Plowing forward
Its 2009. Wow, did '08 run by so quick that I barely even noticed it? Considering that SO much happened this year, I guess that's not entirely true.
2008 has been a memorable year; so much to be thankful for, so much to be proud of, so much to be happy about. So, here's to 2008 - a run down of the good, the bad and the ugly. Hopefully, this will lead to more prolific blogging :)
I started out the new year in the original bean town, celebrating with my parents in the most apt way - at a movie theater, watching a ridiculous bollywood movie :) My trip to India was followed by a hectic semester, my last semester in school - mind you, at WCL. That last semester was filled with memories, and I was honored to come out of my WCL experience knowing that I have (more) honorable, and committed colleagues that care about humanity and justice. Although I've chosen an easier path to that goal, I am inspired by their efforts every day.
In April, AR ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile (successfully!) and LinaMustapha and Anne ran the 5 K; I didn't run it - but I rooted them on with a loud voice and big signs, thanks to Firozvi :) May was when things really took off. The big day was graduation, which was my highlight of the year. It was a proud moment for the family, of course - since I almost failed out of highschool, but I was so honored to have most of my closest friends there - rooting for me, celebrating with me, and just reminding me of all the things that I have to be thankful for. It was as close to being the perfect weekend as I could ever have imagined.
Of course, the perfect weekend was followed by the "perfect" summer - NOT! I spent pretty much the entire summer focused on the bar exam, which - Alhamdulilah - I passed, but not without much drama and anxiety.
Its been a good travel year. I got to travel to Boston very early in 2008 to visit a very old friend and meet her daughter, topped off with a highschool reunion of sorts - which was excellent! In February, I traveled to Philadelphia, to support the efforts of Muslim Law students trying to create a professional network and then in March, a similar effort by other Muslim professionals in New Jersey. The Cherry Blossom run was in April, and Anne came down for a visit (much awaited :)). In May, I was up in Chicago to ring in another birthday with Anne and explore Chi-town a little. My summer was spent in Pittsburgh, which is actually a great city to be in during the summer - Art festivals, great weather, Kennywood :)
Post-bar, I took off to Miami and the Florida Keys with some of my favorite girls. Had my first parasailing and snorkeling experience - which was exciting, and I got some cool pictures out of it :) I then hopped on a 14 hour flight to India, where I spent most of Ramadan - with the exception of my one week Umrah trip (more on that later). And then back to the states.
Now here's where alot of my alhamdulilahs lie, besides of course - the alhamdulilah, I graduated part :) In October, I started as a first year at BIR and was assigned to Bankruptcy, which in this market is probably the most stable position I could have hoped for. Just before I got back to the states, I got the amazing news that Anne would be getting engaged soon (it happened in October). In November, a fellow blogger-lawstudent-activist announced her upcoming nuptials, and I ended 2008 with three friends getting married within a 10 day period.
In particular, the last two weeks of 2008 have emphasized how much I have to be thankful for. I have a steady job, a great place to live, absolutely wonderful friends who make me so happy just in the things they do and the people they are, my family is - as always - wonderful, and I am healthy - alhamdulilah. There is very little more I could ask for, and when you have so much to be thankful for - its hard to ask for more happiness, but yet - we do it.
I'm not sure what the point of this post was, maybe it was to remind me of everything that I have. Maybe it was to inspire me to get back on the blog, and keep this going. Who knows ... its my blog, I'll say what I want :) Seriously though, I hope this post keeps me grounded, and reminds me that I have so much ... we all need reminders every once in a while.
Last words: shout outs to the newly weds and the to-be-weds, may you all be showered with the blessings that you so deserve.
2008 has been a memorable year; so much to be thankful for, so much to be proud of, so much to be happy about. So, here's to 2008 - a run down of the good, the bad and the ugly. Hopefully, this will lead to more prolific blogging :)
I started out the new year in the original bean town, celebrating with my parents in the most apt way - at a movie theater, watching a ridiculous bollywood movie :) My trip to India was followed by a hectic semester, my last semester in school - mind you, at WCL. That last semester was filled with memories, and I was honored to come out of my WCL experience knowing that I have (more) honorable, and committed colleagues that care about humanity and justice. Although I've chosen an easier path to that goal, I am inspired by their efforts every day.
In April, AR ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile (successfully!) and LinaMustapha and Anne ran the 5 K; I didn't run it - but I rooted them on with a loud voice and big signs, thanks to Firozvi :) May was when things really took off. The big day was graduation, which was my highlight of the year. It was a proud moment for the family, of course - since I almost failed out of highschool, but I was so honored to have most of my closest friends there - rooting for me, celebrating with me, and just reminding me of all the things that I have to be thankful for. It was as close to being the perfect weekend as I could ever have imagined.
Of course, the perfect weekend was followed by the "perfect" summer - NOT! I spent pretty much the entire summer focused on the bar exam, which - Alhamdulilah - I passed, but not without much drama and anxiety.
Its been a good travel year. I got to travel to Boston very early in 2008 to visit a very old friend and meet her daughter, topped off with a highschool reunion of sorts - which was excellent! In February, I traveled to Philadelphia, to support the efforts of Muslim Law students trying to create a professional network and then in March, a similar effort by other Muslim professionals in New Jersey. The Cherry Blossom run was in April, and Anne came down for a visit (much awaited :)). In May, I was up in Chicago to ring in another birthday with Anne and explore Chi-town a little. My summer was spent in Pittsburgh, which is actually a great city to be in during the summer - Art festivals, great weather, Kennywood :)
Post-bar, I took off to Miami and the Florida Keys with some of my favorite girls. Had my first parasailing and snorkeling experience - which was exciting, and I got some cool pictures out of it :) I then hopped on a 14 hour flight to India, where I spent most of Ramadan - with the exception of my one week Umrah trip (more on that later). And then back to the states.
Now here's where alot of my alhamdulilahs lie, besides of course - the alhamdulilah, I graduated part :) In October, I started as a first year at BIR and was assigned to Bankruptcy, which in this market is probably the most stable position I could have hoped for. Just before I got back to the states, I got the amazing news that Anne would be getting engaged soon (it happened in October). In November, a fellow blogger-lawstudent-activist announced her upcoming nuptials, and I ended 2008 with three friends getting married within a 10 day period.
In particular, the last two weeks of 2008 have emphasized how much I have to be thankful for. I have a steady job, a great place to live, absolutely wonderful friends who make me so happy just in the things they do and the people they are, my family is - as always - wonderful, and I am healthy - alhamdulilah. There is very little more I could ask for, and when you have so much to be thankful for - its hard to ask for more happiness, but yet - we do it.
I'm not sure what the point of this post was, maybe it was to remind me of everything that I have. Maybe it was to inspire me to get back on the blog, and keep this going. Who knows ... its my blog, I'll say what I want :) Seriously though, I hope this post keeps me grounded, and reminds me that I have so much ... we all need reminders every once in a while.
Last words: shout outs to the newly weds and the to-be-weds, may you all be showered with the blessings that you so deserve.
posted by zai5h at Saturday, January 03, 2009
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