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Assalamualaykum wa rah matullahi wabarakatu (Peace be Upon You with the Mercy and the Blessings of Allah)
Hope you all had a wonderful January and it is now time to end the month with a bang!!!! And what better way to do that than with a guest all the way from India o(^▽^)o
Meet Sumha Junaid. She described herself in a rather adorably odd way and her exact words are: "I’m a nineteen-year-old who looks like a ten-year-old". \(￣︶￣*\))
She is obsessed with books since she was a child and she is not much of a sportsperson. Hence, and again this is her words and not mine, she is "a 147-centimetre fangirl who's crazy about anything bookish". Adorable!!!!
She is in her second year of university, studying literature and she hopes to be
an English teacher soon. InshaAllah (If Allah wills).
Her hobbies other than reading are writing, stitching (which she just learnt and is loving it!) and helping her younger siblings with their studies (and they can be a handful sometimes (￣▽￣)" )
She is also writing her first book, which she can hopefully complete by December 2020.
InshaAllah (If Allah wills). I hope you read my article and like it. Fee Amanillah!! (May Allah protect you)
I am so grateful she wrote this piece because it is an important one so without further adieu, enjoy and don't forget to comment, like and subscribe :)
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Pressure to be Perfect
It was a warm sunny afternoon and I wanted to read peacefully. Knowing that wasn’t going to be possible with six younger siblings with their own definition of playing quietly, I headed to the local
café. Where I could sip coffee or a milkshake and dive into my book.
I walked to the café and ordered a hazelnut chocolate milkshake. I found a corner seat window and settled down to read. Halfway through the first chapter, I raised my head to get an ambience of the café.
I noticed a girl sitting diagonally opposite me. She too had a book in her hand which she was reading it with such interest that I wanted to know the title of the book. Just I was about to walk up to her and ask her, a group of girls walked past her.
They looked like models and were dressed like they were going to walk a fashion runaway. They were giggling and talking amongst themselves. The girl with the book looked up and her eyes widened. She took in their long legs and their perfectly manicured hands. When the girls found out that she was staring at them, they stopped near her table and said, “Honey, don’t even think you can be perfect and pretty like us, because you’ll never be.”
The girl wiped her eyes profusely. She balled her fists and hid them under her thigh. When they started laughing, she grabbed her book and belongings, pushed the door open and ran out. I just sat there numb.
What just happened?
According to those girls, they were perfect.
Let us now start with the definition of perfect. When is something or someone perfect?
Here’s what I found out when I googled what the word ‘perfect’ means: Something or someone that is perfect, is complete and without defect or blemish.
But why? Why be perfect when you can be flawed and unique? Is it society? Is it family and relatives? Or is it just you, wanting to fit in and you feel that the only way to can fit in, is to be perfect?
So you try, against your wishes. Try to fall under society’s notion to be perfect. Now imagine that girl from the café feeling pathetic, her self-confidence falling and that urge to prove that yes, she too can be like those other girls. But let’s just think about it for a second. Why be perfect according to others when you can be yourself?
There are so many things that make you perfect. Your dimpled chin softens your jawline. The chipped incisor in your mouth that shows when you laugh or smile and that, my dear friend is the combination of something flawed perfectly. You don’t necessarily have to be tall. Your shot height shows cuteness and you can compensate for that with your quirkiness if you want.
And lastly, don’t ever forget that your large body or your wide hips are only an indication that you have the power and strength to hold life between them.
Remember... you were meant to be real, not perfect.
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What Sumha has written is so real and so true. I felt this was very important and so glad she wrote about it. JazakAllah to Sumha for this inspiring piece of writing and I really hope she writes more because wow, it's so lovely.
Check out her Instagram:
JazakAllah for reading and remember to sprinkle kindness wherever you go :)
Such lovely words ❤️ may they settle in our hearts, ameen