16 years, and many thanks to the world.

Sixteen years. Finally, the day has come, November 9th is here, I'm an official sixteen-year-old girl!  I'm speechless when it comes to this topic, because I'll never find the proper words to describe my life time. I'll never catch the right expressions to express about my feelings, because, this is my life!!  This time I won't talk about myself, instead, I'll talk about the people who made me, raised me, taught me, loved me, and the people who have affected me. 

My parents. Farhan Al-Aqeel and Asma Al-Hammadi.  I mentioned in the begging that words will never describe my feelings, and when it comes to you two, I'm literally speechless.  You're my first love, my first heroes, my first role models, you're my everything. And I love you so much. 

When I was in the KG, my teacher's father name was Farhan, just like my dad's name!  And I used to tell her that she couldn't use my dad's name, there couldn't be two Farhans in the world, my daddy is the only one, but she kept on teasing me, and saying that it's very normal to meet two people with the same name. I used to love her just because of her dad's name, she was my first teacher. She was amazing, and I wish I could meet her now and thank her. 

My first grade teacher was the best, maybe because she had taught my two sisters, and all of my cousins. She was our biggest fear, but we loved her from the bottom of our hearts. She taught how to write, and read. She was one of those few people who left a huge fingerprint on our lives.  

My third grade teacher was a family relative, and she used to call my mom whenever something happened. I felt safe with her, she was the first person to ask me to write: a one paragraph article...  She said "Come on, write anything like you dad." And, I wrote that my mom gave birth to my little brother a night ago, then she looked at me, raised one of her eyebrows and said "I'll make sure to visit your mom soon.". That was a little bit funny, and I felt embarrassed...

Life goes on, things happen, time flies, but, love will always stay. 

My two sisters. Latifa and Aisha. It's very hard to write about them, I can't find anything to write about.  But I can feel the love when I remember them. I can hear strong laughs when I remember the last summer. I can feel some cold when I remember how they always turn on the AC while I'm sleeping. (Yes, I don't like to sleep with an AC if the weather is warm). I'll always love them, I'll always be their portable bank, their information box, their little, annoying, wise sis. 

Fourth grade. The year of my transfer to Al-Kifah. The year of change.  Walking through the doors of the school was amazing.  I saw a big number of girls, and they were all excited for a reason that I don't reckon. My sisters accompanied me to my class, and the journey had begun. I saw some girls, and they were really nice. We had a teacher, and, she loved to write! She encouraged us all to write, she even bought journals so we could write about our daily lives. Her name was Mrs. Mariyam Al-Kroud. She was epic, she even wrote the songs of the school's graduation ceremony. Looking at her teach and work was very inspiring, because she had a lot of dreams and hopes. 

The sixth grade was quite something. We had a substitute teacher for Arabic, and her name was Ms. Ouhood Al-Khaldy. She taught us the proper ways of talking to a crowd, and she even made me write my sixth grade graduation speech, and speak it in front of the whole school. I was terrified, but I knew that my speech would make a difference. The auditorium was huge, but I took a leap of faith, and spoke. 

That glorious moment was very...beautiful. 

Allow to jump to the ninth grade, and talk a little about some people. On that year, we had to say goodbye to a teacher who had to stop teaching us and stick to be being a coordinator. That teacher was Mrs. Fatma Netland. The teacher whom I promised to dedicate one of my future/imaginary books to her. The teacher who taught us how to organize our paragraphs in the 7th grade. The amazing cakes baker.  She's also known as the robot of the International Section. She used to tell me to always write as myself, to believe in myself, and to never stop chasing my dreams. So, thank you, and believe me when I say that I'll put a cow right beside your name. (She adores cows). 

That year, some of my classmates and I decided to compete in the First Lego League for creating robots, and writing a scientific research about a certain topic. The competition was not easy at all, because we had to do these two things in less than two weeks! We were on the edge of failing, but we insisted to keep going. We went to the competition half prepared, but determined to go out with something. I was the one who talked about the research, so I had a huge amount of pressure on my heart.  The girls managed to make the robot work, and, we won the fourth place... We were very sad, but at least we went out as champions who didn't break down in the middle of the competition. We fought, and left that place with a semi-golden medal. 

Mrs. Eman, Ms. Sayiah, Mrs. Samiyah, and Mrs. Heba, thank you for making that possible.  

Ms. Roaa Yousef.  The KG coordinator who took me out of the class in the 9th to tell me about the TedX trials. She also asked for a permission from me to have an interview with me for the school's website. I choked after she said that, and asked "Me? why me?", "We think that you have something great to tell.". I was shocked upon hearing that, but then thanked her. 

Those people are the reason we succeed, they keep on believing in us until we accomplish something. I like to call them: the backstage people. Nobody see the them, but they have to biggest parts. Thank you, Ms. Roaa. 

Then there is Mrs. Abeer Morsi, the supervisor of the International Section of Al-Kifah Private Schools, AKA one of my backstage people. Thank you, for everything you've ever done for me. 

Allow me to jump to the present and tell you about the super man and woman. Mr. Khalid Al-Hazmi and Mrs. Janat, the two people who made The Saudi Aramco Cultural Program possible. They mentored us, and were one of the best things in the Program, because they interviewed me.  That interview was my first ever real interview. It was very short, but I've learnt a lot from it. 

Mr. Mohammed Aljarah, the champion leader of the Knowledge Oasis, thank you for teaching us the importance of time. 

There's a group of four guys whom I met by coincidence.  Ali Alsaleh, Saleh Alsaleh, Mohammed Alsaleh 1, and Mohammed Alsaleh 2. The founders of the Council of the Youngest Journalists in Saudi Arabia. Thank you for recognizing me, and I was honored to join your newspaper and group. Thank you for giving me the chance to meet you, and meet four more people. Ali Alsaleh 2, Omar T Soltan, Umer Asad, and Abigail Ang. 

Ali Alsaleh 2: you'll always be my big brother who asks about me every once in a while, and who teases by going to Istanbul. 

Umer Asad: you're a great friend, and I'll never meet someone who loves football as much as you do, but never expect that I'll stop sending you pictures of your favorite food. 

Omar T Soltan: Mr. Writer, Dr. Omar, the genius of Nada International School, and the current Ayin Shams Medicine student.  You'll always be there for advices, and you'll always tell me how stupid the SAT is when I freak out about it. 

Abigail Ang: there's absolutely nothing to say when it comes to you.  Elegant, beautiful, crazy, funny, and the future Ms. Philippines. 

I met those four people through Qalb Alhadth, and each one of them is from a different country. They're all amazing in their different personalities which aren't similar at all.  They've all made me laugh so much that I had to stop every time to catch my breath. And yes, I was their boss who reviewed their articles. 

My teachers.  I'm speechless again, but I'll try my best and write about them. 

1. Mrs. Farina Afaq, the newest member in the school. Talking with you is always interesting, because you always seem to have many questions about our culture, and you're always welcome to ask about whatever you want. You made me crazy when you talked about Pakistani food because it sounded very delicious, your classes are interesting, and thank you for teaching us many new things.  

2. Mrs. Safa: I'll always love Jordan because of you and your daughters, you're an amazing teacher, thank you for the many free computer classes. 

3. Mrs. Mai Abel Aty: The math teacher!  Your laugh will always make me happy, and the way you enter the class with excitement will always bring joy to my heart.  You're my hero when it comes to drinking Nescafé, because you really drink a lot, but that's fine because it gives more energy to....teach!

4. Ms. Arlene Castillo: the teacher who remembered my birthday and made me an early surprise on Thursday!  Thank you very much for that. You've also taught us Biology for the first time last year, and I'll be honest when I say that I've learnt that "focus" is a huge factor in your classes, because the information flies away as soon as I start thinking of something else. 

5. Mrs. Heba: our first science teacher in the international section. Wow, what a great thing you've done.  Thank you for teaching us the real taste of a full mark. 

6. Mrs. Marwa Afifi: The true Egyptian lady.  The amazing World History teacher. Thank you, for making me laugh. I guess that laughter has been taking a huge part in my life. 

7. Mrs. Shereen: The Super French teacher.  You've introduced French to me, and I thank you for doing that despite the fact that don't like it, but your classes will always have a place in my heart. 

8. Mrs. Muneera Al-Mousa: thank you for the amazing Art classes.  You teach with love, you love what you do, and that love is spreading around your students everyday. 

9. Mrs. Samah: you've always made me scared to leave the class just so I wouldn't hear you ask me to go back and get the "golden necklace". Thank you for being a good assistant, and thank you for allowing me to leave the school early, on the very first day of it...

10. Mrs. Afshan: we've always said that you're a very elegant person in the way you talk and behave. The first quarter of this school year was amazing. We've learnt a lot, and day by day you made us respect you even more. Being a chemistry teacher could be hard, but you're doing a great job. I'll always remember you, so thanks for leaving a huge mark on me. 

11. Mrs. Hana: thank you for making us realize how amazing the Arabic language is. Thank you for believing in all of us. 

12. Mrs. Sahar Tawfiq: the best social worker in the world!  And the funniest Egyptian in the school.  Thank you for the amazing activities that you make, and thank you for reminding me to sign every morning for being late.

13. Mr. Ashraf Fathy: thank you for believe in my writing skills. You're an amazing teacher, and I will always admire the way you write about the school's events. 

14. Mr. Ahmad Hassanien: the math genius. The man who will always encourage me to solve every exam with no fears. Thank you for making me understand that math is only a subject, it will not kill me, but I should always take a full mark in it. 

My friends, my secret keepers, my class mates, and the people whom I suffer with for seven hours, amongst nine periods, everyday. 

Jazi Al-Barrak: I once told you that you'll be something great, and you've reached that saying by the way you're acting today. Look at yourself, fighting for a noble case, making your mom proud, and making us all love having you in our lives. 

Yasmeen Alafaliq: the person who will always make me laugh by the way she lives her life.  She's an amazing example of a person who lives life to the fullest. 

Samar Alafaliq: the president, and our class leader. She'll always inspire me in the way she lives her life, and the way she follows her dreams. 

Khuzama Al-Jamal: the philosopher of the class.  The genius in breaking questions down. The taster of Um Kholthoom's music, and my eating buddy. 

Wesam Al-Khashram: our mother. The future surgeon.  Thank you for giving me valuable advices. Thank you for explaining the French verbs for me.  Thank you for explaining the Arabic grammar in only ten minutes. 

Reem Al-Mousa: the future chef and artist. The expert in cooking food, and making delicious hot chocolates for the cold winter days. Thank you for being my friend.     

My cousins: Shooq, Aisha Khalid, Sara Aqeel, Fatima, Heba, Haya, Sara Yousef, Aisha Aqeel, Nahid, Latifa Aqeel, Ramya, Noura, Ranya, Areej, Abrar, Amal, Hessa. I love you all to the moon and back.  You're my childhood mates, you're my laughing buddies! 

3mo Najeeb Al-Zamil: my teacher, my second father, my mentor. Thank you for giving me great ideas to write about. Thank you for supporting me, thank you for everything. 

At the end I would like to thank Google for celebrating my birthday, and providing some cheats for the 4 pics 1 word game.  Thanks to the Oxford Dictionary. Thanks to the Pearson company for providing the school with giant books to make us suffer. Thanks to the supermarkets of the world. Thanks to Steve Jobs for making this amazing phone that I'm using to write this. 

Thanks to the world, because now, I'm 16 years old! 

Happy birthday to me.