New Year Reflections: Body Image

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Around 5th grade was the time I began to compare myself to other girls. I noticed that only thin girls were popular and considered cute by their boy counterparts. I wasn't exactly overweight but I wasn't in the skinny category either. Nevertheless, I started to pay more attention to my diet and exercise by that tender age of 11. From then on I had issues with body image and perception of beauty. I thought that to be beautiful I had to be thin.

Advice for the Expecting/New Mom

My honeybun

It's been almost 4 months as a new mom and I wanted to offer advice to any other expecting/new moms that might be helpful. If you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask!

1. Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is HARD. Really hard, at first. You might have sore/bleeding nipples, back pain from weird postures and overall frustration. Also, newborns feed about every 2 hours so expect sleep deprivation. But I promise if you stick with it, it will definitely get easier. Before you leave the hospital try to get as much help as you can with the latch from lactation consultants and use the support resources they offer if you continue to have issues.

Marriage Advice

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This post is in honor of the many couples whose weddings I got to attend this year, those who will be married soon and those who have been married for longer. This marriage advice is based off of my experience so take whatever good you can from it!

1. Don't compare

Your relationship is unique. Each partner is a unique individual and you are building a life together. What works for one couple may not work for you. Try not to think of how marriage is/is not "supposed" to be like and instead focus on being present to your own marriage and your partner. If you have loaded expectations of what the perfect marriage is and those are not being met then this might set it up for failure.

The Chicken and the Egg

When my mom found me, I was curled up into a fetal position. I was counting down the minutes for the Advil to work.

“Imagine your pain multiplied by 100, that’s what labor pains are like,” she said as she covered me with a fuzzy fleece blanket. Having this pain once a month is enough for me.

“That’s a huge sacrifice that mothers make,” I said.
“It’s true, but people underestimate the chicken,” she replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Women go through these pains once a month and go through a lot to deliver a baby,” she explained, “but the chicken does that every single day.”

She recounted that as a young child, every morning she would hear the loud clucks of a distressed chicken, signaling the laying of an egg. Soon after, the eggs would be collected for consumption. Sometimes chickens would lay eggs multiple times a day. After some time, the chicken that had provided their daily sustenance would be sacrificed for food as well.

When the medicine started working I began to feel hungry. I wanted something warm to soothe my cramps and found some boiled chicken my mom had made. I soft boiled an egg and ladled some chicken and broth in to a bowl. With a newfound appreciation for the chicken and the egg I enjoyed every bite, realizing this chicken lived, experienced pain and died in order to provide food and comfort to me. Now I have found new meaning in the normal routine of cooking eggs for breakfast or using chicken to make a casserole.

Chicken, I have underestimated you. You are strong and generous, and I thank you for your sacrifice.

5 Easy Changes to Lessen Harm on the Environment (and Save Money!)

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1. Take shorter showers

This will save thousands of gallons of water per year and reduce the amount of energy used toward heating the water that is used.

Grad School: First Impressions & Thoughts

When people ask me on my birthday if I feel any difference in terms of maturity, wisdom or desperation I usually answer no. But if someone were to ask me if I feel differently now that I'm in graduate school I would say definitely, yes.

I am still transitioning between undergraduate mode to graduate mode but I'd like to recap a little about my thoughts so far. In my classes our professors treat us more like colleagues rather than just another student. I felt that way in some of my undergraduate courses because of their large size but now my class sizes are much smaller. We have a nice little grad community going in our department and we are planning a potluck to get to know each other better. The nice thing about smaller classes is that you make friends easily and learn to help each other out, whether it's with homework, a hard concept, or general advice. 

Book Review: In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Prophet Muhammad by Tariq Ramadan

Available on Amazon

     In the Footsteps of the Prophet tells the story of Prophet Muhammad in a very straightforward, refreshing way. It reads more like a novel than just a fact laden biographical account since there is narrative interwoven throughout. What I liked about this book is that the sections are short and the organization is easy to follow. It begins with the story of Abraham and then the story of Muhammad starting with his birth and ending with his death.

     Many passages throughout the book are accompanied by verses from the Qur'an and hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) which helps give them context. Often times verses or hadiths are difficult to relate to but learning about the environment in which the Prophet lived and the thought processes that people had during his time helps to understand them better.

Muslims are like X-Men

Growing up one of my favorite cartoons was X-Men. I found it fascinating that people could fly, walk through walls, control fire, manipulate metal, ice, wind, water, read minds, and have countless other superpowers. These people who have superpowers are referred to as mutants in the series. I secretly wanted to be Rogue because she could absorb any other mutant's power and use it herself. But this came with a price, she couldn't touch anyone without hurting them. Her first kiss with a guy put him in a coma. I also liked Rogue because her outfit was green and that is my favorite color.

Words to live by: Silence

Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said,

"He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must not harm his neighbour, and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day must show hospitality to his guest, and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent." (Bukhari and Muslim)

I wonder if the underlined part is also related to another hadith narrated by Ibn Umar,

"he who covers up (the faults and sins of a Muslim, Allah will cover up (his faults and sins) in this world and in the Hereafter." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Are you speaking good if you're speaking badly about others? Even if it's minor things? For example "She talks too much." Is there a such thing as a neutral category? It would be interesting to spend a whole day analyzing everything that comes out of my mouth and classifying it as good/neutral/bad and then eliminating all the bad stuff. I wonder how much silence would ensue thereafter.