Thank you Note..

My dear friends,

To all those, with whom I have talked and shared my heart and thoughts in 2019, thank you so much for your time, attention, advice, and most importantly, for being an avid listener. This year has been a great year for me in terms of my professional development and earnings, but as far as the personal development is concerned, I went through a lot, both emotionally and mentally. But I have learnt great lessons from every experience this year. I was not able to identify what exactly was hitting me deep inside but each one of you (I know you all know that I am talking to you), your existence, love, attention and precious time saved me from the worst thoughts. I am writing this thank you note to each one of you. I am truly blessed to have you all around me. I hope and pray that we keep in touch like this in the coming year as well. Prayers, hugs and flowers for you all. Had I been given a chance to pick some of the best people who are no less than a diamond, I would have surely picked you all, for a life time!

Thank you so much.

Love,

Asra

Journey from 'Taraqi Pazeer' to 'Taraqi Yaafta'..

Baba keeps saying this to me and my siblings that now is the time to put all your efforts and work harder. He keeps telling us, "baba, we are in the 'taraqi pazeer' situation, when we will become 'taraqi yafta', then the whole world will be under your feet." 

He always motivates us and makes us believe that all our dreams will come true one day! He prays all the time for us and keeps saying loudly that all these world tours, the luxuries, the vacations will one day be so easy for us to manage and afford, then we will say to ourselves, "so, this was the world tour!" He tries to bring the best in us when we are feeling down.

Not only Baba, Ammi also tries to lessen our burden by doing our little things like washing our clothes (when we are tired and don't have enough time and energy to manage our wordrobe). The best thing about my parents, and especially baba, which I admire the most is that he knows about the mood swings, the good feelings, the anger and the depression mode of each one of us (We are 5 siblings and our personalities and natures are poles apart). 

I don't know how parents keep a balance in making their children feel that they are only theirs. They make each one of us believe that they have their trust in us, they are there, holding us tightly, standing strong! And no matter what strikes them, with full negativity, they never show it to us. 

I don't know about others' parents, but our Ammi and Baba always listen to what we have to say and share with them. Their presence in our lives makes us feel less burdened, lighter and more comfortable in being us and being ourselves! They are the backbone of the family, both of them!

Dear Ammi and Baba, 

I don't know whether you will read this or not, but I want you to know that I love you both the most. I can't think of a better best friend than both of you. May Allah bless you both with great health, happiness and peace. Ameen sum ameen. 

Yours only,

Heer

I QUIT!

I quit! Hath Mathay Baba..!

I have been very indecisive for the past 7 years. Although I have learnt thousands of lessons, it is really sad to say that I have ruined my health, my emotions, expectations of my closed ones and my development as an adult. The last time I made a strong decision in my life was in June 2012, it was the time when I decided to pursue law and I was so strong in my decision that I committed to myself that I will convince my father for allowing me to study law. After making this decision, I have been going with the flow. 

There were times when I had to suffer a lot emotionally, personally and professionally. But I was of the opinion that it is part of the process of learning. Initially, I did not complain about anything because I read somewhere that those who complain don't own their mistakes. So I was owning every mistake I made at that time. But gradually, I started getting up set with this. I started complaining about things and people. I was not able to sort it out what exactly was going on with me, why I was so much complaining about everything that existed in my life. I started spending less time with my siblings, only talked to my parents, specifically my father, 2 to 3 times a week.

Although I preferred to make no friends since my childhood and I always liked to spend time in isolation (but that was only for the world outside), this isolation period in which I was not talking to anyone at home, broke me more emotionally. Till date, I only talk to my father at home and I used to have very less conversations with everyone at home. But in all these years, I always wanted to quit. 

Yes, I wanted to quit this isolation. I wanted to quit my old self. I wanted to quit every bad habit that destroyed my health. But I was very indecisive and I developed this indecisivity due to all the things that were going on in my life, both personally and professionally. 

From making a decision to study law to becoming a licensed lawyer today, the journey has been a long one but it has affected me in such a way that the process of change within myself has been restrained. I have become too lazy to put effort in becoming a better version of myself. This laziness, this feeling, this whole situation had struck me recently.

But, I QUIT!

I quit the old me.

I quit the unhealthy habits.

I quit everything that restrains me from meeting my parents' expectations.

Here is to the new beginning of myself! A commitment to myself and to my family to become a better version of myself. A commitment to stay healthy, to avoid negativity, to stay positive, to accept the change within me, and last but not the least, to make my parents and my family feel happy and proud of me.

An Appreciation Note..

To all those, who are reading this post. This is an appreciation note for one of the best bloggers, my friend and a great human, Kiran Nadir Khan. I have shared the link to her blog as well as to her Facebook page at the end of this post, so do check it out! Happy reading! (Smiles)

Hello Kiran The Great! (Oh sorry, I should have mentioned Asalamoalaikum). So, Asalamoalaikum KTG!

I hope you are doing well. I am here to post an appreciation note for you on managing your personal blog so well! I could have shown this appreciation in the simplest way, but wait... I am a blogger too (Not a regular one though), so how can I just post 2 lines of appreciation and end up my post? No, No! You have to read this! I would do this in the most interesting way! So my 'appreciation note story' starts here!

Today after almost 3.5 months, I logged into my Instagram account (you must be thinking why I am telling this here, but samjha karein, people get an impression of me that I am very focused and goal oriented person, I don't waste my time using social networking sites [Pun intended], Kher, Lets be back on appreciation note), and while I was scrolling down my TL, I saw ur post "A letter to my mom after becoming a mom myself" and it caught my attention. I clicked it and read the complete post, as soon as I was hitting the like button, I read the ending lines "For more interesting reads visit the link in my bio!"

Bs.. Phr kiya?

I clicked on the link in the bio and started reading all the posts, one by one. To my surprise, I did not know that you are a blogger too. And you write so well! The command you have on vocabulary, is amazing! I have to learn this from you. I also came to know after reading your posts that you are a great story teller, a poet, a patriot and an ordinary human with great brains! My best wishes are for you, keep writing quality blogs, keep sharing thoughtful insights, and keep your readers updated about your new blog posts!

I think this appreciation note has gone too long for now (sigh and a little laugh)!

Hashtag Kiran's Blog, Hashtag Appreciation Note, Hashtag Blogger Adat se Majboor, Hashtag Sigh!

Link to Kiran's Blog: https://kirankhansblog.wordpress.com/

Link to Facebook Page of Kiran's Blog: https://www.facebook.com/LeisurelyCreations/ 

Friends or Not Friends? Mystery Resolved.

It took me four long years to learn why people call every other person their friend. Some years ago, I used to categorize every person I meet as an acquaintance, a colleague, a friend, or a best friend. But the people I met in the last couple of years, at first they were just acquaintances, then they become colleagues, then they become friends and again they become acquaintances (and the cycle repeats).

Now, here is where the confusion begins. 

The kind of people we are and the kind of people we come across in our daily routine, it is difficult for us to change the category every day and put the same person back in the first list. If someone is a friend, an acquaintance and a colleague at the same time, we prefer to call them a friend because that is the easiest to pronounce and spell among all the others. So yes, I am friends with every person I meet every day. But I do have my category of best friends, that is personal! No more categories to fill in, this means no more colleagues and acquaintances, only friends. 

Zindagi aasaan hogayi. 

And lastly, all those people who always say that I don't call them my friend, I am friends with you all from now onwards. 

Hashtag All Are Friends, Hashtag I am blessed, Hashtag Mystery Resolved! Hashtag Sigh!

A Tribute to My Men on International Women’s Day

Today, on the International Women’s Day, where all the people are paying tributes to the women, thanking women for the role they have played in their lives, I want to write a thank you note to the strongest yet most delicate men in my life; my father and my brothers.

Every person in our society needs a moral support, whether it is a man or a woman, each individual requires the fuel to keep the life going. Different people have different sources to maintain a strong support system in their lives. Some people have a bunch of friends, always pushing them to do what they want to do, while others have got the back of their teachers to achieve their academic and professional goals. There are many people who get the fuel for managing a strong and well-maintained support system from their family, especially from parents. I fall into the last category!

My father, the most beautiful human, a life hero, a person who has served others from the beginning of his life years, and who is still willing to return back whatever he has got. He is a true Sufi, having a pure heart and love for women. I have never seen any man, especially in our society, being so optimist about all the pessimist views which people carry in their words, attitudes, and behaviors for the women who are goal-oriented. My father is a man who has backed us (me and my sisters) for setting the unachievable goals; given us the strength to untie the hardest knots and work hard each day for 12 to 15 hours, without complaining. I think all the hurdles and failures which he had faced in his life have turned into a blessing in disguise for us. The world sees him as a man who has done nothing for himself or for his children, but the story is completely opposed to this view. I think, he has given us the courage and faith to conquer the world. As an independent woman, today, I think I can create history; in fact, I am creating my history.

My brothers, the amazingly handsome and craziest creatures on this planet, having strong appearances but extremely soft hearts, always being supportive and great listeners (I forgot to mention in the above section, my father is one of the greatest listeners among all). Although, both are the tallest in our family, they are naturally positioned as the youngest siblings. The elder one is the driver-cum-robot (speed-boost driver!), does the grocery shopping every single day, wakes up early, goes to university, comes back and provides his services as a driver to the family, manages all the mechanical stuff related to the generator and car, have a big smile on his face all the time, a comedian, extremely sensitive and tolerant. Apart from all these things, he is an amazing human, yes, he cries. I think this one thing makes him the strongest among all the other man in our society. He knows his role and plays it with responsibility!

The younger one is the bookworm of our family, well-disciplined, strong in his decisions, focused, amazingly handsome, has a million dollar smile, loves food, acts like an elder one, extremely shy and aggressive yet extremely delicate, offers the most compassionate hugs and always provides a shoulder to cry on, whenever I need it. And yes, he cries too! I think the most beautiful thing about these men is that they do not hide their tears as they cry and demonstrate that they are humans too, and feel everything so deeply!

I want to pay a tribute to my three men today. I want to thank them for always being there, standing strong! I love them, I think wherever I stand today, is just because of these ‘three’ men. If they would not have been there, I would not have been here. I owe everything to them.

The reason behind my smile, my strongest support system; my father and my brothers!
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!

Roger Federer - The Wimbledon Legend!

Clicks from last  year's winning day.
Federer the Record Breaker!

Federer’s Wimbledon titles marked him World’s best tennis player. Wimbledon is the oldest tennis championship which is held every year in the months of June and July in London, England. 

Many legends of tennis were able to add up their names in the top players by winning the Wimbledon titles. Roger Federer is also one of the greatest legend of Wimbledon. Among all the greatest players of history including John McEnroe, Pete Sampras (pistol pete), Bjorn Borg (Ice-man) or Boris Becker (youngest victor), Federer has the name of digging the most fevered shots played in the tennis courts of London.

The stimulating Wimbledon season has knocked the tennis courts of London again. And the tennis fever is on fire for all the tennis lovers as Federer has just landed in London couple of days back! The frigid temperature of London, these days kept on changing as mostly either the rainfall starts or the clouds let the bright rays to reach the tennis grounds by backing the sun!

Way to go for Federer this year and for all the tennis lovers too! Till the qualifying rounds completes, we all have to wait, to see Federer, winning all the rounds and break another record of being the 8^th time winner of Wimbledon title.

Cheers to all the tennis lovers!