Rocks and Flowers

I have always admired people who did anything to help those who are less fortunate than them, no matter how big or small their contribution is in the lives of those who are perhaps not as privileged as they are. Investing their free time and energy in contributing to the greater good of society is something that I strongly commend and encourage.  However, through the various interactions and experiences I have had with these change-bringers, I have noticed that there are two types of people involved in social work; those who are truly selfless and those who seem to be selfless. The difference is subtle but screams if you pay enough attention. Let me elaborate further. I grasped the meaning of being truly selfless after having a conversation with a lady who has been involved in charity work for a very long time. The main message which struck me in our exchange was “Why do charity work if you expect some sort of recognition out of it? What is the point of being selfless i...

As a girl, I am aware that I can draw unwanted attention, mostly by males who lack manners and perhaps a few brain cells. Since I was quite young, with the advice of my mother, I have become highly immune to any remarks thrown at me by these particular individuals. Whatever they do or say usually makes no difference to me. Nevertheless, on an occasion, I was quite affected by the words said by someone whom I saw daily for a few weeks. I was wearing a formal blouse and formal skirt, nothing ‘vulgar’ about it. Only my legs, knees down, my face and my palms were bare. So, there was this guy sitting in front of me whose eyes were transfixed on my legs and I was not sure at first if that was the case. Long story short, he passed some rather crude comments about me and my poor limbs to one of his friends. When I heard about it, my initial reaction was to feel quite disgusted by myself. I felt dirty. Questions swarmed in my head. Did he really think so little of me to actually im...

Hello you! This article will be different. I wanted to try something new where I could include all of your voices to answer a question, which in my opinion, is very pertinent. What is the best advice that you could give to someone? I asked this question on two of my social media accounts and I am so grateful to have had so many of you respond to it.  To make it easier for you to navigate through all of the pieces of advice I received, I tried to group them up into four main headlines. I hope you have a great read and that you are able to connect with some, if not all, of them!  ***** ADVICE ON SELF-LOVE Be you! Love yourself! Stop seeking validation from others. - Chakresh Prioritise yourself and what you really want above all, while not neglecting your education. - Saad Bassa Be yourself.   - Anonymous Don’t try too hard to please people. Your life’s yours and no one else’s. 💕  - Zaynab Live for yourself, not fo...