10 things I am grateful for…

Wherever I go,whatever I read, whatever I watch, I always seem to see beautiful models everywhere with glistening pearly whites and long legs. Some girls in my university too. Frickin walking angels. And then I come home and see myself in the mirror. Acne scars, chubby cheeks, bespectacled eyes all greet me in unison. It’s as if I had forgotten how I looked like because my heart skips a beat with an amalgamation of feelings of shock,disappointment and yearning. I wonder how it must feel like to smile and have a set of bright white teeth glean back at you.(BTW,I don’t have yellow teeth, I just don’t have those extra, bright right in your face whitey white teeth or veneers or whatever they have.I have normal white teeth. Just clarifying any misconceptions you might have hehe).I wonder how it must feel to have slender nose that twitch back at you. I wonder how it would feel to have flawless skin mirroring your happiness. I wonder how different those girls’ reactions would be in comparison to mine when they checked themselves in the mirror. And how uplifted they must feel (doesn’t help with the fact that they are already so lifted high up with that height plus 6 inch heels). Everything seems perfect because they look, breath, walk perfect.

It was during a class practical at my university that I saw one of these angels crying. I went over and with a slight hesitation asked her if everything was ok. She shook her head and sobbed even harder. Perplexed, I was thinking of a way of comforting her without scaring her when she started spluttering words “Divorce, (swear word) broke off, rent and kicked out” before bursting into a hail of tears. After a while, I was able to make sense of the fact that her boyfriend and her had recently broken up. She was living at his place, so he kicked him out. She went to live at her parent’s place and 2 weeks later they called her siblings and her and announced they were getting divorced after 30 years of marriage.They were dividing everything and selling their joint home and splitting the money that came out of it. Neither parent could keep her in as the mother was using her money to travel the world and the dad was moving in with his new girlfriend. To make matters worse, her ex-boyfriend was demanding rent money that she owed him for the last month. That was a lot for me take in, never mind the poor girl who actually had to go through this. This girl,in her early 20s,had nowhere to go. She had a job at McDonalds but that wasn’t enough to pay for an accommodation,bills and fees.

And I realised that while I may not have what she has, she doesn’t have what I have. That I overlooked the other blessings in life that I had. That I took, what I had, for granted.

So here’s 10 things I am grateful for :

1. For my parents who are the backbone of my support, who are always there for me and hold onto me when I fall, to motivate me when I am feeling down, to provide me with snacks for uni and when I return from uni, to serve me with warm food and heaps of love.
2. For my brothers who love me unconditionally and care for me and protect me and who tease me occasionally but would do anything to keep that smile on my face.
3. For a home and a warm bed and good food because I know I am richer than 70% of the world who don’t have basic rights to these amenities.
4. For being mentally stable and physically active.
5. For being born a Muslim.
6. For having internet friends who inspire me and motivate me and for being the sisters that I never had (Yes, I am talking about you , my fellow bloggers :D)
7. For my pet cat Simba, whose little actions of affection and adorability make my day.
8. For being born a desi, because I don’t have to worry about rent and bills ever (not at my parents’ house till marriage and not at my husband’s house after).
9. For being born a muslim desi because I get to wear such colourful dresses and attend heaps of functions (weddings are a 3 day event (3 dresses for 3 occasions), Eid is a 3 day event (3 new dresses :D) , aqiqas, family gatherings every weekend, etc. etc.).
10. For the Lord Almighty to bless me with all of the above alhumdulillah.

***All images via Google Images