are who you are, and you do what you do. Those things define your personality and your habits. They define you.

Sumer my friend told me that the most important thing is your own personality.

Why would you want to be another person when god blessed you with your own?  You have the way you look at stuff and the way you act. You see all these goals that you want to achieve… all these little objectives that you want to come true… they are all a result of your character. What you like and what you dislike, your interests and you skills. These are the things that make you different.

So what if you didn’t get a good grade on that test? What if you lost more grades than you expected? There are more than 8 types of intelligence. Choose the one that works with your personality, and try achieving your goals through them. Use them as the right keys that would fit to the lock of the door to YOUR future.

Remember, there are always other choices, if one door is closed, go to the next one! And keep doing that until you attain your goal.

In the end I would like to leave you with a quote, something that I wish you would think about and truly inherit…

“Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world… if you do so, you are insulting yourself” ~ Alen strike

Salam !

DASMUN ’09

“Let our minds be Leonardo Da Venchi, let our voices be the painting brush, and let our ideas and believes be the colors. Together we will transform a white board into a beautiful piece of art, to our own Mona Lisa that is hanging on the wall of victory … guarded by our courage”. DASMUN ’09 Secretary General (Sumer Alawami).

That was a part of an inspirational opening speech at the first Model United Nations conference held in our own Dhahran Ahliyya Schools. These words were like little steps to the future. Steps that will be remembered each year as the start of something new… Something that would change minds, thoughts and attitudes toward different global issues and countries.

As organizers of DASMUN, it is our most cherished moment when a delegate stands up and states a point of information. Or for an admin to pass a note running from the delegate of France to the delegate of Costa Rica, being supervised by their remarkable managers (Fatima, Alhanouf). For the amazing chairs (Danya, Samar) to call an order in the house after a creative punishment has been made. For the registration crew (Halah, Shadia, Hessa and I)  that took care of every person that walked inside the walls of our school. For our advisers (Ms.Hanaa, Ms.Huda) to make sure that everything was going smoothly while they watched how young students held a conference under their supervise and care. And finally for the approval panel (Raghad, Mayada, Marwa) that reviewed the resolutions in the computer room.

All these scenes are engraved in my mind, and they will be memories that I will hold on to forever. They prove what we can do. They prove that young individuals CAN accomplish something that WILL change the future.

It’s the part of high school that I will never forget. It is the MUN part where we all shared those unforgettable moments. Standing in front of the Big Ben in London knowing that it is time to make a change and to prove what we can do… or walking inside the glorious blue mosque in Turkey realizing how lucky for us young Muslims to be expanding our knowledge and viewing the history of our religion. Now I can add to these memories… I can add the picture of young DAS students sitting in their chairs, raising their placer, representing a whole country. Raising their hands will make each decisions matter and will make their voices be heard, causing an echo that will be listened to after many many years of future DASMUN conferences.

I am proud today. I am proud of each and everyone that participated in making this conference a treasured experience to all participants.

I am proud of the people that faced their fears and presented their amazing speeches with such power and determination.

I am proud of the delegates that learned to share and merge with others, connecting different countries with the same point of view to share and demonstrate clauses that can be the keys to solving issues.

I am proud of our school for giving its students the chance to excel and stand out in its community that cherishes and encourages educated decisions and future enhancements.

I am proud of the understanding and encouragement each mentor has given to her assigned delegate.

I am proud of this astonishing success that has started a new era that will open doors for many students.

I am proud of DASMUN 2009!