Blurry Eyes of Mine

I just happened to clean up my room in the last three weeks ago and I found some old pictures of me, my friends and family. Some of the beloved people are already gone. It’s very nostalgic, how simple my life used to be.

My eyes used to be full of wonders and dreams until I realized it is hard to fit in into grown-up world. In order to survive, I change a lot. I was a different girl back then, I remembered it.

The people I know were different years ago.

There are friends in that snapshots who are presently married, had kids, some of them I have never seen in ages like my study buddy, Sheena. In certain photos, there are places that I have never gone back since I last visited them when I was a kid. There are places that are no longer existed. I saw a picture of my favorite Maths and English teacher during my school days whose lives were taken by serious diseases. I found a photo of the people whom my family love to hang out with a long time ago, and I don’t know if they are still alive today, where did they go?

And then there’s an album with my ex’s photos in it and tons of our pictures together in our early years of knowing each other. It is the only album I threw away for some reasons.

I saw one picture that reminds me of friendship. It is the one and only photo of my late best friend who was a cancer patient; with me in our class.

My other best friend always says I’ve never change; both of us are still the same person. Well, maybe because we are still playful and acting like a child whenever we spend our times together.

But no, we’ll never be the same. We’ll change eventually whether we like it or not.

There are photos of younger Mom; holding me and my sister when we are very little. Now both of her daughters are choosing their own paths. How many wrinkles have been shown on Mom’s face? Mom’s is not healthy anymore like when we were kids. How much money did Mom spend on us? Did we turn out to be a good child just like she raised us?

Seeing all the pictures, I became so afraid. Afraid of all the changes that have occurred. Who was I? Am I better or worse now?

When I was a kid I never think ahead, I just do what I do. I started my rebellious teenager’s phase and hoping that I could grow up quick. Now I really want to go back in time. I’m weak; never satisfied. I felt so wrong.

‘”Don’t you ever think about it for once in a while? How fast time catches you up. A blink of the eyes and suddenly nothing stays the same. Everything happens so fast!”

Then, it hits me.

I may have lost some people I loved but God met me up with new persons to stay in my present life or maybe in my future. As I grow up, I forget a lot of small things that used to matter the most to me. Nevertheless I shouldn’t stop smiling. Things that bring happiness to me today are different than once I was a kid; this is life.

"Although it is not as simple as you think when you are an innocent child, you have to keep moving forward. Without losing anything, you can’t gain anything either..", as I whispered these words to myself, I slowly put all the photos back into the drawer, while thinking that I should love myself more in order to love my past, present and future.

The Mousedeer and The Crocodile

When I was a child, Mom used to read bedtime stories to me and my elder sister. We love them so much. As we became independent readers, we read them on our own. We kept reading the same old stories – folklores from Malaysia and all countries across the world. One of the most famous folklore story books (and also our favorite) is “Sang Kancil dan Sang Buaya” which translated as “The Mousedeer and The Crocodile”. I was so little that time and easily felt sorry for Kancil. I cursed the crocodile for being so bad; he wants to eat Kancil! Fortunately, Kancil save himself by lying to the crocodile and his carnivore friends.

It has been years since I last read the book. Recently I finally got the chance to meet the childhood friend again. Only this time, I’m no longer an innocent child who read books just for fun. With the knowledge I gained, the experiences I’ve been through; I started to think…crocodile is not evil at all. He was meant to eat meats. God created the river beast that way. The real antagonist is in fact our beloved Kancil. He is a liar. He made himself to look like the victim. He has made me care about him! – as a kid of course. Whoa…what a crime.

Then something crossed my mind; the story is actually a reflection of one of the ugliest behaviors possessed by us; the human beings.

A simple explanation or could I say example that can be taken from me myself is; there was a time when I was driving with Mom and suddenly we got lost in the middle of a busy road in Kuala Lumpur. Feeling exhausted and irritated; I failed to control my emotions – causing them to burst onto the wrong person. Yup, my Mom. I put the fault on her. Of course it was not her mistake; it is me who follow the wrong instructions from our car's GPS. I am not the victim of the situation. I acted like one.

Just like Kancil, we tend to see ourselves as victims of certain situations. Why? For some people, they need attentions, the more the better. While others, they want to stay away from the reality. These kinds of people hold variety of reasons. That is why we are full of hatred; we wronged our parents; we created false statements as in fitnah; we put the faults on others. And to those who didn’t realize it yet; they posted on the wall of their Facebook so they could get more supporters who would feel sorry for them; be with them.

No. It has gone too far. There’s too much exaggeration for a simple thing. Why don’t we come to our senses and attend more to other people’s feelings instead of ours. Sometimes we are the predators, not them. We just have to accept the truth.


P/S: Maybe we should listen and learn from the famous song by Akon; "Sorry Blame It On Me"

TV Trends

During the previous semester break, my big sister came home and kept chit chatting about this funny reality TV show and a singing award or something like that which me and Mom don’t quite understand – we didn’t watch them! Well, Mom did have seen one of the shows but not entirely (she let the cat watched it and she continued her daily home-cleaning job).

In Malaysia, TV obsession is almost as huge as smart phones addiction. Most families here love to have more choices of channels on their television screen – that’s why ASTRO is well-recognized by everyone. However my family is not into television so much, so Mom has never installed ASTRO in our home. Since I was a kid, we as a family only watch TV shows during certain times and on certain channels. Mom only watches TV when she has nothing to do which is really rare, and when there’s a good TV show on air, while Daddy simply watches football matches and some other sports. My sis…she’s unpredictable. She can watch just about anything. I love to watch anime – that has been dubbed into Malay and Chinese (when I was younger), English shows and superheroes cartoons, and sometimes channels that aired Japanese TV series.

Most of my schoolmates didn’t believe me when I told them we have no ASTRO set at home; even the teachers thought I was making jokes. Until now, it’s still weird for my friends to know I’m not an ASTRO customer. Mom taught us to read more; I think it’s normal when you have an excellent educator as your mother. We are not prohibited from watching TV but there’s a limit. 

As we grow up we know how to choose what we want to watch wisely. When my friends talk about a Malay drama series inspired from some POP genre novels, I just go “what?” because obviously I don’t watch that kind of TV show. I don’t need to watch to know the ending. Most Malay movies and TV series aren’t watch-worthy, no offense. I’m not saying all of them but MOST of them. 

I am indeed picky on what I should read and watch as the saying goes; the things you love (hobbies and interests) define the way you think. 

P/s: Actually I just happened to watch Futurama animation and one of the episodes suddenly lighten up my thinking bulb to write about this story. I really like some of the words the characters are saying and I quoted these for you (and again, no offense): 

“But that’s not why people watch TV ! Clever things make people feel stupid, & unexpected things make them feel scared. 

See? TV audience don’t want anything original. They wanna see the same thing they’ve seen thousands times before. “

 – Fry (Futurama Season 1) –

Hahaa, well said. See you in the next post!

"New Parents + Facebook" Phenomenon

This one is entirely not mine , I'm just sharing it with you . It came from the site www.parentdish.co.uk , you can logged on to the site for more interesting stuff and information. Have an enjoyable reading time ~ !

Why do parents have to share EVERYTHING their children do on Facebook?

By Carrie Dunn

As my friends have started to settle down and have children , I have noticed that people simply don't understand basic good manners .

Well , when I say "people" , I mean "parents" .

I would argue , based on my own experience, that once people become parents , they lose all the knowledge of online etiquette they once had . The popular American website STFUParents ( short for Shut the . . . yes , well ) has daily updates from Facebook walls in which parents make inappropriate comments and share too much information , particularly about their child's bowel movements .

You needn't feel superior , though , and think this is a purely American phenomenon . It happens all the time in the UK as well .

My friend Helen, eight months pregnant , noted that she was tired after a busy day at work - one of her parent friends gleefully commented that she should get used to being tired because once the baby arrives she'll never get a good night's sleep again .

Then my friend Georgina , mum to a four-month-old , posted her little boy's weight at his latest health check - one of her parent friends immediately wanted to know what on earth she was feeding him because clearly he was too heavy .

These impolite commenters are the sorts of parents who post pictures of their precious child's "nappy explosions" ( why would you want to memorialise these incidents on the internet ? Wouldn't it be better for all of you just to clear it up and forget about it very quickly ? ) , and catalogue all the minutiae of their darling baby's day .

Here's a newsflash . Babies are really quite dull. If something of genuine interest happens – something properly funny , or entertaining, or unusual – by all means , put it as your status . However , please be warned. Your baby gurgling , your baby shuffling around the floor , your baby sleeping , your baby eating food – this is NOT INTERESTING to anyone except you and your immediate family . As for me and the other 300 of your Facebook friends , we're yawning with the tedium of it all and considering blocking you from our news feeds .

Before you tell me I'm a child-hating killjoy , let me refer you to my friend Julia . "I've got a friend whose children I know better than my own nieces and nephews thanks to her incessant updates , including videos of them DOING NOTHING ," she rages . "Everything they say is apparently hilarious . I have a few friends whose updates make me silently scream , 'I don't care !' but she is one of the worst . Your children had their jabs , did they? I DON'T GIVE A FLYING ONE !"

My friend Chris is bored by one of his Facebook friends , who's newly pregnant and keeping everyone updated with every minute of it . "She's been telling us the exact date she finds out the sex of her baby , posting updates and counting down," he snarls ." And then , at the end of the countdown, she posted this : 'Sorry , guys , baby was a wriggler and keeping legs firmly crossed . Couldn't get a clear view so having another scan tomorrow at 10.30am . Keep fingers crossed !'"

What Chris's friend has failed to realise is that though we like you and are happy that you are realising your dream of parenthood and wish for nothing but health and happiness for your new baby , you are the only one who is really excited about all the details of your child's day , in utero and post-birth . The rest of us will just react with an "Oh, that's lovely !" because it's what politeness dictates - not because we hate children , but because it's just not that enthralling if you're not personally closely involved .

However , what I hate more than reading about your child's projectile vomiting is when you comment on photos of me with my nephew or my friends' babies and tell me it "suits" me , or it'll be my "turn" next .

Do I comment on photos of your child and tell you it won't be long until you can get back to work , or that it's a shame you had to sacrifice your career in favour of bringing up your baby ? No , I don't, it would be terribly thoughtless and rude . So why does being a parent give you carte blanche to do that in reverse ?

Is this the classic "mummy brain" kicking into action , where parents' minds shrink and all they can think about is their baby , no matter how out-of-place their comments ? Is this why parents decide to replace their Facebook profile pictures of themselves with pictures of their child ?

Here's a thought for you , infant-obsessed parents . Your Facebook is YOUR Facebook . We're friends with you there because we like you . Yes , your child is a big part of your life – but not your whole life . Keep your face as your profile picture , and post about things that you've done and thought and seen , not just the amazing occurrence of your child having a runny nose .

If those rules don't work for you , perhaps you need to take a 10-year hiatus from the internet and go back to social networking once your genius child can properly supervise you . 

Source : http://www.parentdish.co.uk/baby/why-do-parents-have-to-share-everything-their-children-do-on-facebook/

I Am A Muslim And Proud Of It !

* I'm just sharing this & it's entirely not mine .

I went to the mall , and a little girl called me a terrorist . 

My name is Ela . I am seventeen years old . I am not Muslim , but my friend told me about her friend being discriminated against for wearing a hijab . So I decided to see the discrimination firsthand to get a better understanding of what Muslim women go through . 

My friend and I pinned scarves around our heads , and then we went to the mall . Normally , vendors try to get us to buy things and ask us to sample a snack . Clerks usually ask us if we need help , tell us about sales , and smile at us . Not today . People , including vendors , clerks , and other shoppers , wouldn’t look at us . They didn’t talk to us . They acted like we didn’t exist . They didn’t want to be caught staring at us , so they didn’t look at all . 

And then , in one store , a girl ( who looked about four years old ) asked her mom if my friend and I were terrorists . She wasn’t trying to be mean or anything . I don’t even think she could have grasped the idea of prejudice . However , her mother’s response is one I can never forgive or forget . The mother hushed her child , glared at me , and then took her daughter by the hand and led her out of the store . 

All that because I put a scarf on my head . Just like that , a mother taught her little girl that being Muslim was evil . It didn’t matter that I was a nice person . All that mattered was that I looked different . That little girl may grow up and teach her children the same thing . 

This experiment gave me a huge wakeup call . It lasted for only a few hours , so I can’t even begin to imagine how much prejudice Muslim girls go through every day . It reminded me of something that many people know but rarely remember : the women in hijabs are people , just like all those women out there who aren’t Muslim . 

People , please help me spread this message . Treat Muslims , Jews , Christians , Buddhists , Hindus , Pagans , Taoists , etc . , exactly the way you want to be treated , regardless of what they’re wearing or not wearing , no exceptions . Reblog this . Tell your friends . I don’t know that the world will ever totally wipe out prejudice , but we can try , one blog at a time .

Sayings

Hooo....I like this image I got from the internet heheee XD

quotes

It makes me happy for a moment after hours of tension on my campus life.....hmmmm. It's has became my habit to search for quotes' images when I'm googling huhuuu <3