Stressful Lives

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the most competitive of them all?" I asked. "Well you of course!" the mirror answered. "No need for complements, I meant schools!" I said. "And how do you ask that? Definitely, it's Dhahran Ahliyya Schools!"

My cousin has been accepted to enter my school, Dhahran Ahliyya School (DAS). Dear cousin, we do not mean to scare you. We mean to congratulate you for accepting such challenge. "Mirror mirror on the wall, would she survive it? Or would she fall?" I asked. "Mayada, Mayada, Mayada, I do not have all the answers. I cannot understand human's infinite capabilities. You are a creature that surprises me. It is up to time and outcome to answer your question."

"Mirror mirror on the wall, I stopped repeatedly going to the mall! And I barely even play my favorite sport, basketball. Do you think she would have time? Or would having fun be a crime?" I asked. "Spending time on fun isn't time wasted, it is a prize you win that should be tasted," the mirror replied. "Mirror mirror on the wall, would she need my assistance?" I asked. "She will pay you back with resistance. Your help won't be for her sake, just let her figure out how to swim, and alone she'd cross the lake!"

"Mirror.." "Oh get done with it already! My shift is over!" the mirror interrupted.

To All My Dear Friends..

Dedicated to All of my dear friends. The sequence is meaningless by the way.

Sulaf
You are the most beautiful song in my heart, with the prettiest tune, and the most peaceful beats. You sing me a nice day, and you make me a smiling May :) One day, technology will (or at least I hope) enable me to download you on my i-pod!! :D

Samar Q
You are an inspiration to me, with a mind; an amazing creation. Hope you always be there to see, and a relationship that lasts forever, with you and me. You're "awesome".. You're the bomb..! literally :P Shocking, worth attention, but a BIT destructive :P

Deema
This year, I have discovered my soul mate. We are similar, and very alike, and though I think we're the same, I find it most interesting to be with you. I find myself inside you..

Sofana
The innocence of innocence. A soft refreshing breeze that has a magical power to make everyone smile. Spreading her goodness everywhere, she decided to fly away. Wished that breeze lasted forever with its sweet scent!

Ruwa
My smiling laughing tree hugger, (def. "Mayada": leaning dancing tree branches). Your excitement touches me, and passion about the most noble causes. My tear would fall for you, but it would only try to express how proud I am of you.

Reem A
A deer, in her energy, and liveliness. A dear, in my heart and soul. A girl with much positive energy spreading around her, making whoever is near her grin. She plants roses and flowers everywhere, just to distribute cheerfulness and joy.

Nisreen
An artist who draws stunning charming wonderful images on paper, and draws even more beautiful images in reality by her presence. Her gifts to the world are what she can do by the gifts she has. She shares her talents, which makes her even more talented.

Fay
A shooting star you don't want to fade away as you're not done making your long list of wishes. But, for my lack of luck, unfortunately, wishing for you not to fade from my sight isn't a granted wish. So I can just wish that good-bye would be lighter on me.

Danya
Although she's a person who might always say: "this thing can wait," creativity and intelligence never wait or even hesitate before they appear in her writings, or even out of her mouth. Just give her the deadline, and she will be done by then.

Fatima
Her morals and respect beautifies her. Dignity is the most precious thing to acquire, and she has realized this fact really well, and she shows it in her actions.

Maryam
Who knows that beyond that angelic seemingly-innocent smile found a devilish smirk. Guess that runs in the family, eh cousin? But in the end, life is good as long as no one is hurt, which she always makes sure of. ;)

Sara A
An excited soul that sets no boundaries and flies beyond limits. Nothing is impossible, and if curiosity really killed the cat, Sara wouldn't be the live smiley light soul that appears in school everyday.

Lujain T
The girl with the style, the girl with the attitude, the girl with the talents, the girl with the smile, Tahlawy, you have failed to fail in order to stay for one more year. Still, I will remain happy after you're gone, only because I am sure that more are going to have the honor of knowing you.

Yara
(Giggles), "What's funny?" Doesn't really matter. A laugh is a cure of problems, shouldn't she be problem-free? She has beauty, yet her laugh completes her gorgeousness. She has intelligence, yet her giggles add flavor to her personality.

Dalya
A leader, a member of a team, or an individual, she fits in all roles and parts. Someone with so many interests, and surprisingly, she excels in most of them. She proves to me and many that she is capable and a problem-solver.

Dana D
She could be described briefly in three words: pure, pure and pure. She masters and is really the best when it comes to three things: friendship, bringing happiness, and laughter. Three words, Dana: we-love-you.

Naima
Fun? Yes. Cheerful? Certainly. Loud? Hell ya. Dull? Not exactly. Boring? Not ever. Hmm, but this is not what you're all about. Behind that cheerfully-colored door that only shows you from the outside, having such an open personality let us enter that door to discover your softness, sensitivity, and kindness.

Amal
"Haha" and "Hehe" are common words in here language. Too common to the extent that you may think she speaks the language of Laughter or Chuckles. Keep giggling, as long as it doesn't affect your art and creativity.

Marya
The best neighbor to ever have, she keeps the music down, and her dog doesn't ruin my lawn, she's just the perfect person you want to live next to all year. A friend from childhood, a survivor in DAS, she knows well how to keep others entertained and comfortable.

Lujain M
She does have a quiet personality, but I don't. Nothing could stop me from expressing how she is in my eyes and heart. She may be quiet, but what she "does" shouts kindness and niceness with a deafening sound.

Noor G
Light it simply the right word for you. You are the light, in your brightness and cheerfulness. You are light-hearted. You are light, by being gentle. You are light, as you keep glowing everyday we see you and lighting everything around you.

Alya N
A beautiful pearl that was washed up in the shore, picked up and held all the way to our lives. Opening up your shell to others makes them happy, by discovering how beautiful your inside was, and how amazing your personality is.

Hadeel
You are a star in your own play. You are the center of your life. You are under the spotlights. You walk the walk, and you talk the talk. Your play is original and real, and you starring in it makes us more than happy to be part of it :).

Mona
Great minds think alike, and I'm starting to think that weird minds think alike too. Drinking red bull for energy, and shouting COW! for fun, giving you pretty pens :), and being forced to tell you good bye, we have so many memories together that still echo in my heart.

Tifa
Why we're proud of you is not just because you excelled in riding a saddle of a horse, but because you have taken a huge step that proves that Saudi women are capable and skilled. You inspire much of us, and I really wish you were still here for us to motivate.

Sara Falih
Being a star isn't special now, there are millions of stars we know and love and there are even more shining brightly in the sky, but you are different, you are not one of those million, you are one OF a million. I know how you want to see yourself famous one day, but if you have to change anything about yourself to go through that path then becoming famous will degrade you.

Reema D
Remember how when you were young and you keep making faces, then they tell you "stop doing that or your face will be stuck like that" ? Well, I think that your weird face when you were young was a smile, because now you're stuck with a really big smile, whether you were upset or not. This smile changes your surrounding to be filled with positive energy. Thank you?

Kawthar
They say that the best friendship lasts forever. They never say that the best friendship has to have a long history, or any at all. Maybe now I don't know you well, but I still hope that we'd have a history in the future. Friends' lists have no limits and even if they did your name can help but be in it, or at least my list.

Maryam N
You are the probably the most girl making everyone a favor. In such school full of stresses, downs, and conflicts, you have this powerful ability to make us smile. You have kept many girls since we were kids ALIVE. I have been always wondering about how our stresses didn't kill us yet, but I discovered that you have part of the answer.

Al Maha
Although I haven't had the honor to live a life with a closer relationship with her, I know she's the sweetness of sugar, as pure and as white. Perhaps we have days to come and to spend more wisely. A special girl doesn't have to be close to whoever surrounds her for everyone to know that she is.

Al Hanouf
Humor, humor, and more humor; this is what is found her. This is what you experience when you spend five minutes with her. Her creativity in making us all laugh makes her dear and fun to be with. Her humor is young and cheerful, but not as cheerful as her.

Reem El A7mad
She's heartless and she's selfish. She left the school, but made us experience most of our school life with her presence, then she leaves to let us forget and miss what it used to taste like when she used to be in school. However, I will no longer be a victim to anyone's crime, I can still imagine her with me in the place we used to see each other. Maybe it would seem like obsession, but to me, it's the only solution.

Reem 7
A very, very talented girl. She knows how to move, and she got what should be moved ;) I never saw anyone who can dance as skillfully as her. Maybe this is only a hobby to her, or something she likes to do, but she doesn't realize maybe that what she does sure changes our moods and makes us excited. She stands out in group shows, and even when everybody is doing the same thing she still looks and is special.

Aghareed
I still remember how I wished to be her friend when we were young. She used to sit at a table during recess and tells stories about her full-of-action life. She used to speak of adventures and what sounded to me like a movie. She's an interesting person and you can never get bored of what she says!

Aseel
A dear friend who will never be forgotten. As my name means that, well, I'm pratically a tree, she once made me bloom and blossom. The leaves, fruits and flowers I have shined and brightened whenever I was with her company. As long as she's present, this tree will -inshallah- never lose its blossoms.

Tala
Wow. Just wow. She has everything, yet modest and down to earth. I've never seen someone so smart, creative, social, and who has her own brand-name at the same time! Balance is today's problem I must struggle with daily trying to achieve. She will always be a model role to look up to when it comes to diversity in one's personality, and balance in life.

Summer A
Speechless I become when I speak of her. A true leader. A true responsible girl. One of the most trustworthy, or maybe, in our school, the only one ;) lol. You could always depend on her, with no negative "side effects" at all. She's a cure when someone most needs help to end the disease of chaos and disorder. When we're careless, she's careful. When we're lacking energy, she's full of it. God save her -"Allah ye7fa6'ha"- lol.

Nada M
They say that good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget. Actually, with you, it's a totally different case. You are easy to find, easy to approach, easy to deal with, easy to have fun with, yet still hard to leave, and VERY impossible to forget. Yet I do support what "they say", we always have to trust "them". Guess then you're more than a good friend. A lot more.

Lujain A H
A girl with an amazing voice and an even more amazing personality. They say singers aren't always funny, but she sure proved them wrong..! Missing her, lovin her, damjn it's been a long time!! :P Each year, a lot of special individuals leave, as she did, and today many leave for college. We're next. But Lujain is one of the ones who never really left school. Her spirit is still in it..


Zainab H
My laughing mate, my "7eshishing and ta7sheeshing" mate. No one can seperate us apart. Time hasn't, and that proves the strong bond we have. She graduated, but now we're closer than ever. True that I wish she was still with me, but what can I do other that just... gettin over it!! ;) You made my boring life an exciting one to live, and a life I would never wanna miss.

Shadia
A teddy bear with a soft surface and a cute face, you can't resist a hug by her. She is unique in her excitement, and her positivity. They say smiling a lot could hurt, and I bet her face hurts real bad because she never stops smiling, or at least I hope so. HAHAHA :D
Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind. Guess then I'm a horrible sister! Not that I intended to leave her, but this is how life goes. We graduate. We leave the younger sobbing, as we sob more than they ever will. You are one of the reasons I hate to be a senior. Thanks!!!!


And of course, the best of the best, relatives/friends
Nujood
Nada M
Noor M
Farah M
Nada M
Noor M

(to be continued.. i'll add more :P)
and if you didn't see ur name like u expected.. HAWSHOONY.. cz i really want everyone to know how much she means to me

Omegle..

-"Hey!!"
-"Hello :)"
- "asl?" (age, sex, location)
- "16, m, US.. u?"
- "17, f, Saudi.. Nice to meet you :)"
- ".. ****, terrorist!! Don't you have a tower to bomb?"
- "Hmm, I am busy speaking to a stereotype"
Your conversational partner has disconnected.


Occurred a lot. Not by Americans only, surprisingly, even an Egyptian did the same. And even more shocking, Americans are probably the LEAST racist against non-Americans (which shows how more mature they are, and how their country is multicultural). As for whoever's in the far-east, they hesitate before stating where they are from, why? Because of the fear of stereotypical harsh words, or of seeing: "Your conversational partner has disconnected" at the end of the screen.


Dear RE, (Racist-Egyptian)..
I am not pointing out the nationality to make a new stereotype, but to show how even Arabs are being racist against other Arabs, and because till now, this is the only way I can refer to you.
and Dear RPCP (Racist People Calling for Peace);

1- I am not a terrorist:
I am a Muslim, and Islam calls for peace and treating others fairly. Just because Osama Bin Laden is Saudi and Muslim it doesn't mean that he is a good representative of Islam. Funny, in religion, we take that in a Muslim country, we should not only leave non-Muslims celebrate their religious events and worship God in their own way, but we are also not allowed to bring down churches, temples, and other holly sites, AND (something I'm really mad that they teach it this late, at the age of 17), we have to do our obligations to them as anyone else: visit their sick, or contribute to charity for them.

2- I am happy. Women are not in a cell.
I live an easy life, really. I can go out. I travel a lot, 3 times with my school and friends. I don't cover my face. I can't drive, but I have a driver. I receive an advanced level of education. I have ambitions. I have a personality. I have feelings. There are negative points, a lot of them, (HELL YA,, a great DEAL of them). In the end, I smile, I laugh. I am happy.

3- I wear a veil. I feel safe with it.
Girls in Saudi Arabia aren't more than any none Muslim girl anywhere else, we're not more beautiful or anything, but the beauty we have doesn't have to be shown (Umm, I don't ever want to be a star of a story as a victim of rape). Boys, and men, shouldn't gaze at me as if I was a product they're checking out. We are pearls. We keep our beauty inside our shells for our husbands and relatives to see. This way there will be also less cheating in marriages, and several other benefits.

4- I feel hurt by what is said. Still, not offended by questions.
I am hurt when someone call me a terrorist, not because I take it personally. It is because it is sad how foreigners' perspectives are becoming about Saudi. However, when someone asks about my religion or nationality, and no one has to say "no offense" before and after each question,

Racism, stereotypes, not only against me, it's against the world. Why keep it there? One day, it may be the wall trapping peace out of countries. If only Martin Luther King Jr. is here again to restate his longlasting words: "I have a dream."

Girls of Riyadh


If you're Saudi, you most probably heard of the novel "Banat Al Riyadh", or "Girls of Riyadh". I read it. Quite interesting. However, does it really speaks about Riyadh's reality? Who cares?!

It really doesn't matter when Arabs read this novel, about four Saudi girls who live in Riyadh and each has her own adventures with boys and whatever. Sounds exciting, is it 100% true? Could it be?.. Yes. It could be, but transparent isn't like true. This novel might be true but not transparent, as it speaks about a certain type of girls in Riyadh, very specific.

What made me write this post is that I had an idea about a novel. I had this idea when I saw an English version of the recent best-seller "Girls of Riyadh". When it was just Arabic, I didn't care much, but now, English?

I know that she, Rajaa Alsane'a, the writer, might not realize that translating that book might give foreigners a wrong idea about Saudi Arabia. They might think that these girls represent Riyadh, and that Riyadh, being the capital of Saudi Arabia, represents Saudi, which is not true.

What I want to write about is the real truth. I want to put the right facts into a story; a novel. I want to make this novel as a response to Rajaa, and her translated novel. She should have thought twice before publishing that novel in other languages; being famous, writing a juicy story, and money shouldn't be the main goal of writing a novel. Writing a novel should be an expression of truth, or ideas. It should be the utilization of the talent in writing (which she might not be entitled to, considering that the Arabic version was written in slang).

If you're going to influence a large group of people by doing a certain act, you should look at the big picture. You should consider your values as well as the country's. You should think about basic concepts and values that you should not cross. You should simply be smart, not selfish.

One of a Kind



In an apple store, where all the laptops are either black or white, what would they call a pink or red laptop? Special..? Different? Unique? Exceptional? Actually, they'd call it weird, and I call it beautiful, in its individuality.
When you're different, you're considered weird, ain't that true? And the funny part is that they dare to say that differences is what makes our world interesting. "Weirdos" make the world interesting? Then I'd love to be part of the honor! And I hate being just like anyone else. In every school, and a lot of workplaces, the popular group thinks that they are special, and many of their surroundings think they are too, and sometimes try to be like them. When we think of it, most of the members of the group are the same, or at least similar, and whoever imitates them could be special is losing what she is singular at just to be accepted as someone who's not weird.
Special means different, and usnusual, and that's why I can't define popular groups as special groups. In the "weirdos" group, every member is different, every member is special, every member is distinctive; every member is another person who's not like his/her peers. A lot of special girls would be proud to hear others call them weird, because they know the secret meaning beyond the definition of the word "weird" (strange, odd, bizarre). They know that whoever calls them that is a normal common person, not unique in any way. Now several of my friends would agree (don't you, Sulaf? My weird fellow? My exceptional buddy?). Hmm, when I think about it, I think that special people are special people, and the rest are weird; strange how they aim to be similar, and then oddly bizarrely consider themselves unique.
Funny really, but the truth is that, that super multitasking karate smart pianist, that hilarious "awesome" girl addicted-to-cold-play-and-politics who says: "I love physics" proudly as she's good enough to master the subject, that procrastinating procrastinator who still finds time to write amazing pieces and to do much more, that hard working astonishing ambitious computer-thingies-understander (and a drama queen), that sleepy sleeping beauty who coul retrieve anything said or done in the area she existed in even if she was under a snooze-spell, that overly excited chick who can speak faster than I can think yet speaks like hell in Arabic who finds killing babies a fascinating subject, and me, an add to the "weirdos" list, are the ones who make our world special, and interesting. We are the rainbow colored laptops in the nearest apple store. I'm no racist against black and white laptops, but doesn't it feel great to be different??

Egged

When I entered school was like being “egged”, and in my egg inside that shell, I am getting ready for the outside. I have everything I need inside my shell, and I am developing myself with skin and feathers to become ready to go outside and burst out of my egg to face what they call: the world. I have everything I need provided in my egg; knowledge, food, and shelter.

I am excited to meet the outer world where I can expand my understanding of this complex dimension and fill my life with experiences that would make me the best chick ever. I want to grow and be as useful as possible around the barn. I’m going to do the impossible to be special. I’m going to be the flying chicken!!

I am going to do what others haven’t dared to do: the impossible, the unthinkable; the different. I flip my short wings to lift my heavy body until I feel wind tickling the ends of my feet.