So today I attended a school's awards ceremony. I have been to my fair share of prize givings and today I was prepared for a long few hours of talks and award presentations with a fully charged phone battery.
However I was forced to put my blog reading aside not because I was told to but because of the alluring, inspirational words of the guest speaker - Dr. Alloter. She did not lecture, nor did she tell us about her rise in her career, rather she spoke to the entire congregation about OURSELVES!
It really hit home that I first need to figure out who I am... Who I truly am, not base myself in the IDEA of who I'm supposed to be or who others want me to be nor should I measure my life against others.
I've come to the point in my life where I don't want to tell people what I do and if I do it's usually followed up by what I planned on doing with my life. Listening to Dr. Allotor today made me realise that I am happy. Yes, I may not be working the life I had envisaged BUT I am HAPPY!
Often I scroll through social media and look at my high school and university mates living their lives with beautiful images as proof of their wonderful "dream come true" lives and I feel why not me?! I've worked just as hard, if not harder - studying, not bunking and getting through everything with just a single attempt! I have realised that all I need to is say ALHAMDULILLAH for everything I have.
Who knows what's truly behind the images? Why should I care? That feeling of pride when I feel I've imparted something to another mind is the most rewarding feeling to ever experience! I am happy and that is what I have always wanted.
So, "Be gentle with yourself" is a statement that I will keep in mind henceforth. We spend so much time idealising what we should be and less time focusing on who we truly are and what actually makes us happy. We get so caught up in our daily activities and forget to take time out to focus on ourselves.
As I've matured and been exposed to the big bad world I've begun to notice that the ideals I had as a bright eyed teenager no longer fit the individual that I've grown into. Some of the basic ideals have remained the same but the contexts have changed so some of the frilly ideals would have to evolve and today I got told that IT'S OKAY! - IT'S NORMAL.
It may seem silly that I didn't realise this but being the strong headed taurean that I am, I guess I needed an "expert" to tell me that IT'S OKAY.
So I have to tell you this and may you take it in and use it as a tool of positive reinforcement for yourself-
YOU are the most important individual in your life. Friends, family and dreams will come and go but all you'll ever have for certain is YOURSELF. So be gentle with yourself...
xxx
Saudaa 😘
