Shoot me... if you're talking about Twilight...

This is a much needed post... and at first I thought I wouldn't bother dedicating a whole blog post on twilight and it's characters... but forces beyond my control have deemed me to write an entry...

So, guys have now discovered.... Edward Cullen... my prof brought up Edward Cullen the other day in class, and a Facebook guy friend was like I finally watched the movie and I can establish connections...

First things first... I read the books, because the covers intrigued me. I didn't really know what the book was about... I just thought the covers were really good, simply, elegant, worth it... and that was my first mistake... judging a book by it's cover. Anyway.. it wasn't that the books sucked... They were alright, for a new author... It's just that I'm an avid reader... I read between 4-7 books a week if i'm busy... if i'm not busy... it's more like 7-14.. in a zillion different genres.

Stephenie Meyer is a relatively new author. I mean, she had a potential story, but nothing really happens. It's all like... I love you but I can't have you and you love me... but I might kill you... and well, that's a bit frustrating after 4 books. But anyway, she compells you to read on. So, I'll give her that. I believe that with a couple of more books, she'll be able to fully develop her characters.

The best authors are those who are able to tell the whole story behind a character, without bogging you down with the details. You fall in love with the characters, because their story and their world becomes your world.. and well Stephenie Meyer, still needs to work on that. I'll admit though, her remake of twiligh (midnight sun?), through edwards perspective was really good, because he has a bit more excitement in his life... Bella.. she doesn't really do anything. you don't really know her likes and dislikes... until she meets jacob.. and that's why the books start to get good. Bella doesn't represent the average girl... because the average girl has some sort of friends... no matter how much of a loner you are (and trust me... i know loners very well... i'm a bit anti-social at times), you have some sense of friends.

The second deadly sin (yes i'm joking) of stephenie meyer was that she created edward cullen... supposedly super sexy vampire... but he's dead... well undead... but what I'm trying to say is that his character is soooo underdeveloped that you never know much about him... other than 1) he's a super sexy vampire 2) he hates then loves bella unconditionally 3) he can read minds, except bella's and 4) he's supposed to be the perfect guy... I mean, what makes him the perfect guy? The fact that he shows emotion? but does he really? Stephenie Meyer, in an interview, mentioned that she made him perfect so that girls can know that there is an ideal... something like that... but no one wants a perfect guy.... they just don't exist.

Edward:
1) had no emotions of concern other than of bella... so who was he, really? I mean, how many people can you truly be friends with, or in love with, when you just talk about how much you love each other... but not on anything else. A true relationship goes both ways... and clearly Edward didn't let that happen.

2) was a stalker... no need to explain that... if you think it's sexy... then I'll tell you this... it's one thing to have a guy inquire about you... it's another thing completely to have him watch your house... I mean... can I say Big Brother

3) was too Emo.. yes, that sounds contradictory... cuz my #1 was not enough emotions... but i mean.. he was gonna commit suicide cuz he thought bella committed suicide... how Romeo and Juliet is that... I mean seriously... I <3 emo guys, and I have strong emo tendencies.. but I mean, can I say plagiarism of ideas??

4) mind reader... why was it that the only girl he fell in love with was because he couldn't read her mind? He was intrigued. I mean, a good love story always includes some intrigue... but I mean... how many guys prefer not to know what's on a woman's mind...? I think edward felt the same... I mean... i highly doubt they would of hooked up, if he wasn't curious...

Bella
1) is supposed to be this extremely normal teenage girl... but she causes a stir in her new school... why is that? I mean, that stir should have occured to the readers... but if you ask most girls... they don't like bella... they don't relate to her at all... in fact, many girls relate to edward or jacob a lot more.

2) I personally liked bella, because her mind was always over active... but I mean, she did nothing... how many teenage kids do nothing... I mean... go to the mall... hang out a bit more often... she read like 1 book in the whole series and went to the beach like once. hello??? do something.

3) weak. Usually... authors develop a character to have some sort of strength that, although everyone else is so much stronger (vampires ect) the weaker character is stronger in mind. You find in the last book, that she had good control over her mind, and that's why no one could read her thoughts... but 3 books of what?? fragility...? that people love her? but what is it about her that compells the people around her... Bella's mind power should have been a lot more developed in the first couple of books. stronger intuitive... proactive...

4) which brings me to passive... she's just sooo damn passive... it kills me. I just wanted to scream at some point DO SOMETHING!!!


Okay, okay... enough about the two main characters... but anyway, the books were alright... I can't believe they caused such a sensation. If you want to read a REALLY good vampire series read The Vampire Diaries. I mean, I read the whole Twilight series, and I thought they were okay.. A lot could have happened... but nothing really did. A good book, has a good plot and a good climax... and well, honestly, Twilight et all lacked that component... the climax came much too much at the end (like last 10-15 pages). I mean, to compare it to Harry Potter just seems blasphemous. I want to smack every hormone raged girl, who thinks to compare the two.

Stephenie Meyer, if you read this silly blog post, you'll get three messages:
1) as you write more, you'll get much better... and we already saw that happening through the progression of your series
2) develop your characters and plot more. Think about how you meet someone for the first time... how do you get to know them... they don't tell you everything, but you learn about them through conversation... let your readers learn your characters.
3) don't worry about the critics (like me) cuz apparently you were successful enough.. but make sure you take some into consideration, because we all have room to improve.

All you companies who are looking for a book critic... sign me up... I will totally do it... I love reading..

\\// peace

Mission... UN-accomplished

So... the day before yesterday... I was at meijer... wandering... and I found these amazing shoes for $10!!! and I was like THEY ARE PERFECT!

So, if you know me... I'm not a shopper really... but at the same time.. I am a BARGAIN shopper to the max... like I don't spend more than like $10 on anything unless... I *gasp* really want them... and yesterday... I was like boooyaa!! meijer has shoes that are perfect for me... about one inch heels, black, simple, yet sexy... perfect for when I have to go to all those girl parties while i'm in syria...

and yesterday, I went back to buy them... I mean.. there were multiple pairs... and ALAS!!! there were none... :( so... me and ruby went from store to store looking for shoes... we spent almost 4 hours looking for shoes... and I mean honestly... I can run for 7 miles... but if you want me to go shopping i burn out soooo fast.. it's not even funny...

So.. we came home shoeless... :( mission left unaccomplished...

Now... I have like a couple more stores in our area before I venture to the mall...
1) kohls
2) famous footwear

okay... well... i'm done blogging at the moment...
I think we're just gonna go to the mall after breakfast... (yes I slept over ruby's house... the week my thesis is do... sigh. i am pathetic)

\\// PEACE
-reem


2:49pm!!!!!!! SAME DAYYY!!!

Okay I'm back!! I bought a pair of sneakers ($9)!!! Wicked Cute!! Also, a pair of nice, simple black flats with a little ribbon weaved through them ($14)!! I bought two wicked cute, elegant, yet simple skirts, one shiny black ($3) and the other blue , white and black ($4), and a very nice sweater thing ($2) (what are they called, the really thin material, but it's like a button up).. from Kohls... and to think.. I was telling ruby how I really didn't want to go, cuz I never end up wanting to go.

And how much did I spend on all of this?? about $32... bargain shopping all the way!! Alhamdullilah!! (thank God!)

\\// PEACE!
-reem, yet again

say... PEACE!!

And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace (25; 063)

salam,

so... I came across this verse in surat al-furqan... and it just made me... unsuspectedly... laugh.

now, you might be thinking... why is this random muslim blogger laughing at the words of God... but it wasn't that I was laughing in a... haha-funny, laughter... it was more like... haha-interesting... cuz.. I always say 'peace out!!!' or 'peace' in general... but at the same time... i'm a relatively angry person..

but anyway, I was thinking that this verse has a very interesting format... now think about it... It's basically a story of a 'servant of God' broken up into 3 parts:
1- walking upon the earth easily
2- the ignorant address them harshly
3- they say peace

I was wondering what does walking upon the earth easily mean...?personally... physically, i often trudge... does it mean literal walk... or does it mean a certain attitude or a way to hold oneself?? ect... While I read this, I thought of it, more along the lines of literally an attitude.. having a somewhat mellow, easy outlook on life. I think of the way people act, who sincerely believe in God, and a lot of the time, they're really mellow. Like, it's all good, God's got my back... and so, when they 'walk upon the earth easily' you realize, that they're taking the condition of the world easily... not to be confused with lightly... but they take it easily, because they feel like they can do something about it.. it's not hard to deal with the earth, very simple... obey God type of thing. Why? because they're servants of God, and again, if they do something, they know that the hard part, God's got covered... you know what I mean??

The second part the ignorant address them harshly, what kind of ignorance do them mean? Like is it like religious ignorance? or is it, general ignorance? I heard a saying recently that goes something like this: don't argue with an ignorant person, you'll always lose... and when I read this verse, I was thinking why do ignorant people like to argue? They say that ignorance is bliss... and sometimes that's true... but ignorance is also frustrating... imagine being somewhere and everyone knows something that you're ignorant about... I know that my ignorance in my field of study frustrates me sooooo much... I get mean, harsh, and angry... and it made me think.. maybe ignorance takes a psychological toll... not like.. hi, this person is crazy... but if you feel like you're missing something, a piece of information, you get determined to cover that weakness up... you go into this... super... RAAWR mood... and you get harsh, defensive and so on... I felt like the word, ignorant in this verse takes on a different meaning, than if it was like 'the non-believers' or something like that. I feel like, often, ignorance translates a person into this bundle of chaotic energy, that leads to a sense of harshness... of trying to, you know, make up for what's lacking...

The third part is in reference to the servants of God saying peace and it's interesting on how the word peace is used... I mean, it's used as a greeting... It's also used to indicate the relationship you want to have... i.e. peaceful, as in not fighting... also, it indicates the type of person you are as well... you want to relax, not fight, just let it go... and I feel like, responding with peace, just seems so chillax... you know? Why bother stressing?? Just say peace, because you know that the argument is, essentially, useless.. Instead of trying to prove an ignorant person wrong, just embody the concept of peace... be like... what's the point in arguing? Lets just you know... agree to disagree.. pick up a cup of chai and you know... chill... be peaceful... find a sense of comfort with oneself, because you know that God's, once again, got you covered.

any how... I just came across this:
http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Letting-Ignorant-People-Bother-You
which basically instructs you on how to deal with ignorant people and it made me laugh all over again...

By the by, this is not like a tafseer or anything... just personal reflections I have sometimes... we need to develop a personal connection to you know the words of God, and I feel like when I do it like this, it makes me feel... relieved in a way...

salam \\// peace
-reem

Whispers and Jugular Vein

"And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein" (Qaf; 16)

Salam,
So, usually when people reference this verse they talk about the aspect of God being closer to us than the Jugular vein... and yesterday when I was reading this surah on my way to work... The first part struck me... And we have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him which is different than that aspect of just closeness... I don't know what I was thinking before reading the verse, but a lot of the time our thoughts over power us... now... you might be thinking... umm... reem that makes no sense... but for me it really struck a cord...

A day before, I told a friend of mine "my own thoughts suffocate me"... sometimes I feel under attack by my own thoughts... Not in the sense that I'm depressed... but I think too much... If you know me well, you know that I'm a motor mouth... I say anything and everything... But if you know me even better... you know that my brain talks to me... yes two sided conversations... back and forth... somewhat schitzophrenic, because it's not me who I'm talking to... but at the same time it's me... It's like my thoughts have a mind and will of their own... I can sit there with a 'look' on my face, and well underneath it all their's like verbal (well mental... but not psychological perse) warfare going on...

I told my dad once that I have this thing that I named, parallel thought processing... so you know how computers do parallel processing... my brain does that... so it's like I have two or more people in my brain thinking at the same time... and sometimes it's sooo loud that I have to take SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much tylenol just to get the pounding to stop... but anyway... back to the verse...

So, the verse says And we have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him and it made me think about how well God knows us... and the fact that God said "whispers" reminded me so much of my own mind. Not one whisper.... but grammatically in a format in arabic that it's like repeated whispers (yuwaswas... rather than waswasa).. I don't know it just made me think about the fact that although I have all these thoughts and whispers going on in my head... God knows about it.

Knowing that God knows about it, makes me feel much more sane... and that more comfortable... and in a sense... confident. After you know, exposing my psychological fears... God then says the second part... which is often quoted "and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein" and it makes me think of God as somewhat of a Psychiatrist/Psychologist... On call... just a prayer away... oh so close to us, we just need to grasp that concept.

A lot of the time, when I hear that verse, people interpret it so that is God like being you know... in your head... in a "Big Brother", I'm watching you, type of way... But yesterday, when I was reading the verse... It felt like... God knows what I'm thinking, because He's going to be there for me... Like how one of your friends that you grew up with can read your thoughts out of knowing you so well and loving you... and then if it's just hard, she'll (or he'll) assure you a spot on their shoulder to lean on. You know what I mean?

So, as I was reading that verse, I realized that regardless of the paralell thought processing and the thought suffocation that I felt often plagues me (and possibly others)... that God knew my thoughts, understood them and is going to be there for me.

I guess that's it.. Maybe you'll feel/reflect on the verse another way...

salam \\// peace
-reem

Growing up too fast or not growing up at all?

This is an essay/reaction paper I wrote for my infancy and child development class...
I feel like it's still relevant... :s I just came across it while going through my email.. :s i included some comments within it... (they're in the brackets)

----

Growing up too fast or not growing up at all? August 25, 2005

To be able to speak of past experiences that effected how one turned out to be as an adult, you have to be an adult. But if you are not an adult, then how can you speak of things that affected your childhood and adolescence when you are still experiencing those years of your life. To make this introduction a little more clear, I will just have to spell it out. I am a seventeen year old, political science major, senior, class of spring 2006 at the University of Massachusetts Boston. I work at a psychiatric clinic, and intern at a civil rights organization. This piece of writing is supposed to illustrate how I grew up to be from my childhood experiences, but what if your childhood experiences are beyond your time. What if you grew up to fast? Even worse, what if you never really grew up?

I will start off from my extremely early years, from what my mom told me while I was growing up, or pretending to grow up. My mother enjoys making fun of me because my whole life seemed rushed. I was born a month early, giving myself a month head start in the ‘out of womb’ life. I started walking when I was about 9 months and talking around 10 months. Not just mama and dada kind of words but two to three words. When I started kindergarten I started a year early. I was three years old, where as everyone else in my class was four. In total by the time I was 3 years old, I was already one year and one month ahead of myself. I know many children have started school early, or were educated before starting school, but regardless I was already given that head start and was one of those kids.

When in elementary school, I do not remember being smart, or doing well in my classes. I even remember being in special education class for reading because I was at such a low reading level because my dad was always at work and my mom did not really know how to speak English. So, as far as I was concerned, I always thought I was pretty dumb. During the summer before the 4th grade, my parents dragged my siblings and I to Syria, and decided to live there for a year. My siblings were placed in an English speaking school, and I was placed in an Arabic speaking catholic school. I did not know how to speak Arabic originally, but after continuous studying, and being tutored by my mother every morning, before school and in the afternoon, before the cartoons came on the television I eventually picked up the Arabic language. By the end of the school year I ranked 3rd out of the whole 4th grade class.

I came back to the United States and continued onto the 5th grade, and maintained really good grades, placing the 1st in my class every year, and getting high honors every quarterly term. This continued until the 7th grade, which was when my school (and parents) made me take an exam, which I placed at a 10th grade level. So I got to skip the eighth grade. So, I started my freshman year of high school at 12 years old. By the time I was finishing my sophomore year, the high school I had attended decided they wanted to send me to college doing the dual enrollment program. Basically, while finishing your 11th and 12th year in high school, you do your freshman and sophomore year of college, allowing you to graduate acquiring your high school diploma and associates degree. When I finally graduated high school and got my associates degree, I was another 2 years ahead of myself. After another year starting as a junior at Umass Boston, I finished my junior year and now upon the end of the summer, I will be starting my senior year. Totaling to the 4 years of my head start in life.

This is just a brief explanation of my education in regards to growing up too fast or possibly not growing up at all. As for responsibilities, I am the youngest out of 4 siblings. I always helped my mom around the house, and had to clean up after my older siblings, because they were just too oblivious to help my mom by just merely picking up after themselves. I had to tutor my elder brother, because of all my jumps in school, we ended up in high school together, taking most of the same classes. It was my assumed responsibility to remind him of his homework, tutor him, and basically have his back at all times. If he slipped in school it was supposedly my fault. My father and mother tended to confide in me, my dad about his financial, work, and community problems, my mom about her students. I felt like I was the back bone of our family and if I was to move at the sight of danger the whole family would collapse (i don't know how true this is now). My sister thinks I am her best friend (she is!), and my brother this he’s my best friend (he was at some point), always getting things off their shoulders and adding them onto mine (i take things very personally... so when they'd confide in me.. i felt like i had to address the issues). I know it’s great being everyone’s favorite, but usually it is because you are the youngest (i.e. you're supposed to be spoiled rotten), not because you assume the most responsibilities (like me).

Now as I am older, I realized that I was robbed of my childhood. Although I went to a lot of youth oriented events, I never really got to fully explore childhood (i still feel like this). No one had the time to just play with me, and if they did have the time it would be worth sparing it on just playing games, but rather confiding their problems (yeah at some point it was depressing). When I was still 12 I wanted to go outside and play kickball, basket ball, soccer, or soft ball not worry about make up and how to dress (apparently all my friends were into this when i was in highschool... hence me being 12 and wanting to play outside). As I grew into my teenage years, my friends also began to pour out their hearts onto my shoulders and I never really did the same (i'm a very weird person, i can get someone to tell me every last detail of their life... but i can't do the same). I felt that people had worse problems than me and that I should just get over mine (i feel like that all the time till this day). So, I’m the best friend to many, yet I feel like a liar to myself (oh God... this sounds soo familiar... I was telling some of my friends how my best feature is my ability to BS everything). Even though I had been successful in my high school years, I have never felt one day anxiety free because of school and classes. When I laugh joke or play, it is exaggerated or over played. When I cry, I cry too much. When I deal with money, I budget too accurately. When I clean I am a perfectionist. But at the same time, when I am pressured into doing something, I’m dependent, and people see me as being really strong, but I feel broken and unable to do what I really am capable of doing. When I think, in my head I know I am still a child, and people treat me like a child with restrictions and curfews. People never realize that I was nurtured as an adult. I was robbed of my childhood, 4 years of it. When I am talked to people should look at me and think she’s at least 21 not 17 (lol what's funny is that, now that I'm 21... i feel like people should treat me like a 45 year old.. cuz that's what a personality test told me my age-mentality was), because I have done as much as the average 21 year old would do (yet, i missed out on what the average 12 year old got to experience).

Basically, I still have a few more years to experience adolescence (lol.. not anymore). For now, even though I did a lot of childish things in my life, I am an adult (that still applies). I consider myself 21, even though all documents pertaining to my life state that I am 17 because my date of birth is 11/24/1987 (okay... well now i'm really 21... so this doesn't really apply.. like i said i feel 45). Till now, my parents treat me like a child, but at the same time treat me like a full grown adult through their hopes that I will help them out and assume responsibility when needed (still sooo true). When they complain I have to help them solve their problems and talk to them. But, when I complain about things to them, I am considered a whiny teenager, who does not know anything (soooooo true!!!!). Although, I love the fact that I get to finish school early, and hopefully higher education as well, I want to be able to go out and party with my friends, I want to go to concerts, I want to have enough time to go see a movie not making plans to go out but just getting up and going. I want free time. I don’t think I’ll ever know what I want, because I want to be treated as adult yet, I’m still considered a child, and sometimes I want to be considered just that I know everything that goes on around me is the result of my own actions, but the question for me is did I grow up too fast, or did I never grow at all?

---

I feel like that till this day... I mean, I feel like I'm too old for my age... but at the same time.. I feel like a little kid who doesn't know what they want out of life... Lately, I've been experiencing my Mid-Life Crisis... and given the history report I just shared... well.. it only makes sense to experience it.. you know.. 20 years early.. sigh.

Anyway.. I pray that one day I'll figure it out... inshaAllah
salam
-reem

For the fat women running

salam,
so yeah... i'm obese (yes.. clinically)... whatever... i don't care. Well, to an extent I do... see, i'm a relatively healthy woman. I eat well... and I go to the gym every other day for 2 hours... and in between (or while at the gym) I run about 3-5 miles each time... so why do people still have to look at the fat woman running?

I don't know yet... if it's my size or my hijab... i still haven't figured it out yet... but i'm guessing it's my size... but the sad thing is.. i'm probably more in shape and healthier than any of those silly people who stare me down.

I mean... i can run at most (i'm working on beating my threshold so i can do the detroit half-marathon) 7 miles without a break in between... so why do people look at me funny... Is it because the weight I carry???

eerrg... so what happened was this... i'm running.. at a pace of about 6 miles per hour... (which is about 10 minutes per mile..) and out of the blue... these young adults... slow down by me.. point and laugh... like LEGIT... not even.. you know... subtely.. and it ticked me off... they're lucky i'm not too much in a bad mood... cuz i would have been like i don't care... i'll buy a new ipod... and ran faster and keyed (well actually ipoded) their car... but i was okay.. i just breathed in and out... you know calming techniques...

I was SOOOO angry though... don't they know that us big women have extra to deal with (lol... literally).. I mean, given that i'm probably not the most anorexic of people, but why do they have to do stupid stuff like that... I wanted to just pull them out of the car and be like... 'think you're a superstar?? why don't you race me'... urg. but anyway.. just cuz you might see a big woman running doesn't necessarily mean she's
1) trying to lose weight
2) going to give up by tomorrow
3) pretending to run... but when you pull away... she'll start walking again
4) fat because she eats chocolate creme pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

sigh. sometimes I get so annoyed with people... raaaaaaawr.
I grew up a very sports oriented kid... in the beginnning it was dance (ballet, jazz, tap, and gymnastics), as i grew older i played 5 years of basketball, 2 years of softball, one year of cross country, and since i was 16 i've been an active member at a campus gym... so why do you pathetic kids got to point and laugh and the big women run....

okay.. i'm gonna stop there. I was just really annoyed. I wish I could just induce them with like 30 to 50 pounds of added fat just so they can know what it's like to be a big woman... and then i want to make them run... run like they've never ran before... and just think about those 30-50 pounds you have to run with... like strap on weights that you wear when working out...

okay okay... i kept going.. i'm sorry. i'm just annoyed.

Comment.

and please... if you see a big woman running... instead of stereotyping or making assumptions... you should really be thinking... if that woman has 50 extra pounds on me.... why can't i run like her? Maybe, you need to assess your energy output...

salam
-reem

Kindergarten geniuses

Salam (PEACE)!

So, I'm dedicating this post to my mother... who is just, subhannaAllah, amazing! Everyday, I watch her take notes on multiple different books of tafseer (islamic hermeneutics), seerah (life/history of Muhammad, peace be upon him) and so on... It amazes me.... it shocks me... it confuses me... but most of all it amuses me.
Do you know what she does with the material gathered??? She teaches at an Islamic montessori school.... where here students are between the ages of 3-6 years old... And she teaches them materials made for scholars.... and the even more amazing thing is this... they learn it!!! actually internalize and understand it!!!!
That's how I want to be when I become a professor (obviously, my age group is very different but still). It just hit me so strongly today, as I was watching her prepare her lesson plans. I mean seriously??? She's teaching little kids things made for college age folk.
and it hit me... it's never too early to teach your kids, no matter the subject or however advanced it may seem, as long as you know (or learn) how to deliver it to them in a way they'd understand.
now think about all those kids growing up nowaday, so underchallenged that their potential slips down the drains... not only that... but even when they are challenged, the teachers are presenting it to them in a way that they cannot understand....
my question is this... is our education system actually educating students at the levels that they could learn at?? Or are we just teaching them with the wrong methods, not truly understanding the students and therefore being unable to convey or articulate the knowledge to them???
I was amazed, truly amazed, when I realized all this research my mom does for a kindergarten (more or less) class... I never realized how much I might have learned from her growing up if she was my teacher (obviously given that she's my mom she can't exactly teach me in school). And now I wonder, if one woman puts sooo much effort in teaching 3-6 year olds... what would happen to the education system if all teachers did the same?
Throughout my life, my mom's former students always used to come to me and be like... your mom is an amazing teacher... we love her... we've learned so much from her... ect. And I guess I'm jealous I didn't get to be in a formal classroom with her. But this is my suggestion for all parents, teachers, professors, instructors ect, please really don't underestimate your students due to their ages (or other things)... Prepare your lesson plans, like you're writing a thesis... do the research from the hard sources, and teach it in a format that the students would understand the language of...
you know... i've recently talked to my mother's students, and they're like kindergarten geniuses, I totally respect them... And I really hope that I can help them grow throughout life, so that they can one day move past me and excel to great heights. (i'm not trying to be cheesy... i'm serious). I hope that each one of them surpass the best in society now, because right now, I feel like they're already smarter than me, mashaAllah (which kinda means, how great is the Will of God.
I guess I'll stop there...
but all I have to say is this. I love my mom... and I see how much she puts in for her students, regardless of their age (she's taught between kindergarten through highschool ages groups).. and I really hope that when I become a professor in the future, that all my presentations, lectures, discussions, essays, papers, books and articles are all written in a language people understand, but filled with the content of scholars. Everyone should have access to the 'high up' knowledge... that's why we need dedicated liasons to deliver that information.

salam
\\//
PEACE
-reem