Razan Alaqeel's

Monday morning started with a very interesting discussion in my AP English class. We did not discuss how bad I am with topic sentences, nor did we compare our eight different points of view about narratives. We started our class by comparing majorities and minorities.  It was not a discussion about races, religions, or countries. It was a very impressive talk with our teacher about how a person, one human being, would fall from being a majority in a certain place, into being a minority in a completely opposite environment. What can we offer to ourselves to blend in?  How can we be recognized?  How can we rise from being a minority into succeeding in reaching the level of majorities?  I came from a school where I was known by mostly everyone, and believe me when I say that this is not an exaggeration. Al-Kifah Private School believed in each child, and it had an amazing connection with its students. I studied there for eight years. I grew up between its tea...

I googled the definition of death. It basically said that death is the end of a life. I looked up some synonyms, because the word sounded too harsh to me whenever I brought it up in a conversation or a text message.  One of the synonyms was "end". So death is the end of a journey. It is the end of everything. It ends the heart's beats, the lungs' breaths, and the eyes' sight. Death takes the human's soul and leaves the body vacant. It is the end.  If we believe that death will end our relationships with our loved ones, then we are wrong. Death ends the first journey of their lives, and it leaves us with memories.  Our loved ones shall always live within our souls. We have to see what they couldn't see. We have to hear what they couldn't hear. We have to laugh and enjoy life to the fullest, because they would definitely want us to behave this way.  It is okay to feel melancholy. There is nothing wrong with being sad over the death of a person who means ...

Daddy. Baba. Dad. Father. Memories of my dad bring extreme joy to my heart.  Days that were fully spent with him ignite happy flashbacks that are played over and over again in my mind. Writing with my father had always been fun, because he gradually taught me how to hold a pencil, to how to edit a national competition scientific research that won the first place. His laughter, his smile, his warm hugs, his unique scent, his conversations. Everything about my dad was exceptional.  It has been almost two weeks in this world without him texting me "Good morning" and sometimes calling me to say "Go to sleep dear, it's late and you have school tomorrow.".  He was so gentle in everything he did. He raised the five of us on respect and politeness.  He never punished any of us, instead, he always had a story to tell that would teach us a valuable lesson that we shall never forget.   I miss him. I miss him deeply.  He wasn't only a father. He was a friend, a teacher...

إن كانت هناك حروف قادرة على تعبير ما اشعر به لكتبت في أبي منذ زمان. ذهب فرحان تاركاً في قلوبنا ذكريات من حياةً سعيدة معه، أيام عطرة تبدأ بتقبيل رأسه الذي تفوح منه رائحة العود و العطور. سنين كبرنا فيها في بيت علم و ثقافة. أحاطتنا الكتب من كل مكان، و قرأنا مقالاته منذ الصغر بفخر عظيم حتى إذا لم نفهم أي شيء في محتوى المقال من صغر أعمارنا. صوره زينت مجلسه بمغامرات مختلفة ألهمتنا لنكبر و نصل لمستوى والدنا. إبتسامته نقية، و ضحكته جميلة. والدي فرحان كله على بعضه تركنا ملاك. ترك اثره الطيب هنا و هناك، قدم قبل أن يأخذ، علم و ربى.  أفكاري مشتتة، و مشاعري لها عون الله.  فرحان العقيل في رحمة الله، أبي رحل، والدي توفاه الله، بابا مات...  إستيقضت فجر يوم الثلاثاء للذهاب للمدرسة، لكن جوالي جعل سريري يهتز فإرتعش قلبي من هذه المكالمة الباكرة. تعوذت من إبليس و تذكرت فرق الوقت، لكن بعد ثواني لا أتذكر الكثير غير شعوري الحازم بالنكران لذلك الخبر الذي سمعته عبر الجوال.  صدمة لم تهز سريري فقط، بل حياتي كلها. خبر دمرني تماماً.  ذكريات كثيرة تسارعت بالإصدام في رأسي. فوالدي هات...

*This blog post was written only two days before my dear father's accident -may he rests in peace-. *هذا المقال كُتب يومان فقط قبل وفاة والدي الحبيب رحمه الله  Tears may express both happiness and sadness. A shaking voice can describe either fear or sorrow. A shivering body can describe all of the mentioned above. But what if, only if at one point in life, all of these emotions combine together to crash the human's body? What if our emotions can break our hearts in a second, then build them back again in the next?  الدموع قد تعبر عن كلا السعادة و الحزن. الصوت المكسور قد يعبر عن الخوف و الأسى. الجسم المرتعش قد يعبر عن جميع ما ذكر بالأعلى. و لكن ماذا إذا، فقط إذا في وقفة معينة في الحياة، كل هذه المشاعر تجتمع سوياً لتكسر جسد الإنسان؟  ماذا إذا كانت مشاعرنا قادرة على كسر قلوبنا في لحظة، و إعادة بنائها في الثانية التي تليها؟  Goodbyes are meant to happen to everyone. As I grow up, I realize how hard they can be depending on whom I'm saying goodbye to....

Two days were filled with magic. In a place that was constructed by dreams. Within parks that were made with happiness.  Between people who are my favorite in the United States of America, also known as: my second family.  Dreams are never impossible if they're empowered with faith.  Big goals are always reachable once they're looked at with hope. Our imaginations can draw the unknown beautifully, simply because we believed in ourselves. When we try, then we can do anything, and eventually we will achieve.  Spring Break arrived carrying new events that will turn into memories. It came with joy that shall turn into eternal happiness. It knocked on our door by the smell of the beautiful daffodil flowers, and with the different songs of the happy birds.  There was a lot to expect, and I had the chance to set the bars of my near future so high as I waited patiently for this vacation to start. Yet instead, I decided to let it be. I figured that I will try to live for...