Ramadhan Kareem

Credit: picture taken from Google :)

I hope I'm not that late to wish everyone, Salam Ramadhan! 

Every year, I see Ramadhan as a month of new beginnings. It's the month of forgiveness, hence making it the perfect time to start over everything. To start being a better person, a better daughter, a better sister, a better friend - everything. I see Ramadhan as the month to recharge our soul and Iman.  I don't know how you judge a person, but for me "Ramadhan people" term should not exist. Who knows, the sincerity of those so-called "Ramadhan people" are way much better than us, who knows? 

I pray that we're able to make full use of this blessed month and working our best towards being the best possible version of ourselves. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask for forgiveness from everyone.

I've been spending the first three days at home, scrolling Instagram stories and it moved me to see how my friends who are now in foreign countries surviving Ramadan and doing the exact same thing.

We sahoor, fasting, iftar, performing Tarawih prayers, moreh - exact same thing but with different atmosphere and foods (of course). We're trying our absolute best to be the better version and that is super beautiful - the moment is so beautiful.

Ramadan is a month that teaches us obedience and patience. I'm super glad that Ramadan exists and I still can breathe and experience this year's Ramadan.

Update: just done with my first week of the semester, still trying to find the motivation to study.

Wishing you guys a barakah and blessed Ramadhan :)

♥

Things I Wish I Could Tell My Younger Self

Ahhhhh it feels so good to just stay in bed longer than usual. 

So my new year resolution of wanting to write or blog more is just ugh. Anyway, I'm just glad that my life is going pretty well and organised. I ended my internship smoothly. I even splurge few bucks for my supervisors and I hope they will remember me. (or maybe they don't have to) The internship was great and I learnt to be mentally and physically strong. Mental torture due to criticism, physical torture due to the workload. But overall, it was a great experience and the technicians were incredible!

So today I feel like sharing my thoughts on "What would I give to my younger self?" 

 Thanks to @theduckgroup contest and Mother's Day Celebration, I feel like browsing through some old photos of myself, growing up. As I was reminiscing some good 'ol time I once had, there were few things I wish I could tell the younger version of myself.

Be a good friend

Be the friend who knows to listen and when to offer advice. Make others feel better about themselves. Talk about yourself less. Celebrate your friend's accomplishments. Respect her decision. And remember that any relationship can atrophy without effort.

Never assume you have any idea what someone is going through

Most people are working harder and struggling more that you'll ever know.

You will start seeing your parents more with each passing year

You will learn that you will never understand just how much they sacrificed or the difficulties they trudged through so that your life is better. You will see people might not like you, put the blame on you, judge you and left you behind - but your parents will only see the beauty in you. Love is just so powerful.

Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you

Not to take advantage, but to get motivation. Motivation is contagious. You will be happier trying to improve that living in complacency.

A person's negative behaviour is often more a reflection of themselves than of you

You will let toxic words and people get to you. You will let them form grooves in your spirit. You will eventually learn how to fill those crevices with strength. You will see that you are way better than him/her and you will learn to love yourself.

Say NO

Say it again and again. Practice ignoring the guilt that comes from putting yourself first.

Before I end my blog post, here is a photo, which I think I should share with you.

Aww I'm so cute (lol)

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers in the world! You guys are just amazing. (like how can you resist your temptation not to buy that LV bag just because you think your children need the money more than you, aigoo haha)

Happy days ahead!

♥

Living In The Present

 "We're too busy focusing on past and future that we tend to ignore the present and enjoy life." - Anonymous

The last time I posted something on my blog was in January and I am extremely sorry for not updating any post after that. I was super busy with my final exam and now I'm about to enter my second week of internship in Kapar. Last semester was hectic but Alhamdulillah, I managed to get a pretty good result. Overall, my internship life was okay but I hope I could do better in the following weeks.

Before I went to Kapar, I had to attend a classroom training in ILSAS for two weeks. The module were basically on leadership skills and technical stuffs (mostly for the electrical engineering students). At night, we usually spent our night on bed, doing nothing. My friend and I always ended up in a serious conversation about financial planning, marriage and etc (tbh, I feel so old when talking about all these stuffs), until one night something came up in our mind and we were thinking about how bored and unhappy our life is because we were too busy worrying about the future.

I believe we tend to spend most of our time replaying past moments or planning too much for the future, that we miss out on the great moments that are unveiling right before us. We don't take the time to enjoy the present moment. This is sad because we have no idea how many more moments we will be fortunate to experience. I am not proposing that we should spend less time planning, use all our savings and etc. That would be misguided advice. Goal setting is important for us to have the motivation to move forward and be better each day.  It's just that our random discussion we had with our peers were all about building the future but what about building the present? We all desire genuine happiness, and in order to manifest this joy, we have to live presently. Too much focus on the future often leads to stress and negative thinking - and these are not good for us.

"When I live in the past or future, I miss out on the freedom and peace in the now" 

So why we should living in the present?

1. Present moment is the only moment you have control over right now

No matter how much you plan you never know for sure how life is going to play out. The only time you will know is when you are in that moment. You can choose to enjoy the moment or you can choose to loathe the moment. You can choose to use the moment with something good or ignore the moment completely - cause in that present moment, it is yours to control. Planning may help you accomplish your goals but it will not help you to improve your quality of life for the present moment. Planning isn't going to guarantee you a desired outcome for the future, so why not accept what you can control now?

2. Each moment is a gift

There is no guarantee on the number of moments you will get to experience. Therefore, we should not take moments for granted. Plan when it is necessary not at the expense of you enjoying the present moment. Life is short, so enjoy it while you can.

3. Living in the present will make you happier

Too much of long term planning is going to prevent you from enjoying the beauty of now. Don't impede yourself from experiencing contentment. Practice living presently, and observe how it makes you feel. Plan when you need but don't lose sight of what is currently happening.

Find a balance between living in the moment and planning. You are only going to be able to control the moment you have right now. The moment you have right now is a gift. Enjoy less stress by relishing the moment. Accept present as it is and choose to be happy by doing stuffs you like to do. Plan as you feel necessary. Save money for a family and house. Invest in yourself. Set goals for yourself and as you live your life, make your dream a reality. In this pursuit of planning, don't forget about where you are in the present.

So how's your present moment doing?

Happy Sunday!

xx