Wahid's Words

How do you define reality? Do we dictate what is real? Determine each and every component of our existence, debate, dwindle, and finally decide which parts are real and what is fantasy? Is it all real, and we just label fantasy that which we do not have the ability to cope with/comprehend? I've been having the best time at college. These past few days have been some of the most precious of my life, and I've encountered so many dynamic, energetic, curious and intelligent students, all of them equally as enthusiastic about calling this amazing University their home. Today, on the way back from a massive volunteering project, a few of us had a discussion on Literature. We talked everything from Shakespeare, to classics, to Dan Brown, all the way to The Hunger Games and Divergent. We talked about what actually makes literature one of the elements that holds society together, and the immense amount of creativity and dedication that is required to create world after world. CA...

September 24th Sitting on this flight from Washington IAD to LAX is one of the most daunting things I’ve ever done. I missed my flight by 7 minutes (thanks to people that do not understand the Airport Security regulations) and had to be booked for a later flight. I left home. That place that I called home for the past 18 years of my life has now forever sealed itself as a memory. Of course for me, home wasn’t actually a place. I’ve lived in 14 houses so far, spanning 3 countries and multiple cities. No, we are not a military family. Neither is my father employed by the foreign ministry. But for some reason or other, we’ve never really felt like settling, anywhere. After attending 9 schools and traveling to 18 countries in 18 years (and counting), I can officially employ the “nomad” label. This lifestyle actually started even before my older brother was born; our parents had already moved in the double-digits by the time my mom got pregnant for the first time. Then wh...