Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

Spent my day reading these before devoting the next 3 days to my final, final's paper!

Not bad at all, humorous at some parts but the character spends most of her time confused and stuff so the fun only comes a bit later on.

:)

You know me better than I know myself

  

The Trump Card

 

Finally , for a short break before my upcoming papers, I indulged in some extra-curricular reading. I'm a big fan of novels, those cheesy sappy kinds but I make it a point to deviate occasionally.

But this book is a pretty good read, I might not want to be a real estate mogul but I've learnt some stuff I can apply in my own life. right now and in the future .

I learnt that you have to be comfortable in your own skin, and not live up to a person's view of you. It's a really empowering feeling to be exclusively in charge of your self-image, self-worth and your life in general.

Persistence - it pays to put extra mileage in anything you do. Adding value to yourself through constant upgrading, learning as much as you can as you go along. Life's short, knowledge is pretty valuable ( and I wish I realized this sentiment earlier)

Contacts are important, not just in business but life in general. Make more friends, be nice, build your networking because you never know.

I guess these are points I should know , but I find them worth sharing :)

Looking forward to more books after my finals !

First sem over and done with, 14 semesters more to go hewhew.

(This legal journey is long, I'll make the most of it haha)

Five stars

Over lunch today one of my friends piped up saying that she had her eye on a cute guy and how that sort of guy would never go for a girl like her.

I don't know if that's common in guys but what I know is, that kind of self-degrading talk is pretty common in girls. We're pretty concerned about a lot of our imperfections and I don't know what's worse having a massive self-confidence ( in psychology, there's this way of thinking called self-serving bias) or not having confidence at all.

And it's really questionable how we can ensure we're good enough for another person, like is there guidelines? I'm not even sure if I'm good for a person, how do I make sure I'm "good enough" ? Hahaha, Well, lucky for me, I've been brought up by a family of the noisiest and self- confident women alive so that sort of self-degrading talk is really shunned upon in my household. #hobinjanghobin

And I dated enough to know how sometimes it's not about how wonderful you are anyway, it's about how you fit into another person. You see a lot of people trading down after dating, trust me girls, sometimes it's not about you, it's just a matter of whether you fit into another person's life.

Sure, self-esteem and self-worth are topics which plague everybody, male or female and are worth talking about,

But well, I guess when it comes to dating another person, in my opinion, it just comes down to whether that person treats you like a five-star girl. (or boy) And I really don't agree with what most people say about how eventually the fireworks die down and you stop making effort.

I think life is about continuous effort, not just for your other half but for yourself.

And before you commit yourself to another person, I think it's worth working on yourself and whipping yourself into good shape first, showing yourself a good time and spoiling yourself first.

I think self-appreciation stems from yourself and no matter how much another person appreciates you, you can't really achieve a sort of peace inside you if you can't appreciate yourself first.

Jonker > Masjid Cina Negeri Melaka > Klebang

Meet my pretty gurls . Adventure buddiez 

 

First stop - Jonker 88. Different kinda ambience. Good food but we needed to fight for a table hahaha. Tried out the cendol durian, nyonya asam laksa (not much of a laksa person but I'll make an exception for nyonya asam laksa oo la la, hahaha , and also the durian puffs. So much durian in a day)

 

Hey, they're leaving A'isyah and me behind!

 

Next stop- Masjid Cina Negeri Melaka for zohor and asar prayers. It's one of the famous mosques in Malacca, after Masjid Selat which is also very pretty :3 

Shamelessly posing while Meor is forced to become our unpaid photographer. 

See how pretty it is? 

 

And finally... the highlight of my day! Going to Klebang. From the age of 8-10, I lived 3 mins from the beach in Sepang so I kind of missed going to the beach so frequently. I forgot how wonderful it was to just sit around at the beach. That's like one of the best feelings in the world yknow. 

 

Hidayah's masterpiece- a sand turtle. 

 

Us girls again! 

Trips with all of us together is difficult to do nowadays. Everybody is constantly busy with university, their other buddies and ofcourse, boyfriends and other stuff. So, when we do get together it feels wonderful, and it's almost a relief to me because I've never found anybody I could open up to more than my best friends. Good friends like them are really hard to come by, yknow.

And I think we have to endeavour to do trips like this more before we get even busier hahaha. And I hope that even after we get older, have our respective careers and even families, Insha Allah, we can still maintain our closeness. Because this is really such a huge component of life. 

 

To sum up how great the coconut shake was... yummy!

Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam (30th August 2015)

 

The view from that look-out tower (forgot what it's called hahahaha) 

I like gardens (eventhough I dont make much effort with the garden at my house lol) - I don't consider myself much of a nature person but oh wellz.

 

Taman Rimba - pretty lonely stretch of brick road. 

 

Welcome to my new home- sick of cities, I'm considering relocating to the middle of nowhere (just kidding, Shah Alam is not the middle of nowhere but it might as well be hewhew #subanglagicool) 

Floating hearts versus keladi cabang - which sounds more romantic? hahahaha

 

 

Next stop , taman bunga empat musim. Which was really a few rooms with artificial flowers and peacocks in air-conditioning. Really pretty to see but the real flowers were a lot prettier.

 

Meet my new buddy, Mr Parrot.

Meet my not-so-new "buddy" whom I've been torturing a lot these couple of months hehe. So, I can't wait for the next escapade with this favourite boy of mine (yes, girls, he's taken, back off :3 )

The Daily Struggle

Thinking whether I should settle for this , because is this all there is?

Managing comparisons

Comparisons are inevitable. You think you'd be over being compared when you're a kid (she who has the most Barbies is the coolest) but nope, you'd be greatly devastated when you realize that the comparisons become more frequent as you grow older.

And it can be really hard to stop comparing. No matter how secure you are, just a tiny bit of yourself would eventually succumb to this ugly disease.

Comparisons.

What a prettier world we'd have without it, really. Why can't we just be happy with what we have?

And hey, I'm smart enough to know comparing myself to others is a terrible thing to do to myself but I haven't reached the intellectual and maturity level needed to really be happy with my life and stop comparing.

That being said, I should just go to bed and be happier in the morning because mornings are always happier.

(You're stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, better than you perceive)

 

What I'd give to be you, kitty. No matter how fat or terribly behaved you are, you're still perfect

Sekian, assalamualaikum

Prophet Moses A.S., Asiya R.A., the mother of Moses A.S.

 

Today I went to the Usrah Institution's Circle of Roses event, which is for ladies only. The topic for today was on Asiya R.A., the wife of the pharaoh, the mother of Moses A.S. and of course, Prophet Moses A.S. 

I really want to share what I learnt today, especially about Asiya R.A. and the mother of Prophet Moses A.S. The story is really short and simple but it really provided me a lot of food for thought. 

Firstly, what I learnt from Asiya R.A. was how strong she was as a woman. Asiya R.A is reknown for her beauty and she was married to one of the richest (albeit also the most cruel, and the only man who claimed to be God) but she was still not only an obedient servant to Allah SWT , but also a good wife to her husband. 

I know there would be a lot of questions arising about how a pious woman could possibly be loyal to her husband, who was not only a cruel ruler but claimed to be God. That was how strong her iman was. 

In Surah At- Tahrim, verse 11, 

"And Allah cites an example for those who believe : the wife of Pharaoh when she said : My Lord! Build for me a home with you in the Garden, and deliver me from Pharaoh and his work, and deliver me from evildoing folk"

Asiya R.A. was subsequently tortured after her husband, the Pharaoh found out she believed in Allah SWT instead of in him. 

Asiya R.A. was the opposite of the Pharaoh in every way. If Asiya R.A. had not been a good wife to the Pharaoh, he probably wouldn't have relented and allowed Asiya R.A. to take in Prophet Moses R.A.

I also learned a lot from Prophet Moses's mother. I don't know if I'd ever be strong enough to be the woman she was and to put my faith in Allah SWT in that sense. 

In Surah Al- Qasas , verse 7

“And We inspired the mother of Moses saying, suckle him, but when you fear for him, then cast him into the river and fear not, nor grieve.  Verily! We shall bring him back to you, and shall make him one of (Our) Messengers.” (Quran 28:2-7). 

She put her faith in Allah SWT, that her son would be returned to her and he did return to her.

Prophet Moses A.S. refused to be fed by any wet nurse. Masha Allah, can you imagine the level of faith she must've had in Allah's promise.

The usrah only went on for an hour but it gave me a lot to reflect upon.

Love of Allah SWT should come first, then the love of Prophet Muhammad SAW , and third comes your family. But the fact is, could we be that strong to put our faith in that way.

I also learnt about tawakal, how you should put your faith in Allah SWT but only after you've made a tremendous effort to succeed, just like how Prophet Moses's mother put him in a waterproof basket, not just let him flown with a piece of cloth or something.

Could I retain my faith like Asiya R.A. and be strong enough to follow Allah's decree like the mother of Prophet Moses A.S.

I endeavour to.

“...And whosoever fears God and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in God, then He will suffice him. Verily, God will accomplish his purpose. Indeed God has set a measure for all things.” (Quran 65:2-3)

It was a really good experience, I learnt a lot and I'm hoping to keep learning, bit by bit, everyday.

(Have faith in Allah SWT)

Malacca Adventure

Despite the fact that I've been in Malacca for over 2 months now, I've hardly explored my city besides going to Batavia to get my daily tempe meals and also going to class (probably because I've been too busy going back home every weekend to actually explore any tourist attractions besides the shopping malls hahahaha.

So here it goes, my Malacca adventure, part 1.

  

The famous fortress , A Famosa, (which by the way means famous, in Portuguese) . That tiny gate over there is called Porta de Santiago. For a little tid bit of History , this fortress was built after a Portuguese fleet under the command of Alfonso de Albuquerque defeated the armies of the native Sultanate. This fortress is built on a natural hill near the sea, and it's a really beautiful place. Malacca  is really pretty and it gets even prettier at night.  

 

Random flowers infront of the red building, just cause I really do love flowers.

                                                                       The windmill.

The next stop was Jonker Street where there's a nightmarket. You can find the famous coconut shake there and chicken rice ball ( non-halal, but very famous here in Malacca) . 

 

Ofcourse, the centre of tourist attraction around here where you can take rides on the trishaw. And there are lots of museums here, which I'm hoping to explore very soon! (no rush, I've got almost five years more here hahahah)

The happiness of working on myself.

"The best work you'll ever do is working on you,"- Robin Sharma. 

Things to do :-

1. Keep up with my daily ibadah and improve consistently.

2. Learn Arabic.

3. Do not procrastinate on studying. Reach full potential (remember, you have all the comfort you need. Make everything worth it)

4. Keep in touch with the important people.

5. Eat properly.

6. Drink less coffee, more water.

7. Try new things, don't be afraid to escape the comfort zone.

8. Write everyday, document everything.

9. Be sentimental, every memory is worth it.

10. Be productive with every second. Never ever regret a moment. Use all your resources.

Only words bleed.

And if you hurt me
Well, that's OK, baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won't ever let you go

When I'm away
I will remember how you kissed me
Under the lamppost
Back on 6th street
Hearing you whisper through the phone,
"Wait for me to come home."

Making myself happy vs doing the right thing

What's the difference between making myself happy and doing the right thing?

Can both correlate , so I can have the best of both worlds?

For 19 years, I've tried to fit in. To fit in with my peers' expectations of me , parents' expectations of how I should turn out and most of all, grow into the person I really am.

I spend a lot of time listening to people and their advice, trying to take it, apply it into my life and at one point I realize that you can't really use people's advice (it's not a one advice fits all) but when you pave your own way, they start judging you and how you choose to lead your life. (Even if I don't want to admit it, being judged makes me nervous).

So, at one point ,I've found (and since then, have been attempting to maintain balance between doing what I feel is right for myself and taking advice as I go (be humble, you're not that wise,Heidi).

What is the right thing? How do you actually move on from a mistake and set off to the next part of your life? I've accepted that I will always make mistakes (even if I'm afraid of mistakes) and I will embarass myself, disagree with people but trying to be somebody I'm not is way too stressful for me.

I don't particularly enjoy being a fashionista. I'm okay with my dowdy fashion.
I don't particularly enjoy a wild night out. I like having fun, going out and eating but at the end of the day, I really just want a good cup of tea and curl up with a book.
I am not interested in changing anything physically, and if anybody attempts to suggest I need cosmetic enhancement, I will shut them out.
I have problems focusing when I read sophisticated books sometimes.
I still haven't completely grasped a lot of aspects when it comes to my religion, please go easy on me, help me, cuz I'm still learning.
I am insecure about a lot of things.
I'm pretty emotional. There are things I am pretty sensitive about, but I try to be sensitive towards other people's needs too.
I have different ideas of what is good for me, and what I should do. I won't judge your choices, please allow me to make mine.

I really want to embrace myself, fully, for my flaws and good bits , ugly bits,beautiful bits. I really want to.

Ramadhan kareem, everybody. I want to embrace my imperfections while trying to improve myself, Insha Allah.