LIFE AS IT IS

Although we may not always be on the same page, even so we can stay friends. Although I may not always meet your expectations and you not mine, even so we can stay friends.  Although the way you look at the world is different from mine, even so we can stay friends.  I want my friends to give me only that much, that much that they want to give me from their hearts…not a bit more or less, for there is no compulsion in friendship... https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wara-Karim/1401474443425018

Motherhood has instilled in me a different type of emotion, an emotion whose existence I was unaware of in those pre-mummy years of life. Today, when I see suffering children, turbulent emotions rupture my heart. Sometimes, I shed tears in silence. I ask myself if this emotional overflow is because of my new identity as a mother. Perhaps. Every child deserves a happy childhood. But to millions of children around the world, "happiness" is a word that carries little or no meaning. Many a child's childhood is snatched away at such an early age that they never know what it feels like to go school five days a week, eat three good meals a day, or sleep without having to worry about their houses being blown up by enemy tropps. In any conflict, it's the children who suffer the most. When I see images and video footage of living and dead children of Palestine and Syria, I sit still before my computer and know not what to feel. Sometimes I wonder what I myself would have ...

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It's holiday season again, and I miss being home. I go to shopping malls and watch people shopping frantically for themselves, their friends and families. I myself don't really have anyone to give holiday gifts to here in the U.S. I don't have anyone to give me gifts either. I used to buy gifts for family during Eid times when I lived in Bangladesh. So, the Christmas season reminds me of Eid celebrations back home. I miss my family more than ever when I see people shopping for Christmas gifts, buying carts full of grocery items for Christmas dinner or decorating their homes with Christmas trees and lights. Sometimes, it's difficult being an expatriate, especially when you see people around you celebrating such religious occasions with their families and friends. You think of the people you left behind. I remember how Dhaka used to be decorated with little white and colorful lights before the Eid times. My city looked beautiful. The malls were always overcrowded, p...

Instead of having just one life, many of us these days have two lives - a real life and a virtual life. At times, it becomes difficult to separate the two. Sometimes, the virtual world takes over and our real life is left in shambles. Yes, this virtual world can give us good friends and good times, provide us with love and mental support in times of need, and work as a vent after a long, busy day. I am talking about networking sites, forums and Facebook groups.  However, as a member of one such online group, I feel that there  is a strong need to live both of these lives of ours, especially the real life, because that’s where a person has to return eventually… I took a 3-day break from my virtual life and in those three days, I walked every day, started reading a book, danced to music, followed the news, and talked with old friends over the phone. I connected with people who I can see, touch and hear. It felt good, it felt refreshing. I felt alive. I love the virtual world ...