Have you ever sat and thought, “I can be so much more than the person I am today”?

Well it's been on my mind all day today and it reminds me of my visit to Kurdistan, a year and a half had passed since I was last home. Surprisingly I noticed a change in the situation of the country (Kurdistan) yet the people were exactly the way I left them. I spoke to many and asked a few of them the same question yet most were unable to give me a clear-cut answer.

My question was, “So what’s are your goals?”

At first they'd laugh giving them a few seconds to think of a goal to say, but none were able to say "my goal is to... "

I don’t understand, Why is it so hard to have a goal? To actually wake up everyday taking a step towards something we want to achieve. We know we’ve got the talent and skills yet we neglect it and think we aren’t good enough. 

The one thing I've learnt is to never live for others, to never try to please others because you know what? not everyone is going to like you or accept you. And you know what? their opinions don't matter. so try to set a goal, one that makes YOU happy and be the person you know you can be. 

The person you’ll be proud to look at in the mirror.

Before I advise you I'm advising myself, today I thought of who I am, who I've become and compared it to who I'd like to be, the better me, the future me and I realised that I've come a long way yet the journey never ends. The journey stops with my last breath and so when the angel comes and I depart this world I wish I can end life's journey with a smile, I wish to end the journey feeling proud of who I've become. 

The Girl In The Headscarf 

xx

One of the best feeling in the world is knowing that you are loved by others. Coming back after over a year without seeing my friends or even speaking to some surprised me, seeing them all hug me and talk to me as though I never left meant the world to me.

I realized so much about true friendship. I realized that the friends that stay forever are the ones that anyway accepted me the way I am.

I also realized that if a friendship is based on secrets then I’d rather you pull away now. Friendship isn’t about oh you know my secret so tell me yours. It’s where a friend never asks you about your personal life and just enjoys spending time with you, talking and laughing about different topics (NOT about people, because whatever you say is now a secret between you two).

Another thing I learnt about true friendship is that you do not need to talk to each other every single day or go out every day. It’s the feeling they give you in the inside, where you know you have someone who loves you and will always support you. 

Lastly, I believe that you can’t just choose someone and think hmmm he/she will be an awesome best friend! Best friends take a long time but just know that the people who love you are not always the ones who text you or go out with you all the time, they are the invisibles ones who are always there to listen to you and advice you whenever you’ve wanted someone to be there.

After an hour delay, I am on the plane back to London. I’m flying back to where I live leaving the land I call home. I hadn’t been back for around a year and a half since I last stepped out of the country to pursue my education. My visit was for only 6 days yet I did so much that I don’t regret the long journey here for the short stay.

A lot has changed since I left, the streets of Hawler aren’t what they used to be, the faces of my people no longer beam in happiness and excitement. My country is weak yet strong enough to show the world that they can overcome any obstacle. My country doesn’t deserve this, with the economy at its lowest, where salaries aren’t being paid for months now, where malls and cafes barely hold the teenagers who once brought life to it.

I met friends and family, they all smile and laugh though they feel miserable with what is happening, as they hold onto the hope that the land will raise once again.

I come back feeling different, I come back wanting to change the land I call home, I come back wanting to once again return and bring hope to my people.

I will miss you Kurdistan.

I will miss the “Bakherbayt” wherever I entered.

I will miss the “Salam Sarchaw” wherever I left.

My Kurdistan I have hope in you

My Kurdistan you will not break

My Kurdistan be strong for this will pass, and the happy days will come

My Kurdistan stay safe and farewell

We call this humanity?

Where love and respect varies

Between Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

We call this bringing peace?

Instead of dropping weapons

Bombs are dropped on streets.

A child unable to speak but only cry

Sees his mother covered in blood, but doesn’t know why.

A child unable to understand but feel

Is hungry, for where is his mother with his meal?

A child so innocent and so alone,

Doesn’t know he’s on LIVE.

For in other parts of the world

He’s on their screens

Yet they’re all at the living room table

Ignoring him, living like kings and queens.

Tell me again why we label others, as though there’s no connection?

As a child you and I have been surrounded by love and affection,
So what makes a Muslim, Jewish or Christian child any different?

I know for a fact that right now most of us don’t have that same motivation we had when we first started school or university. So I’m going to post my back to school/university post, I may be 2 months late but I believe that now is the time where we actually need the motivation.

Don’t stick to routine:

In order to stay motivated you must enjoy what you’re doing. Sticking to the same routine of studying in your room every single day it very boring!! Try to study somewhere else, maybe a library or a quiet café! Trust me it works, especially a library because seeing others busy doing their work will motivate you to do yours.

Keeping track:

It’s very important to know what you’ve learnt from day 1 (of this year) at school or university. Write a list of what your subjects are including the topics. This helps you see exactly what you have to study. Not having a plan can easily frustrate you because all you’ll know is that you’ve got “a lot to do”, you need to know how much is a lot? It might not even be that much! You might be stressing more than you should. lol

Organize your time:

Set little daily goals, I wouldn’t say weekly because I tend to just leave today’s work for tomorrow and then by the end of the week I would have so much to do that I’d give up. So daily goals are much more effective because you’ll have to finish your daily task that day otherwise you’ll never be able to study those topics again since you’ve already organized a specific task for the next day.

MEMORISE!

Must of the time we tend to take a lot of notes, we just write notes after notes but we NEVER actually learn them and this is the main reason why student don’t do so well. Yes you’re notes look colorful and nerdy but what’s the use if you haven’t actually learnt anything.

Enjoy!

Enjoy studying! Make it interesting, play some calm music while you’re studying, watch youtube videos on the topic you’re studying, most of the time the videos are full of humour and animation you’ll be surprised with what you might find.

Don’t schedule a break:

Must of the time this is how students organize their time:

9:00 – 11:00 Math

11:00 – 11:30 Break

This is a plan I follow for maximum 3 days because it just makes me hate studying! If you’re studying and you feel like nothing is going into your mind then stop! Have a break, leave your room then come back and study. If you want another break 20 minutes after that then do that! Just as long as you cover all the work you need to do on that day then take as many breaks as you want! You’ve got 24 hours in a day and lets say you sleep for 9 hours that leaves 15 hours for you to complete your daily goal!

Before studying imagine yourself holding your results and getting straight As! No seriously what makes you any different than the students that do? You all study the same books, have the same teachers, so why not you?

Anyway I must go back to my coursework lol I hope this blog helps you get those straight As for your upcoming exams!

Study well & Good Luck <3

Lots of love

The Girl In The Headscarf

xoxo