I Live Away From Home

Last year my very best one and only sister wrote an article titled, "Living Away From Home" and she mentioned all the things that she misses while living abroad. When I read it, I thought to myself that why is she being so sentimental and emotional ? So what ? It is not a big deal. I love Qatar. I don't have a problem living away from Pakistan. Yes. There are great things about Pakistan but I just don't see the diamond studded picture that can make me miss Pakistan. Its just one of the other countries on the map for me. I didn't give it a second thought and life went on.

But last Friday, I realised that Yes! I do live away from home. And yes ! Pakistan is home. You see it was my cousins Nikah ceremony. Now, we are a very small family and this is the first guy whose Nikah it was and we all pretty close. Because it all happened so suddenly within a week, we couldn't go and attend it. On the day of Nikah, my father called and my cousin (his elder and only sister) picked up and she told my dad that they were all getting ready and would leave for the ceremony in an hour. And I wanted to wear heels, spend hours at getting ready, wear those beautiful clothes and just be there. We called again after the Nikah to talk to everyone and congratulate them.  And I just had this emptiness in me. I had this longing to be there. I wanted to be there to enjoy the moment with my family. It was the first time in my life that I wanted to be in Pakistan rather any where else.

That day I realised that despite what I say and what I believe, deep down for me, my home has been and always will be Pakistan. It is like you realise the importance of something when you don't have it anymore and you think that you can get it back whenever you want but that's not how it works. You have to stick to what you have. I really did see the diamond studded picture which made me want to just fly out there and be with them. I really despised our lack of flying abilities on this auspicious day.

When you see a part of your family going through an important phase of their life and you so wish to be there for them but its the thousands of miles that stand between you and your home. You realise that the things you took for granted and never gave a second thought are the ones that are essential in your life and at the end of the day you are nothing without those things. I really am nothing without my family, without my identity, without my home. When you live abroad, you have the satisfaction that there are people back at home who will always be there to welcome you with open arms and no matter what life throws at you they will back you up. So, with immense pride I admit that I live away from home.

...SAP...

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heaven's embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

-William Butler Yeats

...SAP...

I, You And We

I am me

I am who I am meant to be

I am my past, my present

And who I want to be

I am not anyone, I am all three

I am a work in progress

A destiny

I am who I choose to be

I am me

You are you

You are who you are meant to be

You are your past, your present

And who you want to be

You are not anyone, you are all three

You are a work in progress

A destiny

You are who you choose to be

You are you

We are we

We are who we want to be

We are our past, our present

And who we want to be

We are not anyone, we are all three

We are a work in progress

A destiny

We are who we choose to be

We are we

                                                                                             -Sumaica Asad Piracha               

...SAP...

Just A Thought

An anonymous text from the Tradition says that, in life, each person can take one of two attitudes: to build or to plant. The builders might take years over their tasks, but one day, they finish what they are doing. Then they find they are hemmed in by their own walls. Life loses its meaning when the building stops.

Then there those who plant. They endure storms and all the many vicissitudes of the seasons, and they rarely rest. But, unlike a building, a garden never stops growing. And while it requires the gardener's constant attention, it also allows life for the gardener to be a great adventure.

Gardeners always recognize one another, because they know that in the history of each plant lies the growth of the whole World.
                                                 -Brida, Paulo Coelho

Our teachers are like gardeners too. They plant seedlings of knowledge in us and we grow up, those seedlings become plants. They efforts never go to waste. Because somewhere in the world, there fully grown plants are benefiting the world in one way or another. When you think of it, there have been so many gardeners in our life starting from the age of 4 years. Every single on one of them played a role in making us who we are today.

To me even writers are like gardeners. What they write, whether it is fiction or biography, its their plant. Their writing never stops benefiting the world and its people. The authors themselves enjoy the glory and the satisfaction of all that they have done. Maybe some day my writing will also benefit people. To me, there is no use of writing if it does not benefit me, my country and its people. Hopefully, one day, this will be a reality.

...SAP...

Definition Of Beauty

Today, it is my parents 20th wedding anniversary. And I am so proud to be there daughter. If someone asks me to define beauty, I would simply say that it is my parents. Two people who work from day to night to make sure that I could achieve everything I want. If I have something good in me, it is because of them. They are my mirror and I want to be their reflection. 

They are the kind of people who if go from a gathering, the whole gathering will talk about them for days and in good words. In a 5 minute meeting, people ask for their phone numbers. And do not even ask about their social circles. I do not have that and I probably never will.

Somehow over the years they made it work. Whenever I see around myself, I see people getting divorced and fighting all the time, not talking to each other for days. That is the time when I thank Allah for giving me such a NORMAL family. Believe me, it is very rare these days. And somehow my belief becomes a little strong. Because they have sacrificed so much for each other and than for us.

Don't get me wrong, they disagree like a pretty normal couple and argue over it and then we are asked us to take sides. That sight is one to watch. But when they agree on something then believe me they are like a wall in which you cannot put a dent. So our best strategy is not to let both of them agree on the same thing. Works every time for us. Not really. (Guilty grins).

Recently, I asked my dad to tell something to my mom about me and he said, sorry you want the bull to be charged at me. That ain't happening girl. Go tell her yourself and have the bull after you.

Once I remember, a family friend of ours said that it would be so cool if we could choose our parents ourselves and my mom said, you will get the chance in paradise. Truth is I will still choose the parents I have today. Who fret over every single little thing like drinking milk.

We were on Umra in Makkah and my dad couldn't go. I was using my Qatar's international sim but I couldn't recharge it from KSA. SO I asked my dad to send me credit from Qatar. The whole day passed and I didn't get the credit and I was like, OMG, Sumaica, he forgot. He actually forgot to send you credit. But when I checked my balance was QR 100. At that moment I realised that the world can move from one place to another but Asad Latif Piracha will never forget anything that his daughter asks him to do.

I wish them all the best for their life together ahead. May they live for a thousand years. May all the happiness of the world be theirs. May they bicker and argue like kids at times but support each other at all times. May they live to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and I get to be there to make fun of them and remember all the good old golden days. May they always be the best parents that they always have been.

HAPPY 20th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY !

P.S. Dedicated to my not only beautiful but out of this world parents, Mr and Mrs Asad Latif Piracha.

...SAP...

Teenage Is Like A Bud

When I became a teenager, it seemed like a fantasy with so much excitement and beauty in it. But in these five years of my teenage I have realised that when people said that teenage is the most difficult phase of your life, they were right. Somehow all that I went through from the smallest things to the biggest made me realise that teenage is not the fantasy that we all think it is. You see, sometimes the silver lining of even this cloud dims a little bit.

You make decisions that will effect the rest of your life. And you do not want to end up regretting it. But teenage is a very young age to determine the rest of your life. As adults you know what you have to do even if you do not want to do it. You know the difference between wrong and right. How can you expect a 16 year old day dreamer to choose what kind of profession does he or she wants to pay their bills and taxes in future? You go through everything that adults do. But difference is while they are 36, you are just 16.

Picture taken by Sumaica Asad Piracha

Teenage from a perspective is the most cruel age of your life. When you are an adult, somehow you are strong enough to stand up for yourself. But not as a teenager. You are bullied, made fun of, and expected to do well in all walks of life. No screw ups. Sail your ship in the right direction. 

Nobody cares about the fact that you are still like a bud. It takes time for a bud to blossom. It needs work and attention. And when it blossoms. Its hidden and true beauty is there, right in front of you. There is a big difference between a bud and a flower. A bud is very delicate, pretty but not with its full glory. Moreover, a bud is dependent. Whereas a flower is strong, beautiful and independent. You need to water and take care of the bud in order to get the beauty of flower. You need to protect the bud from all kinds of storms. Just like that, teenagers need someone to water them with the knowledge and guidance of solving not only everyday matters but also life making issues. 

"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship". -Helen Keller

Storms, rains, come our way. People, young and old try their best to pluck and destroy us, so we may never be as beautiful as a flower. But we need to understand that we are NOT helpless like a bud. We have the power to make them stop. We are the power. We may be young and not fully blossomed. But we are not weak. We are strong. We are what the world needs right now. We are the change in the world. We are the revolution. We the buds need to be strong so that we can fully blossom and be a beautiful and independent flower and make this world a garden worth praising.

P.S. For all those teenagers who think that they do not matter. They matter. They just need to see it.

...SAP...

Creating The Future We Want

"Future" is a very significant word. Whenever we think about our future a colourful picture is visualised in our mind which is full of hope, peace, respect and love. But do we know how to paint this picture and make this a reality ? Nowadays all we see is death of human kind due to war and famine, cheating and betraying the people close to us. People have lost their humanity, grown cold and are slaughtering each other only to protect their egos. Is that the kind of future we are looking forward to ?

"People are created to be loved and things are created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used."

In my opinion, the only key to create the future we want is "US". We are the new generation which is a thousand times more efficient and better than the old one. As it is well said, "UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT IS THE NEXT GENERATION OF BEAUTIFUL". We have to believe in ourselves and think that we have what it takes to bring revolution in this world. We should always take a stand against what we know is wrong.

 "Courage is to stand when nobody else will stand with you".

But if we want to bring change in this world for a better future than we should first change ourselves. As it is well said by Mahatma Gandhi,

"Be the change you want to see in the world".

The best changes often start by a single simple thought. Thing big and discover the ways to change your future. Are you honest with your teachers ? Do you never cheat in tests ? Do you stand up against the class bullies ? All these little things play a huge part in changing your future because if you are not an honest, confident and standing up for what you believe in kind of person, then how can you expect to bring revolution to this world ? How are other people going to trust you and work with you ? If we all first try to look inside ourselves and change our mistakes and flaws and stop holding grudges against other people then the world would automatically become a paradise on earth and we will easily get the kind of future we want.

"Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence". -Aristotle

As it is well said by Julie A.Carney in her poem, "Little Things", that

"Little deeds of kindness,                                                                                                                  Little words of love,                                                                                                                             Make our earth an Eden,                                                                                                                      Like the heaven above".

Today our life is surrounded by amazing high tech technologies, all to make our life easier. In the means of making our life easier we have made it lazier and dependent. We have forgotten the pleasure of doing our work ourselves. We just keep seeking comfort zones and letting other people do our work. To have a successful future, we must enjoy the work  we do not think of it as a burden but as a responsibility and take it very seriously. We should use technology in a good way like to socialize with people and send informative messages to others. Technology is a strong means to revolution. But we should use it a healthy way and not get addicted to it. Nowadays we lack something very important and that is unity. Because without unity it is impossible to achieve the kind of future we want. We have to always remember that the person sitting right next to you is no less capable in doing his work then you are. We should never bully others and criticize them or make fun of them. Because making someone feel like a failure will never make you a successful person. As it is said,

"Bullying others makes you neither tough nor impressive. It makes you stupid and rude".

In every aspect of life our behaviour towards other people plays a big role in our future. As it is well said,

"Behaviour is the mirror through which the internal beauty is reflected". 

All the things that we do every hour, minute and second of our day are the things which impact our future. Everyday is a step towards our future and if we take the right steps eventually we will have the kind of future we want. SO everyday, we should take a moment to think that today, have I taken the right steps ? An have I done something worthy enough to change the future ?

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning. But anyone can start today and make a whole new ending".

Dean Acheson said,

" Always remember that the future comes one day at a time".

P.S. This is the essay my friend wrote and this is her first attempt at writing. Written by Aisha Malik.

...SAP...