WINTER

Winter has begun in Pakistan. The chilly frosty mornings and the eerily early adhaans of isha salaah have begun taking their toll. I'm writing this entry at 6:30 PM but it feels like the middle of the night.

I forget the days when winters used to be fun, filled with snowmen and snow angels, fluffy winter jackets, wool mitts and scarves. I sometimes think as children we had 'positive goggles'. Wherever we'd go, what ever we'd see, we would be happy and content.

Nowadays, it has been scientifically proven, that the highest rate of depression induced suicides occurs in the winter seasons. It's easy to understand. By the time you rise up in the morning, the sun is still taking it's sweet time to make a full appearance. For students and office hour workers, often by the time you head home, the night has covered the sky. 

I thought it would be nice to help list ways that you can fight the cold and the depression at the same time:

• Firstly, choose to wear warmer, brighter colors than you'd usually do. This helps remember happy times and can save you from the gloomy surroundings of winter jackets. A bonus is that not only will it help you, it will help others around you :)

• Try not to wake up earlier than you have to. Instead, do your important tasks like ironing your clothes, packing your lunch, homework or even walking your dog at night! Try to wake up in synchronization with the sun 

• On your way to school or work, pay attention to the natural environment around you, it's all a miracle of creation and can help you in being thankful in being there to witness it with your own eyes 

• When you're indoors, surround yourself with friends and co-workers, chit chat about upcoming holiday plans and help in organizing a holiday party!  Looking forward to something helps pass the time

• Drink lots of warm beverages to keep yourself warm, also taking breaks for coffee can be refreshing, might get you a chance to see the sun for a while and interacting with the coffee-shop people can also help catch a few contagious smiles 

• When you arrive home, try to relax. The night will unfold, no need to rush and do all your homework or chores right away. The sun might be gone but the TIME is still there!! 

• The most important thing is to spend time with your family and with your friends. Sharing your thoughts and daily experiences, whilst listening to theirs can be motivating, refreshing and help to take your mind off sulky thoughts. 

To help you get through the gray winter days, 

Okay, So I went M.I.A shortly after starting my blog.. which doesn't show a hopeful outcome but... i'll never give up!!! Blogging takes time, it takes commitment and I know I can do it :)

So where have I been? What have I been up to?

Well, my fourth year classes started and before they could I had a little reading I wanted to get done. Now that they have started, it's a continuous cycle of keeping up to date and getting a little ahead ;) 

I'm planning on giving my USMLE next year (STEP ONE). And that journey will be a long and gruesome one. I guess for sometime this blog (or diary, since I'm pretty sure no one is reading it but me =( *sigh*) will be about my studies as well as my life :) 

Amirah Layla - The Moon Princess

Excuse me, in advance. Being new to blogging can be quite confusing. With tonnes of ideas flowing through my mind, I don't know when to start and where to stop! But, like in all aspects of life, I think it's best to be true to oneself. If you're true to yourself then you are the best you that you can be :)!

So, Who Am I?

I'm the Moon Princess! Well, my real name, regretfully given to me by my sister, is Madeeha. I choose to go by many aliases like, missdeo, deeha, diia, deo! My favourite and most desired name however has always been Ameerah Layla, Amirah (Princess) Layla (like the moon).

By coincidence, I was actually born on the sighting of the Ramadan moon, in 1990. My father (who has since passed, may his soul rest in a heavenly abode) wanted to name me 'Chand Bibi'. LOL If you can speak or understand urdu/hindi/punjabi, you'll see how funny this comes off as. It literally means "Moon Lady". Translating it into english, I realize it sounds quite mystical, but believe me, in my mother tonuge -- its complete bonkers! Haha- Thank goodness gracious for my dear mother, who feared the ridicule her child might indure, she saved me from a lifetime of -- well I don't even want to imagine what she saved me from!

Another interesting point to my name, Madeeha is that it gives off the name "deeha". Which in my native tongue means 'Light' or 'Candle' or specifically, it is the name given to a tiny 'Oil Lamp' 

Over time, my most adored compliments have always been my jolly nature, my smile, my ability to 'light up' a room, and to laugh endlessly and effortlessly! Could it be then, that Shakespeare was wrong? When he said,

What is in a name? That which we call a Rose,

By any other name would smell as sweet

Would it Shakespeare? Would it?!! :P

In the end, (well in two decades since birth), It's simply amazing to see that all the names and pieces of my identity have fallen into place. It's exciting, thrilling, exhilirating even! To imagine what will happen in the next two!!!! 

The Beauty In Simplicity

Although glitter and glammer tend to win in beauty pagents, when it comes to blogs, I've discovered that the simpler, the more beautiful.

People, including myself, get lost in all the extravagants of being able to express your wildest innermost self with HTML, CSS, GIFs, neon-coloured backgrounds and snowflakes falling down the screen :P. What's important to remember is WHY you made your blog in the first place.

Most likely it was to express yourself personally, maybe some unique trait or skill, perhaps and interest or hobby? However you didn't make a public blog on the world wide web for just your eyes, now did ya?

With that reminder, it's important to present your information, your thoughts and opinions in a way that's gentle to the eyes of your readers. Although some might admire the lengths you've gone downloading and uploading templates, they might also miss the general feeling you're trying to convey.

An honestly, new conclusion that I've come to after about an hour and a half of searching all kinds of sites for all kinds of layouts :D LOL!! At last I've chosen a peaceful, serene, eye-welcoming, heart-warming floral, fit for a Moon Princess 

Ready, Set, BLOG!

It’s 2012. I’m 22 and finally beginning my first official blog. How did I get here? Mostly boredom, free time, no excuse not to and curiosity. To see how it goes, that is ! Regardless of how I got here, the important part is that I did. I’m going to now shut off my brain, well the respected cognitive regions, and write without thought. It’ll show me, how I sound without using big phony words. I wish I started younger, I’m pretty sure I was more of an intellect in the earlier teen years. What happened to me you ask? 

One, BIG acronym ; MBBS

MBBS? 
It stands for, Bachelors of Medicine and Bachelors of Surgery. I’m half way through, just finished my third year exams (thus the free time and boredom) Call it the curse of the doctors, with nothing to do we rapidly degenerate.  

‘Now that you’ve started blogging, what will you blog about ?’ , you ask?
Well, If you’re familiar with the term, melting pot, then know that it is the definition of my EXACT being! I am probably the most mixed, blended, accepting, open, liberal person that I know. One of my many charms ;) 

That being said, I won’t be assigning an ambience to this blog just yet. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it ! And hopefully find something of value to take, to give or to share. 

God Bless