Razan Alaqeel's

I woke up to a phone call from my mother.  She wished me a happy birthday as I heard my brothers in the background singing, and my nephew crying.  It was 3 pm in Saudi Arabia and 7 am in the United States.  They knew that is the time I wake up, so they made sure that my alarm was extra special today.  They promised me a late birthday party.  But honestly, their love and presence even through a phone call was all I could ask for.  Right before the end of the call, my mom said: "You were born on a rainy Sunday.  But that was 19 years ago. Now go out and enjoy what this year has to offer you." "What does the first day of this new year have in store for me?" I replied, but she laughed gently and left me there wondering.  I wondered in my small room corner surrounded by pictures and memories with some classical music playing.  I kept on wondering as I read the news, and went through Facebook and Twitter.  Then I almost spilled my hot light roasted coffee with its va

Those who dream, will definitely achieve.  The efforts we put into chasing our goals will be recognized.  Our faith in God, and those long nights praying with so much hope in our hearts.  The taste of accomplishment, that happiness, the laughter, oh and those tears of pure joy.  Standing up for the right, and fighting for the good.  We were all born great, but at the end of the day, it is up to us to realize that greatness and use it proactively.  Nobody’s better than the other, we are made different so we can come together and join those differences together for our own good.  If we’re the same, then competing will never get us anywhere, because “team work makes the dream work” according to a great wise friend of mine.  Working hand by hand to reach the finish line will get us further and further in life.  This past week, I had the honor to be the Saudi Delegate to the United Nations Youth Assembly, and this is the story of how this week transformed my whole life. I arrived to N

My strong shivers which ran through every part of my body.  My acing bones against that hard floor.  My head suffering to find a comfortable spot on my backpack.  My head, lost in a million thought.  "Why am I doing this?  Am I seriously going to sleep?  Did I just miss an announcement?!"  I laid there on the floor of the Charlotte International Airport from 10 pm until 4 am.  Rolling around, shivering, thinking, and truthfully: on the verge of breaking down and crying. I hugged my friends goodbye by the airport's United Airlines gate.  In my head, I was ready to check-in my suitcase, eat something, and then sleep in the lounge which I was planning to pay for instead of a hotel.  Yet little did I know about what was going to happen.  I walked into United's desk, and there was nobody. It actually smelled like soap and looked shiny, so I figured that they just cleaned the desk and went on a break.  But everyone was cleaning the airport as if they were closing it and

سمك كنعد مقلي فوق رز أبيض. إجتمعت عائلتي حول هذه الوجبة الأخيرة، و بدأت شخصياً بالإستمتاع بالوجبة التي بدأت بها إجازتي و التي تنتهي بها الآن. في البداية، الجميع  حول السفرة كان يسأل عن موعد عودتي لأمريكا و كأننا جميعاً نريد أن نطمأن أنفسنا بأن لازال لدينا الكثير من الوقت معاً. المزيد من الوقت لسمك أكثر، شاي بالحبق و السكر، ليالي السمر، و غيرها.  و الآن، الجميع يسألني عن موعد عودتي للمملكة.  نحاول دائماً أن نضع "خطة ب" لكي لا يصدمنا الواقع بسرعته بما يحمله لنا من أحداث لنعيشها. جميعنا نختار الرحيل، لكن ذلك لا يخفف من قوته أبداً.  Fried fish on top of white rice.  My family gathered around this last meal, and I was personally enjoying the dish which started and ended my summer trip to Saudi.  Everyone around the table asked me about the date of my return trip back to the States at the start of the summer, as if we were all trying to reassure ourselves that we still have plenty of time together.  More time for more fish, more sweet tea with mint, more late nights, an

The world has so many stories, and each person is a hero in his own tale.  We are always busy doing our own thing, and sometimes we forget to take a moment, look around, and wonder about how heavy someone may feel with a ton of stress overtaking his/her body.  We are all meant for greatness, our own greatness, and the definition of it could sometimes be different from one person to another.  We reach for the stars that are millions of years away, and we soar in our very own thoughts.  But what does it mean to literally “think” of those around us, to discover their stories, and dive into their imaginations?  What does it mean to tell someone “I feel you” and mean it?  What is the price of giving someone else attention and care?  Just the love that we were all born with. Saudi Arabia is a country that has a lot of workers coming from around the whole world seeking for jobs.  The World Bank recently conducted a study which states that Saudi Arabia is the world’s second largest c

Happiness.  It is defined as: that feeling that comes over you when you know life is good and you can't help but smile.  This is exactly how I can describe this past week of my life.  The happy vibes and smiles. The loud laughs.  The pure joy.  The unforgettable memories with the amazing people whom I can't help but call "family".  Life has all kinds of gifts for us, sometimes they are the good days, and some others times they are the good pure hearted people who light up those days with their kindness and amazing souls. Inspiring others through words or actions, and knowing what to say about your own life and struggles is not always easy.  Finding the right words to make someone smile to let them leave their sadness, and cheering one whole crowd up with a sentence is definitely a blessing.  This past week I was very privileged to hear a man called Mr. Happy speak.  He taught me so many life lessons during one singular hour.  His positive attitude towards life made

My father always told me about the day he'd take me on a summer trip to the United States.  The land of opportunities sounded like the magical Disney World through my father's stories.  Washington D.C. which established the roots of this nation seemed like a tale of freedom and possibilities through the way he described it to me.  New York City, with its skyscrapers was another land that resembled fine literature and more liberties that were engraved with the power of words through books, and the true meaning of the American Dream and Liberty.  That is exactly how America was drawn in my mind.  A land of everything and everyone simply being good.  Now, that I have been living here for almost two years, I have my own story to tell about the country that not only gave me new hopes, but which also offered me more things to dream about.  Here I am writing from New York City, after attending the United Nations Youth Assembly.  A dream that always lived within me has been coming to

Our lives are not complete without a goal to pursue and a dream to achieve.  Waking up with a plan of success in mind, spending the day sketching future plans, sleeping with a lot of dreams about that next big step.  Having that spark of hope, the attitude of positivity, and the behavior of a respectful and joyful person is why we believe that everything is possible once we work hard towards a better tomorrow, not only for us, but also to the whole world. This past week was definitely the most stressful week of my time in college.  I had to prove myself to my peers, to explain why I stand for my "yes" when the whole world says "no", and to use my words and past experiences to help me walk a new journey for a different future.  I decided to apply to the Appalachian Student Ambassadors since day one on this campus.  Those ambassadors set the standards for me for what I wanted to do in college.  The way they looked, talked, and behaved was so perfect to me that I ha

“I want to live this year.”  A statement made by my sister that made me start wondering about the true self concept of living that each human might, or “should”, possess.  The definition of living, and actually meaning the enjoyment of life is pretty different from person to person.  As humans, we are very similar in a lot of things, yet our impressions of life in general are extremely different . Living takes us through different experiences, and that’s what it’s meant to do.  We are made to be different, and that is why we get along together.  Imagine a world where everyone is the same.  Same ideas, perceptions, views, opinions, and looks.  Our differences help us in acknowledging the beauty of our own selves.  So, what does it mean to live? Personally, I haven’t figured this one out yet.  Most of the time, I don’t really care about finding that great power in myself that shall make me understand.  This doesn’t mean that I’d rather be stupid about my surroundings; it simply mea