My Friend Gina, The Painter

She takes amazing photos, but does even more amazing paintings. She's gonna be well-known very very soon! in the works. im so proud of you- because I've seen how much you've improved within the short few years i've known you. Keep up the good work love!

*Both Photo and Painting courtesy of Gina Perez

The Nobodies written by Eduardo Galeano

Recesses, originally uploaded by The Foamy Green.

Fleas dream of buying themselves a dog, and nobodies dream
of escaping poverty: that one magical day good luck will
suddenly rain down on them- will rain down in buckets. But
good luck doesn't even fall in a fine drizzle, no matter
how hard the nobodies summon it, even if their left hand is
tickling, or if they begin the new day with their right foot, or
start the new year with a change of brooms.
The nobodies: nobody's children, owners of nothing. The
nobodies: the no ones, the nobodied, running like rabbits,
dying through life, screwed every which way.
Who don't speak languages, but dialects.
Who don't have religions, but superstitions.
Who don't create art, but handicrafts.
Who don't have culture, but folklore.
Who are not human beings, but human resources.
Who do not have names, but numbers.
Who do not appear in the history of the world, but in the
police blotter of the local paper.
The nobodies, who are not worth the bullet that kills them

Lessons of the day: for me and you.

Just had the longest talk ever with my mom, in a very long while. And she never ceases to amaze me with her wisdom. Among the many things she said, one of them was about friendships. She said *summarized*: every friend is only for a period of time. n im not saying that your friends dont mean anything, but that you have to always keep in mind that friendships are for only a period of time. your grade school friends are no longer your friends now. where are your middle school and highschool friends? and even now your friends will only be there till you are no longer on the same route/plan as them. people grow apart, friends grow apart. not because you want it to happen, but because time changes things. time changes your relationships. sometimes even two people that love each other will leave each other because theyre headed down two different paths. they dont leave each other because they decided to or because they fought over something, but simply because time and change gets in between them, to where they are no longer best friends like they used to be. you have to always remember that. n yes you'll be sad about certain friendships because you love those people so much; but always remember this- and the separation will be easier on you. saves you a lot of heartache and pain.

i dont know if my mom knew exactly wat i have been thinking about lately, but she made everything so easy for me. a load lifted off my shoulders. i've been struggling with letting go of beautiful relationships, because the memories are so great and the people so tremendously important in my life- that i dont want to believe in the fact that time and change is getting in between us. i dont want to believe that right now- we're on different paths and different agendas, that naturally we're bound to not be so close as we were. i have been tryin to hold on to something that is no longer there. a simple memory or pleasure or laughter or confidence i had with these individuals. but im content now. i know that no matter what- at that point in my life- they had a major part of me all to themselves. that no matter what part of my life they joined in- they will always be a part of who made me who i am today. n ill forever be grateful for those people. forever grateful. n who knows maybe one day inshallah- ill cross paths with them again n it will be as if nothing changed, no time came in between us. and we were forever as close as we were yesterday. inshallah.

off to a different topic:

she also reminded me that i should always remember who created me, and the many blessings i have been bestowed with. simple reminders that i should always know about, but sometimes thoughts get the best of you- and you forget all thats important in life. like family, faith, being patient, kind, helping others because you can, forgiveness, and praying. simple but important factors in everyone's life. ones we all need to be reminded of. the reason behind my life. the reasons why i do the things i do. the reasons why i sacrifice a whole lot to gain a whole lot more. the reason why i should keep persevering against the odds. the reason why quitting wasnt made for me. and at the end of the day when im at my ropes end- i should just remember these simple reasons of why i strted off in the beginning on whatever journey im on at that time. mybe change the methods of getting to my destination- but have my destination alongside my reasons clearly right in front of me.

and a very good reminder of what you need to do to accomplish success in your life (very nice video to watch): The Truth and a reminder to me of why i struggle the way i do, and why i wake up and do something everyday even when i just want to rest. n when that is all i want- rest.

Tis All For Today..still need to catch up on my vacation in canada. lool i prob will get to it winter break :)

Taking time to enjoy my little wonders...

I'm having a conversation with my friend about the importance of savoring the time I have with my loved ones and taking time to enjoy my life now since it will soon all change. And I can't help but think that although right now my priorities are on school and work- I have let other things slide away to the non-priority list. But I wish I hadn't. I'm not even far away from home yet and I'm already feeling like this and I wonder how much will change or stay the same once I'm done with school and on my own. Inshallah this coming school year I'll work less and make more time for the things and the people that are important to my life.

And as I'm having all these thoughts-the perfect song comes on my pandora to sum it all up; as if my playlist is in tune with my thoughts and feelings. O' how I love my pandora.

< His voice gives me goosebumps:) >

Little Wonders by Rob Thomas

Let it go, Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't You know, the hardest part is over?
Let it in, let your clarity define you
In the end, we will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made in these small hours
These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate
Time falls away but these small hours
These small hours still remain

Let it slide, let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine, until you feel it all around you
And I don't mind, if it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by, it's the heart that really matters in the end

Our lives are made in these small hours
These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate
Time falls away but these small hours
These small hours still remain

All of my regret, will wash away somehow
But I cannot forget, the way I feel right now
In these small hours
These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate
Yeah, these twists and turns of fate!

Time falls away, yeah but these small hours
And these small hours still remain, yeah
Ooh they still remain
These little wonders, oh these twists and turns of fate

Time falls away but these small hours
These little wonders still remain

What tomorrow may bring...

Tomorrow I'll be waking up for Fajr Inshallah. n then not going to bed like usual; but instead reading my Qur'an and then studying till class. New Project/Goal. Im gonna keep up with it!

Choosing not to become the person your family expected is painful. You have to leave their world completely just to make sense of your own life, and then fate lures you back whenever it can to give you the chance to measure the distance between their world and yours and see if it’s still just as far as you remembered.

This American Life

Toronto Babey!!

I have been waiting since practically January for my Trip to Toronto to arrive. And now finally i just have a week and a half more Inshallah. Bre-A-thhh! Gonna try to get through what's left of classes with a smile and then board my plane and let the RELAXation sink in. Inshallah, Inshallah! Hopefully this Amazing city brings with it Exactly what I have been craving for.!.