CHILDHOOD DREAMS

I'm sure we ALL have had dreams... dreams when we were young.. and we STILL do! It's something that i believe is an innate quality of human beings... to dare and dream... the urge to do something in life.. but the sad part is that not everyone is able to achieve those dreams.. thats how life is planned for us... some do well in life and some dont..

There is a joke i just remembered that i once read somewhere, "Trouble is, to make your dreams come true, you have to stay awake" ;)

Hahah although this is a joke, its so true at the same time.. Many people believe that if they are destined to achieve the dreams that they have been following, they will be able to fulfill them with the help of luck and no work.. whereas, what i believe is that nothing happens on its own. Although, all of it is not in our hands, 50% work plus another 50% luck is what works. As they say, God helps those who help themselves!

When i was young, ive had quite silly dreams actually.. to become this and to become that and blah blah.. little did i know that when i grow up, im not going to remain as ambitious :P.. however, coming to IBA has taught me quite alot. The company you keep really does matter I believe. All the people that I have met at my university uptil now have been so ambitious, with so many goals in life, with so much to do and accomplish, that it has actually changed the way i think.. Previously, I kept on insisting that all i want to do after completing my bachelors is relax and enjoy my life.. However, ive changed my mind.. and my parents have alot to do with this. They have been putting it in my mind throughout that i have to work when i grow up.. and become independent, not worrying about who will take care of me.. and i always said i am "not interested" and i would roll my eyes :P.. my now, actually want to do something.. just anything.. some productive obviously.. and i want to earn..

What about you guys? any dreams you would want to share? something you've always planned on doing? I would love to hear all about it!

I just hope that all of us are able to fulfill our dreams, do what we want to do. Good and helpful things of course.. without anyone having to stop us!

So, GOODLUCK to all my readers! :)

CRICKET - MY FAVOURITE SPORT

So I think I'd like to lighten the mood of my readers and take the discussion a bit towards something that interests majority of the people that i know......CRICKET! Let me tell you, I am a HUGE fan of cricket and I just love to watch every game of it. Now the only good thing that i can remember that has happened to Pakistan recently is.... guess what??? CRICKET!!! As most of us know, the worldcup took place in Feb-Apr 2011. Well, most of us might be touchy about this topic.. well, so am I... but only when i come across people who only like to point out the negative qualities of our team. Well, for those of you who are one those, let me tell you that there is NOTHING, absolutely nothing in this world that is perfect. So if you love something, love it completely - meaning accepting its good and bad sides BOTH. And thats what I do! Im a big big fan of our cricket captain, Shahid Afridi and I think it is just WOW, how he kept his promise to his nation and got us till the semis. If you look at the previous pakistani cricket record, this is a big achievement for our team and therefore, for US! 

During the worldcup days, I could concentrate on NOTHING but cricket. I watched every match that happened, even those that were not played by our team. Its just amazing how that game can keep a person from doing anything else. Sadly, I had my exams during those days as well and it was just so diffcult to concentrate on my studies with all the cricket fever going on. Everywhere i went, it was ALL cricket! The TV, the internet (especially facebook), billboards, posters, pakistan jerseys, pictures, flags - just GREEN EVERYWHERE! it was just the BEST BEST BEST feeling EVER, to see that even after everything that was going on in our country, there was ATLEAST one thing that had STILL kept us united... cricket!

My cricket craze was even more than that - i wore my jersey during every match that pakistan played, with green and white paint on my face, i gathered my friends and family who are just as crazy about cricket as I am and we would watch every match with a huge patriotic crowd and hoot and cheer for our team till the very end. Although we couldnt win the cup, our achievement on the level soul was overwhelming. The last match that we played in the WC was against India and im sure noone can  ever forget that. Many of us believe that India used the wrong means to get the cup and some tell another story. Whatever may happened, i still loved every moment of the WC days. 

There was this joke that i recieved right after India won the cup and it quite cheered me up and I would like to share it. 

"Woh team cup jeet gayi Faraz... woh team cup jeet gayi Faraz, jin ke bachon ko yeh tak nahi pata ke maggi noodles khaana hai ya peena" hahah!! Those of you who have seen the indian maggi noodles ad. would probably understand this and laugh just as much as I did. ;)

The picture i've put above was taken just before the Pak-Ind match! My mother-brother in law and my sister!! CRICKET MANIA ALL WAY!!

Soon after the WC ended.....GUESS WHAT HAPPENED??!! i met AFRIDII!!!!!!! oh my God!!!! it was just one of the most amazing memories that i recall of. And you want to know something more interesting or coincidential? I just got too lucky! Right after the worldcup had ended, Afridi said on TV, "Im sorry to my nation". I felt so so sad seeing the tears in his eyes that i made a collage for him and i decided I would give it to him somehow or the other. YES, it was just like a dream - all of that happening..... Below is the poster i made for him all by myself...

And then..... I was actually able to give it to him!!!! luckily there was a conference at Karachi Gymkhana club where Afridi came!!!! and it was just the best feeling ever!

CURRENT ISSUES OF PAKISTAN

This is one of the topics that I really want to talk about in my blog, since i believe this a platform where i am getting a chance to say whatever i feel and all the thoughts that come to my mind regarding my mother country. 

Back when I was a child, there was a grocery store 2 minutes away from my house and I would always listen to my sisters telling my cousins and me stories about how they used to go to the store on a bicycle all by themselves when they were kids. Now this is when they were kids, meaning i was not even born. Evertime I heard my sisters, my cousins and I were extremely fascinated by this entire idea and we would insist on going to the store alone as well. However, we were not given permission. Why, you may wonder? Well I never really understood that myself, except that i would be told that it is not safe and that the stories my sisters tell are of the time when Pakistan used to be a safe place to roam about in. 

Well, if that's the case then shouldn't we all be locked up in our houses TODAY?? Considering the condition of Pakistan. Just to be clear, im not even being sarcastic. Everytime we switch on a news channel, there is some depressing news that we get to see on it. It is just so sad how this country has become such a SCARY place to live in. For example, everytime I'm travelling in my car, I feel extremely unsafe with all the stories that I get to hear. There are cases of mugging, rape, stealing, target killing, murders, kidnapping, kids dieing because of falling in gutters that were uncovered, suicide bombing, beating up, putting cars on fire and God knows what, EVERYDAY! I admit the media does exaggerate news to some extent but there are incidents that have happened with people i know personally, whose going to give an explanation for that?

Even if we tend to ignore these cases, there are so many other social issues that are going on. Take an example of the MAJOR crisis of electricity going on in Pakistan. I can quote an example of my own, where a week back, there was NO electricity at my house for THREE CONSECUTIVE days. YES THREE DAYS! and sadly, there was NOTHING that could be done about it. The KESC people did not even bother to respond to our calls, infact, they kept their phones OFF THE HOOK so they would not have to "deal" with us. And why did they do this? To create issues for the KESC top level people and who suffered? WE DID! 

So the point im trying to make is that there is NOONE to stop anyone from doing ANYTHING over here. 
I believe that our country is facing a MAJOR crisis in every aspect that we look at and who is ultimately responsible for MOST of the issues that are occurring? the GOVERNMENT!!! I believe it is strictly the responsibility of the governement to look after the well being and welfare of its people, to make sure that their public is not having any difficulties. However, here the case seems to be completely different. The government is not doing anything at all. They just sit and enjoy what comes to them (JUST THE GOOD). 

But i have also studied in my course of philosophy that the MOMENT a government turns into a tyrant monster and takes every step for theirs and their benefit ONLY, its a signal for the public to RAISE THEIR VOICES. BUT, this isnt happening here either. WHY? Because every person who tries to take a step is pushed down 6 feet under the ground. Now how SAD is that? It actually makes me wonder.... When Pakistan was founded by our great national leader Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, is this why he went through all the pains to fight for us muslims to get us a seperate land to live in FREELY. you think he called THIS freedom?? What he believed in was UNITY, FAITH AND DISCIPLINE.... and we see NONE of it in our country. 

People say there is no future for this country and that conditions will only get worse....So, I leave my readers with a question.....  WHAT NEXT??!

PLACES I HAVE VISITED

Well, I have been on quite a few fun and relaxing trips with my family such as America, London, Canada, Dubai, Makkah and Madina for Umrah... I have also been lucky enough to go on trips to Thatta, Hyderabad, Lahore and Turkey back in my school with my teachers and friends. Best times of my life!! I thank God for giving me such great opportunities that so many in this world can not even afford to think of, let alone availing these opportuinites. The last place i visited was in Februaury 2011 - Dubai. There is this one amazing picture that my mother captured as she found it quite amazing and later i realised what a great shot it is. 

This is a picture of the tallest building in dubai and even in the world, Burj Khalifa. What we found interesting was that the building was forming its shadow on the building opposite it because of the sun. And this was something we had never seen before or maybe we never noticed it. So, we took a picture of it!!

MY FAVOURITE POEM

One of my favorite poems is what i really wanted to share with those reading me write now. Its called "I know why the caged bird sings" by Maya Angelou.

"The free bird leaps
on the back of the win
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and is tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom. "

For those of you, (who are still reading my blog and are HOPEFULLY not bored with all that I'm saying), I was introduced to this poem around 6 years back, when i was in 10th grade... long time huh? its strange how time passes by and it feels like it just happened yesterday, right?? Anyway, lets not move off the topic i was going to come at. This poem is just too deep. Something i never understood when i read it back at that time... HOWEVER, when i read it now - just by the way, its a BIG BIG thing that i still remember this poem since i am not into literature and reading that much - so i would really give the poet, Maya Angelou a standing ovation for actually making me THIS much interested in the poem, because i NEVER EVER thought i would talk about this poem after graduating from that class hahah! so anyway, going off the track once again :P.. i believe i can really relate to this poem.. and i think all of us can. Sometimes in life, we face such situations and issues that we may become something similar to the CAGED BIRD - although the situation may differ for each one of us but we have all been bound by conditions some time or the other. Maybe if you think about, you will understand my point : )