Celebrity Stalked Without the Free Designer and Unlimited Glam

Have you ever felt that when you're walking through the streets or into a store, or just anywhere public, that everyone is just STARING at you? It's quite off-putting, but what can you do about it? I truly do feel sometimes that paparazzi is going to leap out any minute now and just start snapping away. It's not in the good way. Not because you're Selena Gomez and people want to catch a picture of you feeding a dog on the street, but because you're Britney Spears, just got out of rehab, and people can't wait to see what crazy thing you'll do next.

 I'm a runner, have been since middle school and it's something that's become apart of me, something that I can't give up. Maybe it's just me being paranoid, but now when I run with my hijab wrapped around me, I can see people literally turning in their seats to just STARE. It's a wonder an accident hasn't happened yet because of this. I truly feel that people just like to oggle at me sometimes, or that they don't like to, but they forget themselves, their manners, and just go ahead and do it. As a hijabi, it's obviously not about fitting in, and not wanting the "unwanted attention." It's about pleasing Allah, and of course, nothing else matters.

Although we can't help ourselves. I know that I am not perfect, and some things do bother me because I just can't help it. I'm working on it, trying to bring myself back to the right type of thinking, but like I mentioned before, it's not easy.... You kind of know how celebrities feel now, but like the title of this post says, it's being a celebrity without the designer and the glam, at least not the type of glam that we know about on Earth ;)




Until another time, Salam Sisters!

Modesty Doesn't Make You Any Less of A Girl/Woman

Ok, so just to remind you, I'm only a fresh hijabi, since June to be exact. I hate to think that the only reason I would really care for my hair, as in making it look nice would be well, just so that it looks nice in front of other people. I really do love to care for my hair, style it etc, blah, blah, blah. I liked all the different things I could do with my hair, all the different styles I could twist it into, the clips and pins to decorate it.


So I'm going to try and get back into that again, it's just hard with how busy I've been lately, and whenever I do find a minute I usually like to spend it doing something else that I haven't been able to do in a while, like watch TV, hang out with friends, see that movie that came out a couple of months ago....

As hijabis we have to remember that we are no different than any other girl on the planet when it comes to beauty. Just because we decide not to show it off to the world, doesn't mean we have to be modest about it at home too. Actually at home is the one place where we should be able to show off all we want. We're in our privacy, we can do what we want within the boundaries that Allah has set for us, and I think we forget that we should take full advantage of that.

All of those clothes that you see these social icons wearing, that you secretly wish you had, go out and buy them and wear them at home! I think you have the most freedom if you're married. I'm not married so I wouldn't know, and this is only my assumption. Even though we don't have to wear hijab around our dads, brothers, and other women, we still have our 3wra, or aioura, to cover. If you're married, that no longer applies really. So get as dressed up as you'd like. Go out and buy those jean short shorts, with that cute halter top and strut your stuff around your house all you want. You don't need lingering eyes of strangers to make you feel confident about yourself, wearing clothes that make you feel that way is even better!

Don't feel like wearing hijab, or becoming a hijabi, means that you have to forbid yourself from these things. In the privacy of your home, you're free to do what you want when it comes to your clothing and hair, just don't forget about your 3wra. Which is perfectly fine, don't forget that guys have 3wra's too ;p. So we're not alone when it comes to that boat.

Go out and buy the outfit that would go perfectly with those earrings that you haven't worn in ages. It's your right and you should take it!



Salam girlies! See you soon inshallah!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!! What to do?!?!

Asalamu Ailaikom Sistas!

So you know when you have these life changing choices you have to make, like for example what classes to take your next semester, what car to buy, or in my case; what college to go to? We're always freaking out about whether we're making the right choices or not. And I mean, who could blame us? We're afraid of being wrong, of regretting our decisions and be like "I knew it! I knew I should've gone with my other choice!" That is the worst! When you had a doubt about something and you're doubt is later on proven true. And we can't help ourselves, we're only human.

And that's exactly it, we're only human.... As Muslims, we're taught by theQuran and our Deen that we are never alone. Because who's always watching us? Gold star for who ever gets this right..... (Drum roll please.....) ALLAH! Well a-duh. Allah is always watching us. There's this quote by Audrey Hepburn that I absolutely love because I feel that it reflects the beliefs of Islam so much, who would've known that it would come from a classic movie actress? Anyway, here it is.

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others,

for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness,

for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are not alone."

Isn't that just beautiful? Sobhanallah, I of course didn't personally know her, but from what I do know is that she was not Muslim, but who knows, maybe she was in secret, allahu a3lam ;)

Anyway, the whole point of this was to bring up the line that she last said, "walk with the knowledge that you are not alone." Allah is always watching, but he is not a silent bystander. He has a hand, or more like THE hand, in everything that goes one in each and every single one of our lives. The good and the bad. Now don't get upset about the bad, let's face it, without bad life would be boring and there would be nothing to challenge us and keep us moving forward, and also without bad, life would be Heaven. 

So when you're finding yourself in a tough spot, where you don't know what to do, what to choose, which path or course to take next in this crazy journey and adventure called life. Just ask. Ask Allah for his guidance, for his help. That's all you have to do. Orally, out loud. Yes he can hear what is happening in your mind, but in order for you to get what you want you must ask him for it. Ask through prayer, sala and du3a2, and inshallah he will answer you and lighten your way. Just put your faith in that Allah is always there for you, because it is true, and he loves you and loves all of his Ummah very very much. He just likes to hear our voices, which is why he asked us to pray five times a day.

It's like when you're away from your parents all day, sure many of use can go the whole day without picking up the phone, giving them a call just to hear their voice, but at the end of the day we realize that we've missed them, and a phone call just makes it all so much more better. So that's just basically how I see it anyway....

Remember, be patient, have faith, and love, and don't forget to ask, and thank, because everyday is a miracle, alhamdllah.

Salam sisters, see you soon inshallah!

Two Words: Maher Zain

Do names even count as words? Why not? Names are made of letters, they label things like words do, right? Right! Onwards ladies!

If you don't know him, you should! If you've never heard him, you should! He is this great nasheed artist, mashallah! I fell in love with his music over the summer when a couple of close friends of mine told me to download his songs off of itunes. Go download his songs off of itunes!!....Like now! Haha, ok, ok, I know I'm being a little loco, I mean like the smarty buyers you are, you'd never buy a product without at least getting an idea of the quality of it right? Well it's itunes, so you know he's legit. As for his songs well here are some of my favs! You MUST check 'em out!

He's touring the U.S. this month and a little bit of next month. I'm fortunate enough that I actually live just a couple of towns away from where one of his concerts will be on October 30th. Native Deen will be there too! I don't know too much about them at the moment, but I've got to get to it if I want to be able to sing along to the songs, ah! More things to do!

Anywho, check him out on facebook at www.facebook.com/MaherZain. He and Native Deen are only going to be in limited areas of the U.S. including New Jersey, D.C., California, and Michigan. I'm not sure if there is an official website where you can find exactly where he's going to be. I remember seeing an ad on the Arabic channel ART.Try googling it, because I'm having trouble finding an official website too, I bought my tickets through a friend. If you find the website let me know so I can post it and everyone can get a chance to buy tickets! All proceeds go to children of the world!!

Salam sisters, ttyl inshallah! :)


K, I found the website! It's eveningofinspiration.org. All the locations and other info is on there, so you should definitely go check it out. See ya inshallah!

Luxury of Your Room

I am sitting in my room right now and posting to you! This may not seem like a big deal to all you wi-fi alum, but for us wi-fi freshies/newbies, oh yea this is huge! I mean c'mon, I'm actually lounging on my bed right now, just typing away. I hear nothing but the rhythmic tapity tap tap of my fingers hitting the keys on my laptop. Alhamdllah, everything turned out very smoothly when the technician came to install everything.

Before now, I used to always only go on my laptop in the living room, because that was the only place I could get a connection. What about you? What's your favorite place to just lounge about and surf the web?

Are feeling the heat? Well, are you??

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-28765834/stock-photo-the-day-before-exams-stressed-student-tearing-his-notes.html

I mean the heat of school of course! This guy clearly did lol. Sometimes when my teachers assign homework I feel like they're telepathically asking me that question. I almost want to jump up and say, "Yes! I admit defeat! Where's the white flag so I can wave it?!" But I don't, I keep my composure like everybody else and say to myself, "Shut up and deal with it Neena, there are other students out there who are doing way harder work than you." Which is true, but of course everyone likes to have their piece of mind. It's always important to challenge yourself school and your education, but not to the point where it may have a negative physical, or mental, impact on you. so here are my suggestions, and things that I do to keep myself going through this seemingly endless haul of homework.

1. Start homework a half hour or an hour after you get home from school. Whether you're coming straight home from school, work, or practice, it's important that you get some sort of mental break. Even though you may not be using your brain at work or practice as much as you use it for school, it's still a bit of a toll.  Take a quick break and a breather, just don't get to the point where you feel like procrastinating (the enemy of all students!)  
2. Make a schedule. Making a schedule isn't just key, but it's sticking to it too, otherwise it becomes useless, and you just spent your time making it for no reason. A schedule offers organization, not just of what you need to do so that you don't forget, but also time management. And be realistic when making your schedules. I often find that I can over estimate my ability to complete homework in the short amount of time that I'd like to complete it in, which at the end of the night can make me feel like I haven't worked as hard as I could've, and that may not be the case. So I'll be beating myself down on something that I just don't have control over.
3. Take breaks! It is so important to take down time so that you don't burn yourself out during the first hour or whatever of homework. take five to ten minute breaks where you snack on something, watch a YouTube video, or something that you enjoy doing. Just be careful with those YouTube videos because they can get pretty addicting ;p I remember my English II teacher had told my class that a person needs to take a break from work every 20 minutes.Which seems pretty logical to me. Actually it may have been one of the few logical things this particular English teacher ever said, he would actually make us take five page notes just on constructing a sentence, that's right sentence, not sentenceS. He was a cool dude though haha.

   

   http://www.unitedcampusministryatfsu.org/sunday_bible_study__upcoming_events

4. Go to bed at a decent time. I finally found the perfect bed time for me in order for me not to need a nap when I get home from school. If I'm in bed by 10:30 at night, I'll have more than plenty of energy for the day waking up at 6:00 in the morning. Every person's body is different! Every person is unique and therefore has their own needs. Your body may not react to the same amount of sleep as your bestfriend. Your bff may be able to survive on just six hours of sleep, and my goodness, power to her! However you may need your solid eight hours. Don't be ashamed of that! Sleep is so important to our body systems and mental health.
5. If you don't manage to finish what you planned on finishing, relax, it is not the end of the world. You're up one or two hours past when you're used to sleeping and you're falling asleep while staring at those words or numbers on the page that just don't want to stick in your brain, go to bed. There isn't much point in staying up late trying to finish homework that you're not paying attention to. Because now not only are you not getting anything out of your homework, but you're not getting much sleep either. So try going to bed and waking up extra early to finish, at least that way you'll have some sort of rest and energy in your body. When you get home nap all you want, just don't forget to wake up in time to finish the homework you have for that night or else the cycle will never end.

http://www.alifmusic.net/profiles/blog/list?month=01&year=2010

I really hope this helped sisters! This is just some pointers that I've discovered from my own personal experiences. If you've got some ideas that you like to do that help you out with studying, than feel more than free to leave some comments for your other sisters!

Salam ladies! See you soon inshallah!

Read this Book! "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater

Along with reading blogs, I'm also a huge bookworm, which is a great thing. But it can also be a really bad thing when it comes around school time and I should be doing homework and studying but I'm having trouble putting my book down. I know, I know, I'm a baaaaaaaad girl :( Haha well anyway.

Shiver, is a book that one of my closest friends had actually recommended to me a while back, maybe something like six months ago. I remember I had started reading it before she had even recommended it to me, but it was one of those projects when at that time in my life I would start something and never finish it. So returning to the book was fun, because it really is a really good book! Don't worry I'm not going to leave any spoilers on here, I'm just recommending it, because it is a book really worth recommending in my opinon.

It debuted as #9 on the New York Times Bestseller List, according to the website of the author, http://www.maggiestiefvater.com/shiver.php.  Now my in depth opinion of the book, I really did like it. It was well written and the story line is captivating. To be honest, Grace and Sam aren't my favorite couple of all time, I mean they are adorable together, but I'm that kind of person where I can only take so much lovey dovey romance before I feel like I'm ODing on it. Usually I get that feeling more in these teen novel books because that is usually an essential theme, and there's usually so much detail in it. So if you love your adventure mixed with your juicy teen romance this should be on the top of your to-read list! Just make sure you have time to read it and you won't be hating yourself later for days to come because you spent time reading it instead of something else that you should've been doing, like homework....ahem :D

This is some awesome fan art I found.
Here's the link until I can figure
out how to attach it to the picture:
http://www.wolvesofmercyfalls.com/?tag=human

It is part of a series, and I have not read the next book in the series Linger, nor do I intend on doing so until Thanksgiving break or something, when I know I will have time to read, without it cutting out of my school work time. I also heard that a third installment to the series is supposed to be coming out soon, I don't know too much about that yet, but maybe you guys could let me know! If you've read the book, let me hear your opinion. If you haven't read it yet, then go read it! And then let me hear your opinion. All in all, enjoy!

Oh and let me know if there are any books that you'd like to recommend! I'll do my best to fit it in somehow, there are always those car rides where even if you just get a couple of pages in are worth it.

Later!

Oh the Beauty of Wi-Fi

Yes, I currently do not have reliable wi-fi at my home. So trying to upload any pictures is actually quite almost impossible at the moment. But that's ok because my new internet provider will be coming on Tuesday to provide me with some legal wi-fi for the first time ever at my house. How am I posting this you say? Well I never said I don't have wi-fi, just not reliable wi-fi...ahem. Any who, I'll be sure to edit the previous post with some of my favorite videos and pictures of those blogs. Check back soon! Now, I've got tons of Biology and Chemistry homework to do! I am telling you, AP Chem may be the death of me.

Great Bloggers I Recommend...

Of course I wouldn't recommend them to you if I didn't think they were great, duh!

So anyway I'm going to put them into little categories for you:

These are in no particular order

Blogs I've been following for awhile now

• http://www.youtube.com/user/Eily311 - she is gorgeous and simply does amazing make up videos, the amazing thing is she only took one make up class in college, or at least that's what I remember her saying in one of her videos. She does these pretty cool looks where she literally uses make up to its fullest and you find her doing some amazing exotic things sometimes. I feel like she should be hired for movies and broadway productions because her work truly is breath-taking. If you're interested in make up I would definitely check Eily out! And yea yea I know that sounded funny -_- lol

• http://www.youtube.com/user/MakeupAdikt - MakeupAdikt is just great too, beautiful, beautiful looks, she has a slightly different taste than Eily but it works great fo her. She does lots and lots of celebrity inspired looks which goes to show you that no, celebrities aren't just born gorgeous (at least not most of them) and with the right tricks with make up you can look just as gorgeous as they can! She also does a few scarf-styling tutorials which are creative and very do-able. What I got me hooked with her videos at first was that she was very thorough in explaining her steps, not that the other bloggers who do tutorials aren't, but I just like her style very much.

• http://www.youtube.com/user/Amenakin - I absolutely love her! She is just so amazing, she does these creative and stunning hijab styles which I have no problem whatsoever admiting I've copied (I mean that's the whole point that they're there), and she is so inspiring because she does post videos about other things besides just hijab tutorials which is great. There is a wide variety in her videos and she personalizes them enough without getting too personal to the point where you're like "uhhhhh, I could've lived my life without knowing that." and that's one of her great characteristics that makes her unique and draws you in. She is my favorite to follow, just becaue I share so many opinions with her and she's made me open minded as to different ways I can style my scarf. Just because we cover up doesn't mean that we have to go around completely secluding ourselves from the fashion world, as long as what we are dong is halal, and we believe in our hearts that we are doing nothing wrong, then inshallah, Allah will accept our good deeds and since our niya (Arabic for intention) is pure.

• http://www.youtube.com/user/PearlDaisyLtd - This is actually the company of Amenakin^^^. It's just a channel were she updates and shows her YouTube followers/fans the scarves, accessories, and such that she's selling, lovely lovely stuff! I have yet to buy from her website but I do have a number of items saved that I have every intention of buying.
• http://www.youtube.com/user/TheChicMaya - Maya is also one of my favs, she has these great creative ideas for hijab styles. Also an adorable Middle Eastern/Egyptian accent, it's so cute hearing her talk! She like Amenakin does have a store in which she sells scarves, underscarves/headcaps/bonnets (whatever you want to call them). She has a great variety and no matter what your style you will always find something that you like!

• http://www.hijabonlinestore.com/ - This is Maya's ^^^ link for her online store.

Blogs that I've just started to follow but I'm already in love

• http://www.stylecovered.com/ - Hana's blog I just found about two months ago in August. I read as much as I could of her blog while I was still on summer vacation from school, and of course enjoyed her beautiful photographs of her fashionable hijabi outfits! The girl is insanely photogenic! She pairs these lovely loose outfits that look great with just to-die-for accessesories like shoes and so much more. I love reading her blog because she has quite a bit of an international stand point too. She has a number of blogs of Muslimahs outside her locality, which is England, and kind of goes world wide, sort of delivering the message of the different cultures hijab can have as well, pretty awesome.

• http://www.maysaa.com/ - Hana has a website where she actually designs what she's selling, props to her! Her products are beautiful! And of course she designs with hijab in mind, so they are very loose but in flattering ways so they don't look like potato sacks. :)
• http://amuslimwife.blogspot.com/ - Actually, this blog I discovered a while back I just keep forgetting to come back to it. Not that I think it's uninteresting or unimportant, but as you can see I like to follow tons of bloggers. I like to read this particular blog because since marriage is half our deen (Baba Ali! I think he desereves a blog all his own! :D) it's good to be knowledgeable of this stuff. Oh and no I am not married haha, kinda funny to think as myself of that especially when I act like such a kid sometimes. Anyways, I think this blog does a pretty great job of giving you sort of a inside look at what marriage is like in Islam, intimacy, religion relationship with your hubby/wifey. Of course she does blog about other stuff, but marriage is usually her main theme. And I keep referring to her as she because I don't know or can't remember her name. Sowwy!

Yes I am quite the stalker, and ironically enough I don't have a twitter.... That's just because I think twitter is weird, I mean it's literally a license to just stalk random people. I mean I think some people really like to be stalked, NO OFFENSE to all you who tweet out there! You do what makes you happy, just my opinion!
So I hope you all enjoy these links, because I know I do, why else would I be telling anyone about them? Haha. All of these blogs, bloggers, and websites are fantastic! I don't think I did any of them justice as to how good they really are so that is why I think it is important that you go check their sites out yourselves. Have fun, and let me know what you think!

Hi there! I think introductions usually come first in these things :p

Ok, so I am totally new at this. I am a big fan of blogs, bloggers, video blogs on YouTube, the works. And I've always admired these bloggers for being able to get their thoughts out to the public for so many reasons. One: they're not afraid of being criticized because if they were, they wouldn’t blog, duh! two: they do believe what they have to say is important, and three: they care enough to take the time to make these postings and reply to their readers and viewers. So having been a blog follower for a couple of years now (sheesh that makes me sound so old!) I think I've finally gotten the confidence and courage to make my own blog, I know I'm such a drama queen, I mean c’mon, it’s just a blog!

So if you haven’t figured it out yet, I am a hijabi (ergo the title). I’m deciding how to define hijab because in Arabic there are different definitions, and I decided to check out dictionary.com and it says that it is a covering for the head and face that Muslim women wear… mmm, not quite. Not exactly the type of definition I was looking for, so I’ll try my best to define it myself.

Hijab is the concept and/or idea of a Muslim woman taking on the lifestyle of modesty. The standards for a hijabi, as described in the Quran, is covering the entire body from head to toe except for your face, hands, and feet (this one is actually debatable because I’ve heard so many opinions). It is the idea of modesty, so it doesn’t count if you are covering from head to toe with the exceptions, and yet people can still tell the exact your exact body shape because your clothes practically look like they were painted on. That’s a no-no.

So what is this blog about? Anything and everything! I suppose you could just think of it as the world through a hijabi’s eyes, but I feel like that would be stereotyping all hijabi views and opinions by my own. Which is so not true. Just because we all wear scarves on our heads, does not mean that we all think the same too, duh!

This is just my first post, kind of an introductory get to know you type thing and also for me, get used to blogging type thing. So here are a few fun facts about me.

·         I am a fashionista, I love fashion and I’m pretty open-minded to all types of styles and new ideas. My favorite thing to do is to hijabify fashions and styles! I feel like I can do so much more with fashion now than when I wasn’t a hijabi, quite interesting sobhan allah.

·         I like to rant, which I think is a crucial characteristic actually for any blogger, when you think about it, bloggers really like to talk! Best thing is you can always shut them up by closing out the page, wish I had that option with some of my teachers. Hahaha, jk!

·         I often/sometimes get these epiphanies and it almost kills me not to tell them to people, ergo my reason for blogging (I just love saying ergo! It makes me feel so smarticle! Thanks to iCarly, aaanywhoo).

·         I love to listen to people. I know that’s weird because I just said I like to rant too, but what could I possible rant about if I’m not taking in new information? So let me know you’re opinions, I seriously and truly want to hear them!

·         I listen to both Arabic and English music, I must admit that I’ve been way more on the Arabic side than the English side. I mean I haven’t listened to the radio in three months since yesterday, I turn it on and the SAME EXACT SONGS are still playing! No wonder we consider a song old after only two or three months, radio stations beat them dead.

·         More about my background: I live in the US, but I was not born here. Came her when I was 2 with my Mom and older sister, my Dad was here before us getting ready to bring us over, and my little brother and sister were born in the States. I am applying for colleges this year and I’m also taking three AP classes (for all you who don’t know what AP means it stands for Advance Placement, just a fancy way of saying you’re taking college course classes while still in high school). Yes I know, three APs and I’m starting a blog, I am out of my mind.

Well anyway that’s enough about me. The whole point of me making this blog is because I want to advance the world of Muslim women, hijabis, nonhijabis, old, young, whatever and whoever! I’m always searching for more Muslim women and young adult bloggers because I love to read about people who are like me. Who deal with the same things as a I do every day, and also who have the same outlook on life as I do. That is just so important in my opinion, that you find others like yourself in the world. I mean don’t get me wrong, I am all for diversity! I think it’s great, I encourage it. But you should always be sure that you have a good balance that you’re comfortable with. After all, it is well known that the more you hang out with a person the more you become like them. Which makes sense, it doesn’t mean you’re a poser or fake, it just means that you’re adaptable. And if human beings weren’t so adaptable, we probably wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are today.

So thanks for reading, Jazak Allah Khairan, I will make more posts soon! Leave me some comments on what you would like a Muslim Sister to write about! What you want to hear from a hijabi! Whether you are Muslim or not, maybe you’d like to learn more about Islam, which is great, knowledge is always a great thing to give you a more comprehensive scope of life. So, ask me anything. Salam!