This year...

This year has gone by very quickly for me. I’m not sure of whether I have stopped and openly appreciated and been grateful for the great year this has been for me and many others. For my fellow people around the world it’s been an eventful year filled with uprisings, some with a successful outcome, and others that many of us will still be praying for in the New Year.

Personally, this year stated off for me with an offer to study at my first choice university. This year has also been the year I finished secondary/high school. It was the year I spent some quality time with family in Kenya, caught malaria and food poisoning simultaneously but recovered and, however naive it may sound, that was also the time I learnt what a blessing health is.

It was the year I received my A level examination results, which I had stressed about a lot, and (thankfully) learnt that I’d be starting university that October.

it has been the year that I moved away from home to study, and during the first term had been challenged in ways Id never been challenged before (!).

It was the year I finished my first term at university on a good note and came back home to London, to my family; both are very dynamic entities but much hadn’t seem to have changed :)

I thank God for everything I have.

For the coming year, Insha’Allah, I pray I become a better person, my faith becomes stronger and my family and I have happiness and health.

Happy new year :)

ayanos.tumblr.com

Thoughts

Some interesting aspects from this article:

Interrupt. We all think we're good listeners. We're not. Many of us are absolutely terrible listeners, impatiently waiting for our turn to speak, confident that our next utterance is the solution to everyone's problems or the most interesting of all the commentary yet offered. But you can't contribute intelligently to any conversation if you're not listening what the other person is saying. Interrupting someone says, "I have no interest in even letting you finish your thought." As my sister tells her children, you have two ears and one mouth for a reason.

Work Constantly. We are immersed in a culture of productivity, which says that we are what we do. That's why the first question out of someone's mouth upon meeting a stranger is often "So what do you do?" We also measure ourselves by how much money we have, or make. Thus, discussions about salary are a big taboo. You can ask someone about their facelift or their divorce, but not what they earn. Why? Because it's the default measure of worth, and it ruthlessly places people on a social ladder. If someone makes more than we do, we may feel "less than." Look, everyone's got to work. But if value is gauged by wealth, then when we make less, we feel less valuable as human beings, which is tragic. Nelson Mandela didn't make much money when he was imprisoned in South Africa; was he less valuable? Plus, if we are what we do, when we're not working we're nothing. This kind of thinking creates a skewed measure of "value." Stop driving yourself nuts with the trap of constant work.

Fail to Give People a Break. Hey, surly person behind the drugstore counter: Why didn't you say thanks when you handed me my change? Hey, barista, why are you being so rude? Stop and think. Maybe it's because they're underpaid; they hate their low-paying job; their mother is dying. Remember that behind those frowning faces are full lives. Remember too, that all these people all beloved creatures of God, with their own human dignity, and holy in their own way -- yes, holy. When the Book of Genesis said that God looked at everything and said, "It was good," he meant people, too. Even the angry barista. Give them their dignity by giving them a break.


thought to add a small pic: 

dubai- where my sister lives. i miss her

Uni: the 1st term review

3 words to describe my first term at university:
~ Intense
~Challenging
~Insightful

Living away wasnt as bad as I had anticipated initially. I mean, there was the culture shock: coming from the most multicultural part of London to a remote english town, that is to be expected though (!)
I missed my family but, once again, not as much as I thought I would: my mum always visited me (coz she's the best ^_^) and I spoke to my brother at least 5 times a week..! (I'll explain- there was usually a phone call home every evening, some were very brief as I was busy with work most of the time and since my bro enjoys long convos I would avoid speaking to him some days ¬_¬)

anywhooo I have to stop procrastinating (I took some seriously drastic measures today to counteract my chronic procrastination... i blocked youtube)
- time to do some chemistry :S

here is a pic of something i saw one day when heading back from lectures:

Roll Intro

I like reading blogs so I thought I should try and write one..!
I'm a first year uni student who lives in London.
Currently chillaxin and spending my days semi-productive as its the winter break.
Im a chronic procrastinator and I like reading quotes..!
I also really dislike having to write about myself...
This should be interesting :S

My blog will mainly consist of stuff I find really interesting and pictures..!