Inspire Me To Read | ألهِمني لِأقرأ

Dear Blog/Diary,

Not too long ago I participated in a reading contest in college.

‘The College Reader of The Year’ contest.

I was hoping that I would be chosen to go to the next level, but at the same time I was terrified of them doing so. Yes. Honestly.

And I think I was terrified of being nominated to go to the next level for two main reasons, which are:

1. I have never participated in any kind of contest or competition before.
2. I don’t know what do after being selected and I was afraid of not meeting the judges’ expectations. (So, 'pressure' was the second reason.)

Guess what happened?

I got nominated for the second level!

Preparing the audition's presentation

Now, first of, I love presentations. I actually enjoy doing them from the beginning–(Extracting information)–to the end–(Standing up and presenting).

But for some reason I was honestly so nervous about standing and talking about the book I chose, which was ‘رقائق القرآن’ by the way, and get asked questions and be judged. Being judged, even if it was ‘for my own good’ is one of my worst pet peeves. Ever. And, quite frankly, I hate anything that I have to compete in order to get it. That’s why I have never been a part of a competition before, I guess.

So, what happened after I was nervous about it?

When the auditioning was an hour away, everything that had me worried or got me nervous just melted away. Somehow.

I stood up before them, talked my heart out, took twice as much time as I was supposed to–HAHA!–and just felt like I was just being me and I was just talking to someone about a book that I really loved.

And the ‘judges’ were a few amazing students and one of the college’s staff–which was especially nice and kind. So, I need to thank them for simply being as good people as they are.

After that, I left the building and they said they’d get back to us in a week or so with the names of the five nominees for the final stage of the contest.

Guess what happened?

I did NOT get nominated to go to the next level.

To be honest here, I really thought that I was going to get nominated and maybe even win the title.

Yeah, guess what happened to my good ol' ego?

It got crushed.

At first.

Because, when you think about it, it’s quite childish to think that if you did not win something then you are bad at it. Or if you did not get what you were rooting for, then you are no good.

The first thing I thought when I knew I wasn’t nominated was this: “Oh my God! I can’t believe I made a fool out of myself. I shouldn’t have even put my name in there with them!”

But, honestly? That’s just the way a shallow person would think. And I refuse to think that I am anywhere near that person.

Let me tell you what I love about this; after two or three days of announcing the nominees for the final stage, it was time to write a blogpost for my (Her-Happiness-Project) blog. And that day, the resolution that I was supposed to talk about, said EXACTLY what I realised and what I took as a lesson from my participation with that club.

To make a long lesson short, read this post:

Her Happiness Project - Dreams 

–

Now, two days ago, Tuesday, 17th of March, there was this event in our college called ‘ألهِمني لِأَقرَأ’ which means ‘Inspire me to read’. that’s a quite nice name, isn’t it?

During the event

After the event

Anyhow, I got there–a bit late due to having a class at the same time–and watched three of the five nominees giving their speeches, and all three were really good ma sha’Allah!

There were a few more subjects and people talking, and all of them were very inspiring. One way or another.

At the end, one of the five nominees WON!

She was one of the three girls that I watched give their speech and she is the girl I voted for! So, in my opinion, for her, the first place and the title are well deserved.

–

After that event, Awrag club hosted a very famous Books’n’Cafe in our college, Bookccino, ALL THE WAY FROM RIYADH! (They are awesome. I've been seeing their feed in the social networking sites a long time ago. And they are really something to admire.)

They set this cute little tent right in front of the area where the event took place.

It was so crowded that I had to wait till they all left for their classes and I stayed and just viewed the books more carefully and fairly(For the books and for me..).

At the end, I left with three books (That I wasn’t really planning on buying. But never mind that.)

All are arabic:

1. شآبيب' - للكاتب: إبن عايض صالح'

2. القرآن لفجرٍ آخر' - للكاتب: الدكتور أحمد العُمَري'

3. من أي شيءٍ خُلِقَت؟' - للكاتبة: ميثاء المهيري'

–

Everything about that club and that event got me knowing things about my college–about colleges in general–that I didn't know before; They could actually be FUN. And you could actually enjoy it!

I am admiring all the students with those creative and generous ideas, I wish you all the best and I'm most looking forward to your next activities.

* * *

ENJOY THE FUN OF FAILURE

FairyBooks & Popcorn!

Bahrain, yesterday, Wednesday, December 10th,

with my 3 years younger literal twin—Khalid.

We reached the City Centre mall at 5 PM. I wanted to watch 'Interstellar' and Khalid wanted to watch 'Dumb and Dumber To'.

So, what is the natural thing to do?

Yes, that's right. Watch them both.

We saw the movies table and, as it turns out, we can only book the 5 o'clock 'Interstellar'—which has already started when we booked it—and the 9:15 'Dumb and Dumber To', because 'Interstellar' is three hours long.

I'll write two small reviews for both movies and then talk about what we—or, more accurately, I—did in the one hour in between the movies.

* * * * *

1. 'Interstellar'

It. Was. Absolutely. Amazing.

It was completely different.

Of all the space-related stories/movies that I have seen, I can safely say that this is one of the best.

Plus the perfect actors and actresses.

The way the story unfolds throughout the movie is actually very, very captivating.

And the best thing about it is that you need to open your mind to understand it as well as you should.

For more details check Interstellar - IMDb

* * *

2. 'Dumb and Dumber To'

It was really funny.. But it is not my kind of movie.

I laughed a lot during the movie but I don't know why their stupidity irritated me so much!

Hah!

It is called 'Dumb and Dumber' after all..

Nonetheless, it is a funny movie and I enjoyed watching it.

I recommend you watch the first one first though.. I bet it would be a thousand times better that way!
To see the ratings and any other information about the movie go to Dumb and Dumber 2 - IMDb

* * * * *

I love Virgin Megastore way more that I can actually describe..
So, in the one hour break between the two movies, we went to Virgin Megastore. Guess what I bought?

Yes. BOOKS!

I bought the ones that I always can't find in our own bookstores. Either because their out of stock or because they don't have them in the first place.

So, here's a list of the names of the books that I have bought:

1. 'Love, Rosie' by Cecelia Ahern

I really want to watch the movie. But I made a promise to myself; I wouldn't ever watch a movie before its book. So, I spent A LOT of time searching for that book in no avail. Until yesterday. Yayy!!!

2. 'Anna and the French Kiss' by Stephanie Perkins

I honestly, honestly, honestly don't know what the story is about.
Yeahh..
I bought it because I've seen way too many snapshotted paragraphs from that book. And they were all really amazing.

3. 'Eleanor & Park' by Rainbow Rowell

So many people have recommended it to me.
Even the people working in bookstores.
And I think it is an interesting story and that it would be such a shame for me not to read it.

And last, but not least;

4. 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn

The story seems very interesting. And, same as, 'Love, Rosie', there is a movie for this book that came out months ago, and I don't want to watch it until I read the book.

* * *

I just want to add this;

We saw this cap—which was the last piece—that says:

"Not only am I awesome, I'm SAUDI, too."

And I fell in love.

Yes, it was love at first sight.

But the cap was for kids.

Joke's on me. Ha ha!

One day..

* * * * *

Fairy-lights.

I love fairy-lights.

The name is enough for you to love it to be honest..

No one knows how happy they make me feel..

I tried finding them here in different stores for a very long time. And I didn't find them anywhere.
So, since christmas is on the way and we were in Bahrain, after Virgin Megastore, when there was exactly 10 minutes left for the movie to start, we went to Home Center store. There was christmas decorations EVERYWHERE. And guess what was also everywhere? Fairy-lights.

I bought two. And this is how I decorated the room with them:

* * * * *

Everything was amazing yesterday.

Even in college. (I had a presentation and it went perfectly well alhamdulillah)

It was full of accomplishments and enjoyable moments.

Those fairy-lights were literally the highlight of my day though... Nobody knows how much I'm still happy for finding them..

The song of that day was 'Blame' by Calvin Harris. And whenever I listen to it, it belongs to yesterday and yesterdays feelings along with it.

I love you, Khalid.

Thank you for being you. And thank you for an amazing day yesterday!!!

* * *

"Believe it or not, you are in control of your own life.

You are the reason why you are happy.

So don't wait for happiness.

Go out and find it.

Right now.

And don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

❤️

Blog: "So, What Did I Miss?"

     Dear Blog,

I miss it here. A lot has happened in the past few days. I've been wanting to write everything day by day and blog-post by blog-post. But, unfortunately, I have a very bad time management skills.. Yeah..

Annnnyway, I'm just happy about last week and don't want the time to pass without talking about it.

So, let's get into it!

***

First, on Tuesday, November 18th:

College always has a two-hours break on Tuesdays for college activities and stuff.

That day there was this 'lecture' called "A+" by a club called Yamam. I saw the posters in college and all the announcements on twitter and thought "I really need to attend that thing!"

So, I saved the date on my calendar and when the day came I attended the lecture with one of my good classmates.

It was REALLY amazing!

I can't even begin to tell you about all the motivational speeches that have been said that day!

I wanted to talk about it in a separate blog post so I can talk about it in Arabic and more thoroughly. I wanted to talk about all the women that have talked and shared their stories that day. But, as I said. Poor. Time. Management. 

That's a lesson to learn; MANAGE YOUR TIME, LULWAH!

One of the first lecturers/speakers that talked that day was an MIS graduate from our own college!

She said something observational about studying well and getting good grades. She said that;

“People that get good grades are the ones that do things beside studying. Because the busiest people are the ones that need to know how to manage their time and get a lot of things done. On the other hand, people who have nothing tend to be very good procrastinators. Always leaving stuff for the last minute.”

This was so obvious yet I was so oblivious to it..

They talked about so many beautifully motivational things.

At the end of the lecture, when I was leaving, they gave me a very beautiful and well organised agenda!

And I am so, very proud of them. I am proud of Yamam Club specifically for rising all the way here. And having all these different ideas. But mostly, I'm proud of the college's progress.

***

The next day, Wednesday, November 19th, was fun.

 It's the best day of the week.
Wanna know why?
*whispers* Because Thursday is an off day.
Woo-hoo!

But that specific Wednesday was more special. Because, first:
The last lecture that day we had a lecture. But we didn't take an actual lecture.

Guess what we did instead?
Mrs. Noor decided we will play a game instead!
Yeah, we played a game.
And it. was. fun!

I don't know what's the name of the game, but, let's call it the 'No Words' game.

I will explain it as I originally know it:
There should be two teams and a judge. The judge chooses a word and one of the team's members–the one that will act it out it to their team–is the only one allowed to know it. Then he/she stands in front of their team and start acting it out and the rest of the team members need to guess it out before the timer ends!

Yeah, I guess you can picture the actual FUN of the whole thing...
We were laughing so hard all the way through the game!

P.s. I was on the winning team *does the happy dance*

Thank you, Mrs. Noor.

Thank you for being you and thank you for giving us this blissfulness of a lecture!

*

And then later that day, I met with a girl that I have become very good friends with, Doaa!

She is already too sweet to start with. And then she went right ahead and bought me those two delicious looking books!!! Yeah, too sweet..

The first one is 'Not That Kind of Girl' by Lena Dunham
And the second is called 'I Am Malala' by Malala Yousafzai

She recommended me 'I Am Malala' once and I was planning on buying it but I didn't find it anywhere in our bookstores. And when she knew that I didn't buy it, she bought it for me.

Again, TOO SWEET!!!

The second one, she claims that is a good one and I honestly think that it will be!

Cannot wait to start reading them!

Thank you so much, Doaa. Love you!❤️

***

The next few days were pouring rain.

They were perfect days.

Just wanted to include that in here..

That day, Sunday, November 23rd, I was in Aramco Library, studying for an exam, when the rain started pouring suddenly.

Yes, I did stop studying in case you were wondering.

Every rain drop was calling my name softly to go outside!

*Lulwah Lulwah Lulwah..*

***

Tuesday, November 25th:

I didn't sleep well on Sunday. So that left a very weak-minded Lulu on Monday..

Which lead me to forgetting that the next day, Tuesday, my classes start at 8 NOT 9:30. 

To make a long story short? I woke up late. Very late. And missed my first class.

But because we have our good hearted teacher, Noor,  it was okay. She just laughed about it and gave me a ticket for the class. Yes, a ticket.

And it was so sweet!

There was a quote on the ticket that, to my astonishment, was exactly what I needed.

A very good advice for a better time management!

It said:

[ “Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.” –Pablo Picasso

Everyday, I devote my attention to the things that are actually important! ]

I actually have this paper hanged on the board on the wall right in from of my desk!

Thank you for that great idea Mrs. Noor :D

*

I love video making.

And I love my camera. No mater how annoying it gets sometimes..

A few weeks ago I ordered a new lens–specifically for taking videos–online.

On Sunday I got a message that said that my package has arrived! Yay!!!!!

So, on Tuesday, November 25th, I received my package of love and happiness.

I am extremely happy about it!

And I miss making videos. TERRIBLY! :(

So, I cannot wait to get to know it and be friends with it.

Hello, Lens :D

 * * *

So, Dear Blog, that is the end of my slightly beautifully eventful week.
I enjoyed this week a lot!

I will summarise what I have learned in that week;

I have learned that:

If you want to be better, be better.

Going to lectures and listening to different stories actually help with a lot of things. And are NEVER a waste of time.

I have learned that people, CAN change.

And last but definitely not least, NEVER COMPARE YOURSELF TO ANYONE and you will feel more and more complacent everyday.

* * *

 Count your blessings people!

What do you mean 'they're out of stock'!

I was waiting till the end of the week to get all the requested books for college so I can buy them all together.

I wanted to go to Jarir Bookstore—the corniche branch—because (I think) it's the biggest bookstore in Khobar.

I even went to their website to see when do they first open in the morning so I can take my time looking for books without having to be in the middle of the crowd.

Anyway, what happened is that today, saturday morning, 9:00 AM to be specific, I went to that “big” bookstore.

I grabbed the big basket because I was so sure I'll be finding all the books I needed for college..

Haha!

Look what happened;

I gave the guy from the customer service my list of books and when he looked at the list he literally goes: “No, no, no... Umm, no. I'm sorry Ma'am, all the books are out of stock.” And I was like ”what? What do you mean out of stock? ALL of them? Seriously?”

I laughed at how weird it is. Why would all the fundamentals for computer systems be out of stock! :\

 

 

And what happens when you're in a bookstore and you don't find what you came for?

Of course, you buy pretty things that you don't actually need.

 

(I bought 1. A very pretty leathered cover notbook. And 2. A book called الطريق إلى النجاح - للكاتب الدكتور/إبراهيم الفقي. “The Way to Success - By Dr. Ibrahim Elfiky”)

 

 

 

After all that I went to another branch for the Jarir Bookstore, AlObekan and Virgin Megastore because I needed those books.

Guess what? Ironically so, all the books are out of stock everywhere!

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Goodies!

My brother, Khalid, arrived back from Canada yesterday. He's been there for three full months.

I asked him for some books while he's there. Since we only get a limited amount of books here in Saudi Arabia.

I askd for a good number of books. But, unfortunately, he didn't find all of them. Most of them were sold out or something.

Anyway, those are the books that he brought me, accompanied with a few bookmarks and a keychain;

The books:

1. The Secret Garden (by Frances Hodgsox Burnett)

 

I wanted to read 'The Secret Garden' a long time ago. Because when I was little I used to watch an animated TV show called 'The Secret Garden' and it was one of my absolute favourites. And, if I remember correctly, it's the exact same story as the book.

Anyway, I got even more excited about reading it because of how many people have recommended it.

So, when I told my brother about it, I thought it would be an actual book. Without any picture in it whatsoever.

But I think there are different auditions and copies of the story. And I bet it is originally a classic. But my brother got attracted to the one with thr pictures and bought it.

I haven't read a book with pictures since I was little. Reading that would be different and great!

 

 

 

2. Getting The Girl (by Markus Zusak)

Nothing special about this book but the fact that it was written by the writer of 'The Book Theif' which I haven't read yet but is a bestselling and sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. And this book was also recommended by a few people.

 

The Bookmarks:

Bookmarks are always something to be addicted to!

I really, really, really love bookmarks. They're so pretty and important and stay with you throughout reading the book.

The first one is a wooden bookmark with the word Canada on it and on top is their flag on a wooden bear(?) or something.

The second one is a special kind of bookmark with the letter 'K' on it which makes it even more special because my brother's name is Khalid so... I haven't tried it yet, but saw the picture of how to use it.

The third is very motivating and cute. It says "You can't do things differently until you see thingsdifferently."

 

 

 

And last, but not least, is the keychain:

 

 

 

A big metal 'L' which stands for my name. And the word Canada written on it. A very nice souvenir if you ask me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Khalid! And welcome home ❤️

 

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Meet My Happiness!

Happiness comes in different shapes and sizes. The same goes with books!

This is my defintion of tangible happiness. These four shelves of tangible happiness.

The top shelf is for the self help and the religion related books,

The second and third shleves are for my read series and individual books,

The fourth is for my 'unread-yet' books.

The rest–which you can't see–are for arranging stuff.

My favorite series so far–my favorite series ever is Harry Potter. But, since it's not on the shelf, I'm not going to mention it.–is 'The Mortal Instruments' and 'The Infernal Devices' series. They're just the best. Well written and amazing characters that make me truly feel like they're my friends! Both series are written by Cassandra Clare. And 'The Infernal Devices' is a prequel to 'The Mortal Instruments'. They are both just honestly captivating. They are both a fantasy genre books.

The fourth shelf has a little bit more different kind of books than I usually read. But, I am very excited to start reading them when I have the time.

(Currently Reading):

The first book of the 'Game of Thrones' series.

Now, I never watched the series and I'm not planning to do so any time soon.

Seeing all those people–including my mum and dad. Yes, my mum and dad.–literally obsessing over it is not motivating me to watch it either..

Plus, reading a book, for me, is always better than watching the movie or the tv show.

I thought that reading and picturing it would be hard becuase it's describing something whole different era. And I am living in a very different time.

But, actually, it's been amazing for me so far. The writer did very well writing it the way he did.

I am at page 200-something now. There are so many events and people and stories in those mere 200 pages that I literally feel like I read a whole book.

I honestly fell in love with one of the characters. His name is Jon Snow. He's a 14 year-old boy. A bastard. And, I'm guessing, he has the best character in the whole book.

Can't wait to finish reading it and buy the rest of the series!

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