Having been born in a Muslim family made religion feel so natural growing up, until I realized how much it made me stand out during different stages of my life. My Hijab, my interactions, and many of my associated beliefs constantly made me feel like I do not belong. And yet it has all helped strengthen my faith even more.

Because to me, religion was never about the dos and don’ts. It is more about the spiritual connection. The inner peace that follows certain prayers and dua’as. The sense of security that accompanies knowing God will always be there. The tranquility that nothing other than Qur’an brings along. The perfectly planned coincidences that only prove our lives have been so carefully outlined by the best of Writers. The beautiful signs He always manifests His powers through. The prophetic stories that guide us through every step. Even though I constantly have my ups and downs, and even though there is still so much for me to learn about Islam, I am absolutely blessed to be part of this. Alhamdulillah.

I have a love-hate relationship with my country, Egypt. Growing up, I knew our generation had so much to offer this place. And yet, a little after the 2011 revolution, I lost all hope seeing as how the country only succeeded in traumatizing the majority of us. It still is where all my loved ones are and all my cherished memories remain, and so it is extremely hard to completely turn my back against it.

The major highlight of my stay in Egypt though can pretty much be summarized in Glow. My favorite community-development student organization. I am lucky to have had the chance to lead the ‘14-‘15 team, and so much of what I know about leadership and development is because of them. Super grateful for this phase of my life.

Back in the day, most people were surprised to find out I identify as an introvert. And yet I have lately become an accurate representation of all what introverts are, during my process of adult-ing. I deeply value alone time and solitude, and I somehow never seem to get enough of them. I absolutely despise small talk and rather value simple intimate human connections. I express myself a lot better through writing, and texting. Weirdly enough, I feel more comfortable expressing my thoughts to complete strangers on the internet than friends in real life. I value my friendships a lot though, and have lately started learning the importance of ensuring they are always real, two-sided, healthy connections. Quality over quantity, always. My close friends know I can disappear for days – even weeks, for my own well-being, and never make me uncomfortable about it. Blessed.

My interest in the Accounting field started back in school, for I had two of the most passionate teachers who made me want to pursue this as a career. I currently work as a Financial Auditor. Yes, I am one of those annoying people who come around every year to ask unnecessary questions and basically give you a hard time. My job has helped me understand a lot about the business world, and has sadly exposed me to so much corruption at the same time. I don’t think this is what I’ll continue doing for the rest of my life, but it is what I seem to be enjoying for now. Until I figure out how I want the rest of my life to look like. Best thing that came along with my job is getting the chance to move to Dubai after graduation, which is where I live right now. Alone. Which is the second best thing that came with it.

Living alone has totally changed me as a person, and the last two years in general have turned me into someone my younger selves would definitely find it hard to recognize. It gets so hard at times, so terribly hard. And yet the lessons I learn out of every tough experience makes it worthwhile. All the people I keep meeting, and all the different cultures I keep getting exposed to, have opened my eyes to so much that I wouldn’t have discovered back home. Always in awe of how my life continues unfolding. Alhamdulillah.

The major highlight of my life as of now is, deciding to start Therapy back in 2017. It is one of the things I am absolutely proud of. I have started a Facebook series of #ThingsTherapyTaughtMe following that, and despite how I still sometimes feel so exposed for being this open about my journey, it is also helping me heal big time. And it is one of the major reasons my beautiful friend, Mena, has decided to help me start this website for.

Therapy has helped me become a lot more aware. Of myself and those around me. It has made me so self-reflective and helped strengthened my relationships with those around me. It has also taught me patience and the importance of acceptance. Despite having terminated a few months back, I know I definitely still have a lot to work on. This is only one step towards my self-exploration journey. I still struggle, mostly with the idea of not being enough. Which reflects on so many aspects of my life. But I still get up every morning and decide to try again. : )

I have a hard time identifying “favorite” writers, books or movies, for I’ve had different artists touch me in many beautiful ways at various phases of my life. And so these are, in no particular order, some of the ones I genuinely enjoy:

Books: Pride & Prejudice. The Forty Rules of Love. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. ربع جرام. شاب كشك. The Hunger Games Trilogy. And mostly everything I’ve come across for: Cecilia Ahern, Brené Brown, Iain Thomas, John Green, Mitch Albom. (Besides all that, Qur’an will always be on top.)

Movies: Inside Out. August Rush. Serendipity.

Artists: Faried Omarah. Sabah Khodeir. Brandon Stanton. Sarah Kay. Nasser Junior.

Ted Talks: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain. Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Lauren Weinstein. Validation, Communication Through Empathy by Naomi Feil.

Videos: الدحيح and Nouman Ali Khan’s interpretation of the Qur’an.

Professors: Yasmine Motawy. Dina Sherif. Made a huge difference in my life!

Colors: Red. Lots of Red. And Black.