Simple Struggle

Dear who,

WELCOME TO 2016. I know I am late but I do hope your year has been going far better than my own. It’s cool. I know well enough that negativity isn’t permanent and that I have the choice to become a better person from whatever dire circumstance I have fallen into. I had to realize that, no good can come from that negativity. And surprisingly enough, that brought me peace. I got the chance to step away from the situation and do the most remarkable thing…Breathe.

It’s a New Year and I guess whenever a new year takes place, you should always look back at the progress you made. You, the world, or even a friend cause like I said ‘life is progress and so are we.’

2015 I found the motivation and the purpose behind in wanting to receive and want a higher education. And it wasn’t for a superficial reason such as the college parties, the freedom or the fact that it was ‘expected’ of me. It was more on solidifying the kind of person I wanted to be. And realizing the importance behind wanting to learn and wanting to embrace knowledge, for with it we create, explore, discover and become.  I grew up a lot last year. I feel more grounded and I can look back and be happy about the tears, the heartache and the struggle. Cause it brought me to a place of self-fulfillment.

2016 hasn’t had the best start (personally for me) but yeah, its life. I believe everything happens for a reason.

“Ain’t too proud to swim or drown now baby

Ain’t too proud to sink or see it through. “

– Matt Nathanson (Headphones)

 

[I was going through my playlist and for some reason these lyrics have stuck with me. I can’t swim and often whenever I am on the deep end-I often compare it to drowning and not having the ability to breath, move, and function or have the strength to keep going. But then I realize that I have a choice. I can swim (at least attempt to) or drown.]

 

^Guess the significance of being proud?

 

But the great thing about struggle is that it helps you see that not everything is at is seems. The most popular girl in school might cry herself to sleep at night. The employee that you dislike for winning employee of the month works hard to support his brother and sister. The jock you praise might be a closet artist.

 

Struggle teaches you to be sensitive. I know the world is cruel; the people in it can often be too. But trust your instincts. Be kind, be real, and be better. And maybe, just be a little sensitive to those who are sharing this life with you. Don’t let the struggle of your circumstance make you suffer.

“We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us, and make us kinder, you always have the choice.” – Dalai Lama

 

Hate Small Talk

Dear who,

We don’t communicate enough with people as we use to. Everything feels like a virtual reality when we are so invested in the technology we use that we tend to let great moments slip away from our own fingers. I miss talking. Discussing. About things that mattered, with people who cared and were interested to listen. But less and less it seems like people care to listen and you feel more and more intimidated to stay silent. I hate small talk. I wanna know you. I wanna know the real you. I want to share myself too.

I know there are a lot of people out there who aren’t this way. But sadly, I’m surrounded by a community that likes to talk about gossip, brands and the latest thing. I can’t learn more about a person for they feel as if discussing subjects out of the norm will leave them alienated. I prefer alienation then seeming to be a person with no substance.

Depression is a Trip

You stay alive you stupid asshole Because you haven’t been excused… –Tony Hoagland, from “Suicide Song“   Depression is a wildly confusing, exhausting trip to someplace you didn’t actually ever intend to go. Let’s say you set out for Austria, had in mind a little singing on mountaintops like in The Sound of Music, and […]

https://thegloriasirens.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/depression-is-a-trip/

My thoughts on Life

You know there was a moment in my life where I thought life was perfect. Everything was a dream, a perfect fantasy. Without a care in the world and life with rainbows and unicorns. I knew I was happy. Happy to be young, happy living in the unknown, and just happy to live. But that […]

https://omniahekal.wordpress.com/2013/08/10/my-thoughts-on-life/

Something I wrote a long time ago when I was still learning about life and who I was (I still am learning) but I have grown.

More Than 100 Dead, French Borders Closed After Series of Terrorist Attacks in Paris

A series of terrorist attacks in Paris Friday have left at least 60 dead and many more injured.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/13/at-least-60-dead-french-borders-closed-after-series-of-terror-attacks-in-paris/

Breaks, flares and blockades

Photograph: courtesy of Camps Breakerz Ahmed Ghraiz is wrapped up warmly against the cold. It’s dark inside the dance centre in which he sits, the occasional teenage voice echoing loudly in the background. There is no electricity and little light, while a car battery has been wired up to his laptop in an attempt to generate […]

http://iainakerman.com/2015/09/07/breaks-flares-and-blockades/

Pray 4 Humanity

Dear Who,
Its 3 am in the morning and I am awake and browsing through my Instagram when I come across “pray for Paris” on my newsfeed. Find out through some digging over the hostage situation and the killings that have occurred. It is still morning and I haven’t really checked the news over this situation but I browse through the comments below and slowly I begin to build up some rage. I am completely floored by the kind of reaction people are having towards it. The post is only asking for prayers. And though there are people who do offer responses such as ‘will live in memory’ ‘praying for hope and peace’ ‘praying for those gone and those who need courage’. There are many who have responses such as ‘its all ISLAMS fault, bloody Muslims’ ‘Muslims want to exterminate us Christians’ ‘Muslims are terrorists’    

Pardon my French but…WHAT THE FUCK?! Are you kidding me right now? Is this today’s generation? You have a phone, countless social media accounts but you didn’t receive a proper education to know the definition of terrorism or research the situation at all before lashing on a group filled with stereotypical and judgmental thoughts? I come from a Muslim background but that is not why I am angry. I am angry over the lack of respect and disappointed with the lack of facts and open minded reasoning. You are spreading negativity, hate and providing incorrect information to those who can be easily influenced. It’s wrong because you do not know what you are talking about.

Don’t people understand that hate leads to violence and violence only leads to TEMPORARY solutions? Instead of cursing out a group of people for what they use to identify themselves with, why don’t you open your thick skull and answer my question:

When you come across a stranger, can you see their faith on their foatheads? By how the look? Where they come from? 

Your faith isn’t something you can stamp on your passport or your ID. 

A white man can be Muslim.
A Pakistani can be an Atheist.
An Israeli can be Christian.
And an Indian could be Jewish.  

No matter what religion any individual follows or does not follow? You need to respect that. It is sacred to them and it plays a huge part in their life. People identify with it. They live and breathe it. It is not something you can disrespect, no matter what feelings you have towards it. You don’t have to AGREE with it. But you need to respect for everyone has free will. You have no right to take it away.

  
This just shows the importance of education. I honestly think we can save humanity with proper education and it is worth it when with education you become a better individual in today’s society. And we need better people who can tell the difference between right and wrong. Being illiterate will get you nowhere in life, and that’s not only about security, food and water. It gives other people a chance to manipulate you, brainwash you and use you. The thing with education is that not everything is taught in the classroom but you get to open your mind and become aware of the environment you live in and understand different and new perspectives. The area of a circle might not teach you independence. But subjects such as math, science, English and history are only the first few steps on the ladder towards greater knowledge about the world you live in and the part you can play in making a difference.

It all starts with you.

Search for new perspectives rather than those similar to your own because in the end? It won’t lead you anywhere.

  

 
PS. Does anybody realize that places like the US, UK, France and Russia get more recognition then other countries with bigger crises around the world? The attack in Peshawar where 145 CHILDREN had died didn’t get close to any recognition compared to that of what is happening in Paris right now. And that had to do with the Taliban who supposedly are considered ‘Muslims’ killing children who follow the same faith. A life is a life. Everyone matters. You’re significance is not identified by the nation you come from or the religion you follow for we are all equal regardless of those who think otherwise.
 
PRAY FOR THE INNOCENT.

Terrorist: A person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism.
Terrorism: The use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes
 
Doesn’t matter what religion you come from. Religion is about peace and love and does not support hate or violence. You should not be targeting your grief or anger towards a faith but those who are using that faith to promote violence and putting those who are innocent for following and believing it in the crossfire. (Open your mind but also your heart)

  

Taking back the streets of Beirut

Art can be Powerful🎨

Iain Akerman

Photograph: Yazan Halwani’s ‘Fairuz’ in Gemmayze

“There is an alternative voice rising,” says Yazan Halwani, the young Lebanese street artist. “I’m not going to say that what I do is going to free Lebanon or change the sectarian political system, or fix any regional problem, it’s far from that. But it tells people that you don’t have to accept what’s already there.”

Halwani has just finished university for the day when we catch up, his English carrying more than the hint of a French accent. On occasion he talks 19 to the dozen, such is his passion for graffiti, calligraphy and the reclamation of Beirut’s streets from the clutches of the city’s myriad political parties. For an alternative voice, he is both endearing and charismatic.

Following a brief misunderstanding in February this year, the possibility that much of his work – and that of other graffiti artists – would be removed…

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The Effort of Not Wearing Makeup

We need to get past our assumptions of beauty in order to really see it when it is presented to us.

BINARYTHIS

Makeup brushes are the worst. So. Much. Work.

Earlier this year I was diagnosed with a skin condition called melasma and an eye disorder called ocular rosacea. What this amounts to is having brown patches of skin, and red bloodshot eyes. It’s fair to say that 2015 has not been a great year for my face.

The melasma has meant I’ve had to coat myself in serums and sunscreen everyday, leading to vampirically pale skin. The rosacea has also meant I’ve had to stop wearing makeup altogether. Of course I can still wear lipstick, but not if I want to kiss my girlfriend often, which I do (this is another femme dilemma for another time). I’ve gone from someone who used to wear smokey eyes at breakfast, to a blankly pale-faced person.

The whole thing has been quite unsettling. But it’s also taught me a few lessons about my relationship to beauty…

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