She is looking for me. I am in hiding. She sends me messages to the evil satanic website called Facebook asking where I have disappeared to. At times I wonder why she doesn’t abuse my cell phone and leave 10 million messages. Am I not special enough? Or 6 am wake up calls is all she can do! However, in reality, I am just ignoring her. She replied back earlier that she hates me, but we all know she checks my blog all day waiting for me to dedicate a post just for her! Oh the love!

Kirmal 3yoonik ya habla!!
(Just for you!)

Oh by the way.. TOOZ!

Anyways, I will be back later. I am busy!

Blah Blah, They said what?, Whatever!

I will begin by saying that yesterday’s post was very interesting. I ask people every now and then a question and the answers pour in. Some were interesting I might say, but most of you had a common theme in your answers which is understandable. You perception of me is based on my writing, and I have been a bit erratic the past few months.

Anyways, I got an email yesterday from a girl named Farah. It was one of the most interesting emails I have ever received so far. The email was really nice and made me question a lot of things about my self. However, I answered her in the most pessimistic possible way and she never replied back. (Sorry Farah!) I mean what else would a person like me reply back saying? Meh. In Arabic I would say, “ta2eet wa siret be nos 3a2el.” So I will post it because it is interesting, and probably a lot of people think like her. Honestly, I used to think that way, I really did.

Farah wrote:

As salam alaykum, wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuHu

Dear Mona,

I am an Italian Muslim girl who reads your blog since a long time. You have to know that we are of the same star sign and we have lots of things in common. I am single since a long time and I ask myself “why?!!” I have values and I am a religious person; I feel good looking and bighearted. I don’t feel like there’s a enormous problem with me. So I ask myself why are men afraid of me and don’t come close to me although they like me? so when I am sad, I read this words and I understand:

“Women are like apples. The best ones are at the top of the tree. Most men don’t want to reach for the good ones because they’re afraid of falling and getting hurt. So instead, they just take the apples from the ground that aren’t as good, but easy to get… The apples at the top of the tree think there’s something wrong with them, when, in reality, they’re amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along – one who’s brave enough to climb all the way to the top.”

You might think I am presumptuous and full of myself…but I prefer to believe that I am an apple on the top of the tree rather than believe that I am wrong in this world. I write this because, I have noticed that you often ask yourself in your blog, if there’s something wrong with you, exactly as I do, too.

The answer: No, Mona. Just wait for the one who will climb until you.

This is what I replied.

Salam Farah,

Thanks for the email. I really appreciate, and I understand your point of view and I agree with it completely. However, you think, well, I am on the top of the tree now. How long will I be up there? When will the person come and take me? What if it is taking too long, wouldn’t I wither and no longer be the great beautiful apple I was before?

Think about it.. your point is right.. but nothing lasts forever, and the wait is a killer!

So what do you think? Do you agree with me or her? And what would you have answered? I am curious to hear people’s views about this subject. Especially us young adults in their late 20′s.

Advice, They said what?

Something about being an Arab really irritates me and probably will till the day I die! It’s Arab parents. Their persistence and their constant nagging is one of the reasons I started getting gray hair at the age of 24 and having my life completely messed up cause of them! Their constant nagging lead us to lying because they don’t understand and they never will. They just think that life is black and white and what they say is the ultimate and only answer. The moment you try to even express your self you get shut down quicker than an illegal drug operation!

I my self don’t think that way, and because I am always treated like this, I act the complete opposite and I don’t talk or give my opinion in anything. I think that’s another reason I resorted to having a blog, to say what’s on my mind, because I don’t talk or say anything in real life. I am just pissed because I am sick of this mentality. Moreover, this mentality hasn’t changed even in my generation. I know people who act exactly like their parents. I will never call it traditions. These are not traditions, but closed minded idiotic mentality and the fear of change and accepting people for the way they are!

Why can’t the old generation conform to change and accept the consequences? I swear at times I feel like I want to keep hitting my head on a wall so I can go unconscious for a month or two so someone will feel sorry for me and I can take a vacation from the constant demands and nagging!

I swear, if I was a singer I will only be singing songs about being pissed from the mentality of Arabs!

Oh my people!
Oh how much I want you to change,
So our generation can live in harmony!

Oh my people!
Why can’t there be a compromise?
Why can’t there be some understanding?

Oh my people!
Why do we have to conform to traditions?
Why do we have to live this double life to satisfy you?

Oh my people!
Why do I have to resort to writing to others,
So my mind will be at ease knowing someone out there listens?

Oh my people!
I want to live in peace.
Let me live in peace!

Yah.. I am pissed but I am not moody. I have always been like this and I try to be fake and cheerful at times so people won’t think I am going crazy. I think the coffee calms me down a bit, but drinking 2 full mugs of coffee before 9 am is not good! One time I didn’t drink coffee and I had the biggest headache on earth! However, believe me, I totally lost it long time ago, and this is my honest reaction to what I can’t stand! It’s enough I keep making up excuses of how much I hate my job, which I do with all my heart, but I am sick of hating! I am sick of living a life I can’t stand because of the people around me! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

Angry, Blah Blah, They said what?

You see my friends, I came up with a great internet plan a week ago. A lot of Arab bloggers or Arabs in general who visit my site are not very fond of me. Therefore, I decided to prove them wrong for whatever reason they have based on my personality or writing. I don’t care because to each his/her own choice. So what I did is that I introduced to the world last week Araby Blogs as a non-biased site to network all Arab Bloggers. A lot of people told me to not tell anyone it is me and keep it a bit of an enigma. I didn’t want to. I had to advertise the new site somehow and I have no shame or fear that I made the site. So far Google mashallah 3aleeha has indexed Araby Blogs very well and people are actually searching for Arabic Social Networks, and guess who they choose? Within a week I reached 500 visits a day. Not bad really for something that has been online for a week and not advertised much at all.

So, I wanted a way to gather people so I introduced Araby Blogs to the world. I didn’t want it to be just another RSS feed aggregate, but the site to have a meaning to Arab bloggers and those who are interested in reading Arab blogs such as mine. I decided to write the simplest, most honest, the cutest, and straight forward blog reviews. I continually add new sites to it daily. I wanted to make people happy, and people who didn’t use to like me or didn’t really talk to me or come to my site came back because I did something that meant something. I used my skills as a programmer, my talents as a graphics designer, and my popularity as an Arab blogger to put a smile on their face. What else can I ask for but to put a smile on someone’s face and make them happy? It makes me happy with all my heart.

Those bloggers may have never been recognized for their efforts. Some Arab bloggers out there have to be recognized for their writing. I know the feeling. I was interviewed and featured on many sites by Arabs and non-Arabs mostly because I wrote something that meant something. Others do too and they need to be recognized and this is my way to give back to my people and help them out. Initially, I wanted to look deeper into the site and turn it to an investment. However, to have a network to socially engage and get to know more bloggers is a lot more rewarding. I love reading blogs. I love reading a real story that is not fabricated for an audience. Also, my apologizes, I don’t actively comment on people’s sites that much, but I do read them. I read a lot!

I think for those people who love reading books and go through 1 or 2 books a week or more are amazing people. I don’t know how you can do it. But, don’t you think that bloggers write more than that sometimes and read 10 times more than that? I am a critic. I won’t deny it. I do read a lot of blogs and books at home. Reading is a skill that people need to enjoy again, however, the most forgotten skill that people don’t use much is writing.

I will be honest with everyone now. When I first started my blog, I had one thing in mind, and it obviously was not to improve my writing skills but just to send a message to the world. Now, I want to send a message to the world by articulating my ideas through well written words that I post online. I will never say I am a great writer. I am just like everyone else out there. A blogger who loves to write and send a message to the world. I want everyone who is a blogger to think about how they are writing, and why they are writing. Are you a blogger who is writing for your self only, to your friends, or to an audience? I used to question my self a lot every time I published a new post, who am I writing to and why? Took me about 2 years till I discovered that I can write for my self, question my self, write about issues that effect me as an individual, and for the rest of the world to read and relate to.

The best emails, as the one I posted earlier today are the ones that say, “I am like you! I think like you exactly!” Do you think like me, or I am just sharing an experience that you went through, but no one to discuss it with? Someone else out there has felt the same way, and that’s why blogging is so popular. It’s the way you present your stories to the world, and how you can get your audience to relate to you. That’s what I think is the hardest skill a blogger can ever have. That’s why I am reviewing many blogs on my other site to show to the world that there are so many people like me and just need a way to recognize them.

And yah.. for those who didn’t know it was me who made Araby Blogs, and are wondering why I keep using “we” in everything I write on there, is because “WE” the Arab bloggers who are making the site bloom into something positive and colourful for the world to read.

Thanks so far!

Advertising, Blah Blah, Random Thoughts, They said what?

I read this right now, and my eyes are still sleepy and I feel like I am going to collapse in the chair. I laughed so hard from the repeated usage of profanity. People don’t love me anymore. They really don’t… it is more. A lot more!

Sahar wrote this,

I’m an Arab girl and I fucking love you!

Idk how I found your site but i totally love you and the things you write about.

I was reading the post about when you talk about muslim arab families and your so fucking right! Like your on the dot.

I think its cool how you have this blog. I feel like I can relate to it.

Your awesome Mona!

I have a second cousin name Mona.
She’s in Yemen.

No one ever was so enthusiastic in loving me. I fucking love everyone too!

They said what?, Whatever!