Teenage Dreams

Let's stay up all night watching the fireflies as they dance around the flames.

Fiery flames, hissing, burning. Licking us.

Consuming us into the moment.

Hand in hand we skip through life, paths undiscovered, destinies unfulfilled. The background a dizzying array of scenic pasts, we come through.

Teenage dreams, reverberating through our souls.

Titles are a Dead Giveaway for the Content of the Entry. Therefore, I revolt!

There's a hole in the bottom of the sea,
There's a hole in the bottom of the sea,
There's a hole, there's a hole
There's a hole in the bottom of the sea.

There's a log in the hole in the bottom of the sea,
There's a log in the hole in the bottom of the sea,
There's a log, there's a log
There's a log in the hole in the bottom of the sea.

Am I the only one who sees a connection here?

Tsk tsk.

Corrupting young minds...

Munni Badnaam Hui, Darling Teri Liye!

*walks into room full of angry, shoe-and-other-random-objects holding bloggers with arms crossed over head*

Someone's been bad.
*hears imaginary spanking*

Right. So long, uninformed absences? What be the cause?
Well folks, the time came in the life of yours truly where, HOLD YOUR BREATH, the passion died down.
People kept nagging me about how blogging is a time-wasting activity and how I do nothing productive with my time.
Said people also told me that I will never be able to do anything in life if I whiled it away on the internet. Said people were HA-IN-YO-FACED after I got my first real job via Twitter, for the Berkman Center in Harvard too. *ho-snap* Can I say ha once more?
HA!

So anyway. I've decided to take things under my control, seeing as it IS my life and I AM 18 years old and venturing out into the world. And do my own thang!
And I don't give a flying poo (here's to visualization!) about what anyone else thinks. I don't want to live their life, I'm living mine. And I call the shots here.
So, that's that. I'll keep doing what I have to do. For too long I've let others dictate my passions, it's time I dictate my own.

I feel so rusty with this whole blogging thing, considering I've been away for a good few months.

I BETTER BE GETTING SOME WELCOME BACK LOVE!

This Candy Got You Drunk!

Anybody remember these?
Wonka Nerds ♥

Stumbled upon them yesterday at Emarat and just had to have one.
Avalanche of childhood memories ^__^

How To Spot a Freshman

If I were to learn that seniors point their fingers and tilt their heads back in profound concentration in a serious attempt to spot a freshman on campus, I would not be suprised.
You see, there's something remarkably dorky about us freshmans that makes our seniors want to smack their lips and cry out "AHA! FRESH MEAT!" , Trunchbull style. Whether it's the lost expression or the socially awkward behaviour of a freshly-pubescent kid, trust you me we're the easiest category of the human race to discern in large crowds on campus.
Below is a list of traits that will help you locate a freshman in a jiffy.

1. The walk-reverse-walk: Who knows this better than I do? Thinking you're going in NAB* when you're actually headed to SBM*. "Oh wait, that was NAB. NO WAIT IT WAS SBM!"
Repeat cycle.

2. The inexplicable yet omnipresent expression: Yes folks, this is THE EXPRESSION. It's a cross-over between being utterly fascinated by the magnificent campus in front of you, and the sheer confusion of where to go next. Physically, it translates to wide eye-balls, a crap-load of lip-biting and a LOT, and I mean A LOT of head turns (to peep at the signboards on the buildings, ofcourse!)

3. Seen one freshman appear every 10 minutes on the same spot, 5 times already? That's the noobest of the noobs! Seriously, though, whenever you do come across this person, please go up to them and help them out, because if it wasn't enough to have to carry around your Eco 201 textbook in the scorching heat, running around the ginormous campus really, really hurts.

4. The elevator genius: Oh wait, that would be me. You see, the elevator in the student center has just one button pointing downwards. HOW ON EARTH IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IT GOES UP TO THE 1st FLOOR?!
So the next time you spot someone on a wild goose-chase running in and out of the student center and the door next to the lift, kindly do us a favour and tell us it does go up. Aside from laughing hysterically, ofcourse.

5. Classroom habits: See someone taking out all their notebooks and stationery and arranging them in a neat pile? Do they have a small homework diary next to them? Or worse, are they writing in the student planner? That's your fresshie!

6. "Miss, can I please use the toilet?" Enough said.

7. When you see students running to their respective classes 20 minutes before class:
You'd think it makes sense to walk from the library to LAN* 10 minutes before. Oh no no no! Fresshies really don't wanna be that late. Or die from shortness of breath.

8. When someone's Facebook status or Tweets all revolve around how much work they have to do.

9. When you spot someone decked out in the latest trends, KNOW that it's a freshman. It's only until the first few semesters that this continues. *Fast forward to a year later* Jeans and teeshirt are your bestfriends while you might've lost a pencil in that mane--either you catch up on the sleep, or get extra revision time! Fashion can wait.

10. When you see someone waiting for the elevator, rooted in the same spot for 15 minutes. Not until you're done with a month or so of classes will you realize your safest option to avoid being late is to take the stairs.

Now that I have revealed upon you these words of wisdom illustrating how to discern thy fellow disciples, it is my sincere hope that they be assisted by you in whatever feat they set to accomplish.

OMG WHAT IF THEY END UP BEING RAGGED?!

*NAB= New Academic Building connected to (see below)

*SBM= School of Business Management

*LAN= Language Building

Attached below is a map to enable you to understand better what I mean.

Are You In?

,

My Brain isn't Auto-Piloted to 'Bitch' Mode

"OMG you're such a nerd!"
"But you're like such a geeky freshman! You're going to end up in the fountain!" (referring to the main fountain in our university)
"Yaar koi baat nai na, ik class skip kerne se kia hota hai?"

Well please do accept my sincere apologies that I'm not a stinkin' rich daddy's little girl who has to make the tough, tough choice between deciding whether a Ferari is more suitable to sustain my elite clubbing or an less ostentatious audi.

It is exactly these kinds of comments that make me, the most benign creature you'll come across, a master of sarcasm that'll do Dr. Cox proud.
You see, my father, at 58 years of age, works hard to send me off into the best college in the Emirates, not for anything else, but to get an excellent degree so I can be successful in life and stand on my own two feet. I'm not about to mess this up. I'm not about to let my social image get the best of my dreams!

I have an aim here, a goal in mind. And I'm not about to blur that line between fun and flunk, just so I can please you, who, quite frankly, does not give a flying fornication about what happens to me, my grades or my life.

Lastly, just because I'm nice to people and my bitch-mode is not on auto does not make me gullible or naive. Yeah it might not work anymore in this world, but I'm not going to stop being nice to people just because the society thinks it's cooler to walk around like you own the planet.

OKIEZ? Okie.

My First Uni Assignment

We were supposed to write about ourselves.
I felt so self-obsessed dedicating two entire A3 sheets to myself :/
It was rather embarassing. But anyway, here's the final result.

What do you think?

Das Ist Mir

It’s hard to describe yourself, particularly so in a social context because we, as humans, are constantly evolving and being changed by our own experiences. I guess it’s better, and certainly more accurate to be able to describe ourselves by means of quotes- or sayings, if you will- because they reflect our values, thoughts and opinions, therefore summing up our personalities coherently and profoundly. But before I get to that bit, here are some basics about me:

•My name is Arfa, however the cyberspace knows me as BoogieMonsterMan (don’t even ask!)

•Came into this world on 16th August, 1992, in Dubai, as a Pakistani Muslim.

•I have a wonderful family who are the number one people on my list. They have always been open-minded and accepting of my crazy, evolving self.

•I have an 8 month old niece who I love to bits, and would do anything for.



•I have a strange fascination for Turkey and South Korea. Probably because of the dominant and progressing entertainment industry in the latter.

•I’m an avid blogger and social-networking geek.

•Love travelling and learning about new cultures but I’ve never been able to do so.


Here are a few quotes that I find hold true for me:

"The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech.”
-- George Bernard Shaw

“"Don’t accept a life of mediocrity when you hold such infinite potential within the fortress of your mind. Dare to tap into your greatness. It's your birthright."
--Robin Sharma”

"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." George Bernard Shaw

“People may hate you, but they don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.” – Richard Nixon


Goals in life:

• To be a successful human rights/constitutional lawyer, a recognized journalist and an excellent Faqih (a person trained in Islamic Jurisprudence).

• To be able to speak Arabic, Turkish, French and Farsi fluently.



Socio-political/religious issues demanding debates and discussions are my calling therefore don’t be surprised to find my ‘expert’ opinion plastered on the internet and newspapers. I’m a dupe for intellectually stimulating conversations and modern-day literary works. People fascinate me, therefore I enjoy reading up on sociology, anthropology, psychology—basically subjects that deal with the study of human beings. In short, I love learning, seeking knowledge and education. It’s a life-long journey that never ends.





I can imitate accents really well, if I’m not shy that is. And usually, I’m shy around people I don’t know. I write poetry and occasionally prose. I love observing people and the way they think and do things.


To conclude, this is how I describe myself on the cyberspace:

Arfa Shahid aka BoogieMonsterMan is a Dubai-born, slightly obsessive, toe-tapping, beat-box attempting, air-punching patriotic, Urban Dictionary defined hipster dressed in all black behind you in public places, who’s probably having religious, humanitarian or political debates with the voices in her head…no?



..And here are a few things I’ve said in the past:

“Since when did the passion for education become iconic of geeks/nerds? People in impoverished areas dream of having the same right to education that we enjoy so freely (and carelessly). And I honestly don't think I'd see those people dressed in thick round glasses with pants above their waist hugging onto their textbooks.”
“I've found that when you undermine someone's capabilities, everything they do seems downright pathetic. But when you give them a chance and fully appreciate whatever little skills they do have, their beauty, profound, emerges from deep within; powerful, even revolutionary.”

“You know, I have no idea why we're always the first ones to jump on the bandwagon & judge everyone. I don't remember God personally designating us as His chosen ones to do His job for us. There's a reason He's All-Powerful-- He's everywhere! He's knows everything. Chill. He's got this. Save the effort, and invest your energies in morality and good will.”

The Music of the Night

Brilliant post taken from PsychRant's blog. Go visit her, I promise you she's awesome :)

“Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.” – Meredith Grey.

I felt a lot of things today. I felt sad, happy, content, angry, annoyed, spirited and hopeless. All of it. I wanted to blog about it later, but I didn't really feel like it. I couldn't make myself get to it somehow. Then I walked on the terrace at night. It was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l, to say the least. I promise. I stared at the stars for the first time. Like, actually stared. For looong. And the moon too. I didn't realize HOW pretty the sky was at night, until today. And I can't really write about it, cuz my stupid little distracted words are going to ruin it. Soo. Pff.


By night, an atheist half believes in God. ~Edward Young


We've made life quite stupid somehow. We've turned it into a big deal, when its really not so. We're all going to die. Why don't we take more risks? Why don't we be more reckless. We should be. And I don't mean it in a negative way. I'm talking about Good recklessness. Having the courage to take risks and not wallowing in misery and self pity if things don't turn out well. Seizing opportunity when we see it. Taking chances. But no, we all have to be soo over cautious about everything. So scared. So obsessed about being Happy, and achieving our Goals, that we forget to enjoy the process. And at the end, what else is there but the process? Life itself is a process aint it? Our priorities are messed up, i tell you. Seriously.

“Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently, they're not fond of rules. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things...They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs.

p.s. There's this movie where the guy's name is Art. Such an amazing name to have I think. Don't you? ^.^

Believe in the Power of your Success

When your success and your achievements ALWAYS appear insignificant or mediocre to someone, no matter how close or dear they are to you, it's time you realize that it's not you void of success-- it just means that you should stop evaluating your success with their perspective, because they will never be satisfied. Because they don't know how hard you've worked or how badly you've wanted this. STOP down-trodding yourself! STOP degrading yourself! You ARE good enough. And you deserve every bit of this success. YES, it IS infact, success. No matter how tiny or how big, it is still an achievement and you have STILL worked hard to achieve it. DON'T let anyone tell you that this is not big enough and not something to be proud of. Don't let them tell you you've still got to work harder to get to bigger heights. Yes, you DO have to work harder and achieve bigger things, but it's just as important to acknowledge and appreciate your little achievements, to pat yourself on the back and say. "Good job, you! You've done so well. I know you can do it the next time around as well. Just like you've succeeded this time, you will the next time as well. I have faith in you. I believe in you." If you've achieved something in life, success of any sort, any height, be it competitions in school or heading a youth conference, accept it and be happy with it and move forward. Work even harder but acknowledge within yourself that you are a successful person and will strive for continued success. Believe in yourself. Don't evaluate yourself from others' perspectives. Just don't. They will never see what it took for you to get where you are; the emotional struggles, the constant fight with yourself to stay motivated. Only you know what it took. Only you know the real price of this success. Believe in it. Believe in yourself. Don't shun your inner voice away. Just don't.

"Somehow I can’t believe there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secret of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy and the greatest of these is Confidence. When you believe a thing, believe it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably."

--Walt Disney