Subhanallah, how time flies! Ramadan is once again nearby, exactly when we, I especially, are in need; for its blessings in time and actions, as well as its spiritual flows and energy.
As the days until we meet our beloved month become less, I decided to plan my month ahead as I usually end up coming up with my own schedules and plans spontaneously but run out of time to actually accomplish my goals. Therefore, I wrote down seven things I want to focus on or start doing this Ramadan. Of course accidental changes of plans may occur, but never the less, planning how I want to fill my days beforehand gives me a clear view of where I'm standing now and how I want to become 30 days later.

Also, I chose these focal points based on things I have started but stopped doing, as well as wish to start doing to improve my health, both spiritually, and physically..



1. As I usually focus on reading Quraan and finish the biggest number of khitmas I can do, I decided to focus on memorizing Quraan as well.
In fact, I have already started memorizing the Holy Book, but sadly, my enthusiasm and will slowly started to diminish, until I eventually stopped. That's why, inshallah, I'm planning to start memorizing again this month and finish memorizing at least 3 parts!

2. Other than improving my five daily prayers and taraweeh at the end of the day, Inshallah, I'm willing to pray an 'extra day' every day; meaning that I would pray Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Ishaa every day instead of those that I previously prayed incomplete, like if I wasn't focused well, and so on.

3. Not only does paying 'sadaqah' improves and purifies ones physical well-being, it also improves their gifts and blessing from Allah, as the Prophet PBUH has taught us. In fact, I strongly believe in improving bad situations and good ones by paying even a very small amount of money. And so, I decided, to train myself on paying daily, especially during Fajr for its many blessings.

4. The number 400 just jumped to my mind and so I thought, why not!  Zikr, or the mentioning of Allah's name as well as praying upon the Prophet PBUH are also my focal points this Ramadan, and inshallah I'll try to do as many as I can..

5. Inshallah, I will start watching less Youtube, and therefore reducing my addiction to it. However, that doesn't include watching beautiful series and videos such as the ones I previously mentioned here, as well as a new set of episodes set to be released in Ramadan like the ones of Alhabib Ali Al Jifri and Ahmad AlShugairi.

6. Praying with the same terms and for the same intentions may lead to feeling bored or unenthusiastic about praying anymore and asking God for His blessings. Therefore, Inshallah, I'm intending to start changing my prayers, phrases, and intentions every night to increase my 'dictionary', and prabably find more beautiful ways to praise God and ask Him, Al Mighty, for His blessings.

7. Lastly, but probably most importantly, repentance. Ramadan always leaves its impact on me by reconnecting me to my beautiful religion and Merciful God, and inshallah this Ramadan I am planning to do the same, by repenting from what I have done before and starting a new chapter..

I guess this will become a checklist and a continuous reminder of what I want to change and accomplish this Ramadan, so.. may Allah help me and you by using every second of this holy month to please Him and improve our lives to the better, inshallah..

The start is always the hardest part, they say. Whether it was fear holding us back or uncertainty, taking the first step into the unknown becomes a challenge that holds us back... or maybe it is the past and old memories that haunt us and generates our hesitant steps? Either way, once the first step is taken, there is no going back.



I got married and moved to Dubai, moving by that to another university to study in. I won't be talking about the beginning of marriage life and its responsibilities, nor the beginning of a whole social life which I have to create for myself as I moved to another emirate, but the beginning of a new university life, and let me tell you this - it was terrifying.
Other than the uncertainty on my behalf of whether i'll be capable enough to balance my wifey-responsibilities, studying journey, and social activities, I entered a new atmosphere which I have never experienced before, and for the first time in a very long time: I felt lonely. The whole atmosphere was different, and being new made it all harder to adapt to...

I have already experienced new starts; once when I moved with my family to Syria for five years when I was 10 years old, and another time when I entered my old university at the age of 17, but never previously have I felt this nostalgia and loneliness! I guess the only reason for that is because I grew older, and as I did, I became more attached to my surroundings... Which apparently is bad.
I have also experienced being in friendships that came to an end, ones which included me getting very attached to others, as well as getting attached to places as I felt I simply found myself in, and then traveling to some other place or country. Therefore, I should - by now - be able to control my emotions and attachment to my surroundings! But I guess things are easier said than done.

I know I'm harming myself by being an introvert in this new environment, but I just can't help it! I can't help missing my friends whenever I'm in the bus alone, or the library, or even the classrooms. I keep telling everyone of how important it is for yourself to let go in order to move on, but why aren't I doing that?!

....

Writing this has taken me a week. I've given myself 7 days to put my feelings to the test and see whether they have changed - and they have, very slightly, become more positive.
Yes, I still do feel alone, and I miss my friends TERRIBLY! But I have somehow came out of my shell and made some new friends... I've also decided on how I want to spend the rest of this year here; I will try my best to adapt and move on, but stay focused on what's already in my hands: my house and amazing husband, my duties as a young Muslimah growing up and is ready to learn and give back to her religion and community, and most importantly, focus on my studies. I'm actually looking forward to this semester and year, hoping massively that I'd one day look back at this post and find it weird and amusing how I could actually think of such thoughts and be negative.

I mean, t's just the first week that's hard and terrible.. right?

Assalamulaikom lovelies and welcome to the first part of my University Series! I decided to start this 4-part series to talk to you guys about university; what, where, and how to study and how to survive university life by reflecting upon my personal experience and thoughts ^.^

For this part, we'll be discussing the topic of choosing the major... Hopefully, you'll find this blogpost very helpful in making up your mind and deciding what you really want to do and study through the few steps i'll be listing below, but first, I might as well start by talking about my background of this topic in case you guys would relate...
I also would like to say that i'm not a psychologist or anything - I'm just an 18 year-old who has been through what some of you might be going through right now and so I have so much to talk about regarding this topic.


So once upon a time, I have decided to become a dentist. I don't know if I was influenced  I have already decided where I want to study that major and with whom i'll be staying in the dorm room - My dad and I even visited that university and paid the early tuition fees, and I was so thrilled - until I started recalculating in my mind, and so I started to ask and add everything up in my mind until I slowly started to believe that I am not capable of studying for 6+ years, nor was I willing to do so. I also considered the job market and how easy or difficult it would be for me to find a job in the future and I decided that I wasn't up for it.
I didn't 'chicken' out nor was I willing to throw my dream away, I was just being realistic, and that would be my first tip to you: dream big, but also be realistic about what you want and don't let the glitter of that dream blind you from recognizing the possible from the impossible.
Anyway, back to my story; so you might as well ask about what I am currently studying? Did I end up following my dream or did I throw it behind?
Well, I simply made a new one to look up to. I decided to study interior design and am determined to be successful at that, inshallah. But I didn't decide to study this major all of a sudden, in fact, I felt so lost after deciding to not follow my dentistry dream and there came sleepless nights and endless proper talks with my parents and family! Eventually, I made a plan which I followed carefully to make up my mind and be convinced about the result because after all, what's the use of studying something I'm not even convinced with.
The plan I made consisted of a few steps: LIST, LOOK UP, BALANCE, PRIORITIZE, and ASK, and I will be taking you through each step briefly.




☞ LIST: To list means to write down and count, and in this step, you'll be listing two things: who you are (qualifications, how others see you, how you see yourself, characteristics...) & your preferences (what subjects you like and hate in school, your hobbies...). Be honest when describing yourself as this is a very good way to know your strength points and weaknesses.
 I wrote down both lists for you guys to see in this gif:


☞ BALANCE: After searching for all the options that match what you've listed, you need to balance each option by writing down its pros and cons. By doing that, you're actually giving yourself reasonable reasons as to why this major/job is good/bad for you instead of refusing or accepting the idea blindly... You then have to eliminate the options that have more cons than pros :)
While listing the pros and cons, you can write down that you really want this option but you have to be realistic and honest in writing why you want it so badly.

☞ PRIORITIZE: You should now be left with fewer options, much fewer even! So it's time to put them in order based on how much that option appeals to you, how many pros it has...etc. and try to come up with maximum five ranks so you'd have less options to keep thinking about.
☞ ASK: All what you have to do now is ask about your results. Ask God for guidance, your parents for their thoughts and concerns, people who are studying the majors you came up with or relate very closely to ones who do, and most importantly ask yourself...
Finally, I would just like to give you a few more tips that inshallah you'll find very helpful:
❀ Be confident about your choices and even stubborn sometimes! But don't let that stop you from listening to others and their thoughts and concerns.
❀ Always have a plan B, C, D even Z for you never know what might happen.
❀ Getting the highest percentage in school shouldn't be for showing off, nor should you be upset about not getting the percentage you wanted so badly. Focus on getting the percentage that will allow you to enter the major you want as well as the other ones in your backup plans, for when you enter university everyone - including yourself - would forget about percentages and focus on GPAs!
❀ Unless you are truly convinced of your decision, don't take a further step towards it. Yes, you can switch your major in university after you've started, but why should you waste money and at least a year of your life? ;)