Chains of Glass- Part 1

Sometimes, several times, I think I saw evil in me.

I hadn’t grown up in a bubble; I was raised in an enormous oblong glass box. The extraordinary thing about this glass box was that I could see everything of the world without. But to that world, I was completely invisible. The box was impermeable, it was impossible for me to shine in the radiance that showered around it. The glass simply reflected its bright glares. None of the beams reached within.

But that never really bothered me, I was too busy looking outside. There was too much light inside the box already, and the glass just trapped it within. And almost always, it fluoresced.

Yet, sometimes, many times, I think I saw darkness- outside, inside, and either time- in me.

If I had had a desire, even just a slight yearning, to shatter this glass that interposed, like I wall, between me and this world outside, this glorious existence that I could only see, sometimes smell, almost taste, but never feel- it wouldn’t have been sinful.

It’s not sinful to crave what you don’t have. It’s human. For as alluring as this world was to me, I knew, and I could tell by the lust in their eyes, that this invisible sanctuary of mine was something they could die for, and they did.

In that was my sin.

When I was a child, the bad times drifted past. I later learned there were several, but my memory could hold only a few. Those it did, I accepted. It didn’t matter whether it was losing a parent or moving into a large glass box. I simply accepted, maybe a little too easily.

In our world, outside the glass boxes scattered miscellaneously, there are always bad times. Or in other words, times are always bad. As you grow, you become more sensitive to pain, to sorrow, to despair. There is so much of it to feel in this world. Too much. It’s unbearable.

Wars were raged, are raging and even now, are promised to be raged, from north to south, east to west. Then when they get bored of their enemy, the wars still rage, this time north to west, east to south. Peace is nowhere, not in any country I’ve heard of. Their wars only rattled the serenity within our sanctuary of a glass box. 

(...to be continued...)
- Bushra

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Goodbye

The Goodbye Girl by Olga Noes

They looked at each other with a sad face. They were overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions, a little happiness with a partial sadness, an excitement with nervousness. It was time to say good bye to the person she had respected all her life. He was the one who had supported her at all times, held her hand and guided her towards the path of light. And today, she had to leave this very person.

She was filled with guilt for leaving at a time when he needed her support the most. She touched his face, feeling his soft wrinkled cheeks wet with tears.

“I’ll miss you a lot, baba,” she whispered as a flashback of the entire life she had spent with her father unfolded before her eyes. Ever since she was born, her father had been her only companion at home. He would cook meals for her, take her to school, helped with her homework and not to mention, supported her financially. She was his little princess and he had always been ready to do anything for her if only it put a smile on her face.

But today was her wedding day. The day when she would become her husband’s responsibility and will leave behind the most precious person in her life. All his life he took care of her and now when he needed to be taken care of, she had to leave him and that too for his own happiness. His dream of getting his daughter married had finally come true.

The fiesty celebrations were coming to an end. The guests were about to leave. With tearful eyes and a blurry vision she could see girls wearing their abayas and old women wrapping themselves up in their huge chaadars to cover before leaving the wedding hall.

All close relatives had gathered around waiting to be hugged by the bride. But she was not ready to let go of her father. She felt a warm hand over her shoulders and knew at once who it was.

The warm hand had always been her support after her father. Today it was the day to hold it forever. With tearful eyes, she looked at him through her shoulders and heard,

“It’s time to leave,” her husband said calmly. While still holding her father’s hand, she hugged her relatives and then, finally, let go. Her husband placed his hands around her waist and walked her towards their 'chariot'. The car was decorated with hundreds of roses but right now nothing was going to cheer her up.

Before getting in she turned to cast one last glance at her old and weak father and then finally shoved herself in with a heavy heart. The only thing to do now was make a silent prayer.

“Oh Allah, I trust you to take care of my baba when I won’t be there with him anymore,” the car engine roared and a new journey begun.

-Aisha Idris

A nomad exploring her talents. Discover more of her works at www.aishaaboo.wordpress.com

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This is NOT how it is

When I was growing up, the unspoken philosophy of Egyptian society was “this is how it is.” As an Egyptian living overseas, I was constantly exposed to the sickening caste system and the chasm it created between the rich and the poor. While many Egyptians struggled to make ends meet, others drowned in luxuries like Lexus cars and ski trips to Switzerland. Whenever a naive child, not yet touched by life’s cruelty, asked, “Why?”, the response came as mechanically as if it were programmed: “Because this is how it is.”

Finally, a miracle happened. Yes, you guessed right- the 25th January revolution. The Egyptian citizens, who had till now boasted of a remarkable, record-breaking history of being ignorant and enduring whatever may be the circumstances they were subjected to, erupted in a wild yet civilized rage.

To me, an upper-class thirteen-year-old on vacation in Egypt, the revolution seemed irrelevant, and I tried to steer clear of any discussions or debates about it. I suppose it was not because of carelessness but rather to avoid seeming like I knew nothing about why the demonstrations were happening. Eventually, though, I made a decision that changed my life forever—I decided to go to Tahrir Square, the heart of the Egyptian revolution, not to support demonstrations but to understand what was going on. Although it met with great opposition from everyone I knew, I doggedly pursued the plan, and the story unraveled before my eyes in a way I could never have imagined possible.

Slowly, I started to develop a sense of gratitude towards things that I earlier saw as ‘Basic’ or ‘Normal’. The real concept behind all the community work I did unfolded and a sense of loyalty suddenly sprang up within me. It was like I finally saw the light.

Indeed, my intuitive decision did not fail me even for a second. The blurry, vague image in my mind cleared as I understood who I am, which I believe is the first step towards understanding who I want to be in this world. It was an experience like no other. The one place where you can say whatever you want without being subjected to the prejudice that had till now defined my society.

I found myself standing next to a black woman with a ragged ‘abbaya’ (common Muslim, female dress in Middle East), a young adult dressed up in designer clothes, a barefoot teen who just couldn’t afford shoes, and an old lady wearing the Christian Cross around her neck. A feeling of immense peace and security swept over me as I realized that in this place, when I fall someone or the other will bend down and help me up. Here, you could look past the differences straight into the similarities… One Heart, Two Lungs…We’re all fighting for the same cause. Not a particular political or religious affiliation but simply requesting the basis of humanity. ‘Democracy, Liberty and Social Equality’.

We were not asking for a lot. Nobody was demanding to be moved from rags to riches. We just want to feel that we have an identity, that we’re not puppets in a tyrant’s deceptive political ploy. After this experience, I realized that what was foreign to us was not always bad. In this case, it was a blessing in disguise!

I’m pretty sure many things have changed for the better, and even more haven’t, but at least now, when a little kid asks about the reason behind the mess we’re in, the response won’t be, ‘This is how it is’.

- Adam Ashraf 
New York idolizing, art loving, wannabe author.

The Arab Spring may have become old news for many, but HASH doesn't want to be disadvantaged by an insignificant time-delay. Some of the world's best, most beautiful and timeless literature, stories, art and creativity was born in times of war and uncertainty...then why should today be any different? This piece reminded us of the power of something as seemingly simplistic as the written word in conveying a story, delivering a message, evoking the deepest depths of human consciousness and emotion at a time that shall go down in history as one of the most defining of our era.

So, what's your Spring story? Your experience of war and awakening, conflict, confusion, chaos and rediscovery? Get in touch. Let's share it with the rest of the world.

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Tick-tock

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once” –Albert Einstein 

Frozen Time by Qiang Huang

Time has endless definitions and meanings, but it has only one use, to measure. Time is seconds, hours, breaths, heartbeats, moon’s phases; you can use any unit for it, but its sole purpose is to organize our lives, to schedule them, and we are forever bound together in an hourglass from where we can’t escape but keep on drowning in the sand until we can’t breathe anymore. Time doesn’t make the world go round, but it helps keep chaos off the world’s face. If it weren’t for time, our history would be a jumble and our present lives even more so. So though time may be freedom diminishing, it is immensely essential.

I’d like to go back in time. Not by a couple of days or years, but centuries, millennia. If time was in my grasp I would travel to and fro from the glittering ball gowns of the Victorian era to the scorching hot deserts of Arabia, and witness every occurrence I ever pondered about and meet every person in whose curious life I was interested in. The person I’d like to meet first and foremost would be, without a doubt, Albert Einstein. A man of peculiar abilities and unusual methods who defied the definition of a scientist, because though a scientist is a person who experiments, he never did an experiment his whole life, but rather proved his theories based on a rather complicating series of calculations. He untapped the potential of the human brain like no average human had ever done before, and his normal yet powerful logic brought great discoveries and the equation E = mc2 (the theory of relativity) which is a beauty in itself. Along with him, I’d like to meet Sir Isaac Newton too. Both these scientists are my chief inspirations. Though I am no resident genius of physics, it is a marvel to find out the natural mechanisms behind the simplest actions. What will be better, than to be an apprentice to these legends, to be a part of their life-changing discoveries?

There is no one event or occurrence that holds the place of the top shelf for me. In fact, there are many incidents that I’d like to encounter, some great, some minor, but important just the same. Many points in history whose mere existence I doubt, and taking the advantage of today’s technology, I’d like to record those miraculous occasions in a camera. If we could change the past, then we could stop the numerous wars which resulted in outrageous amounts of deaths. But how many wars? How many disputes? How many invasions? We’d like to omit the fact that our history has been written with blood, innocent and guilty, but it has. The world map, ever-changing, was implemented through treachery, murder and other appalling sins committed to gain control and power, but no one ever did, though Hitler, Attila the Hun and Alexander the Great are the closest names to this title, and their ways? No cleaner than a chimney sweeper’s brush.

If we did change the past, would our present be any calmer? But many would despute and say that fate and destiny would prevent things from happening any other way than they already did. So, what would be the notion of time machines if they’d bring good to no one? So many secrets to unveil, so many mysteries to solve, I could spend a lifetime voyaging the past and never live the` life entitled to me.

Though sixteen years is nothing to boast about, I’ve learned and matured every step of it. If I had to go back... well I wouldn’t. I don’t want to alter anything about my past, because that would change the person I am today, and every experience I’ve had, whether good or bad, whether accompanied by laughter or tears, was a solid foundation of my personality. If I would, I’d go and relive my childhood, the days of carelessness and carefree attitudes, when we were so intent on growing up we never realized how much we would miss those days, where endless accidents would happen and be shrugged off, and dancing princesses and a cat chasing a mouse were enough for our entertainment. Life with no obligations, no boundaries, no responsibilities. Hakuna Matata.

-Asma Sohail-
Aspiring Neurologist. Book Freak, Cat Lover.
(Also potentially unhinged for wanting to do nothing more with a time machine than meet Albert Einstein. Like really, Asma?
PS- Love from HASH)

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Six reasons to drop out of high school

Have you ever wondered just how important school is? According to everything we are taught as children there's no way you can be successful in life without school. Although I do believe you need school for certain things like learning how to interact with people and reading and writing and so on, is it absolutely necessary to go to school for years in order to succeed? Not if you ask me, and the list below of famous millionaire high school drop outs didn't seem to need that much schooling either to become famous and successful. Check it out, you might be surprised to see who all you'll find here...

-1- Quentin Tarantino

Writer and film director Quentin Tarantino, best known for his movies Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2, Reservoir Dogs, From Dusk Till Dawn to name a few, was born March 27, 1963 and dropped out of High School in grade 9. Went on to become one of the most successful moviemakers/writers in Hollywood today.

-2- Dave Thomas

Best known for “Wendy's”, his chain of fast food restaurants, Dave was born July 2, 1932 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Got his first job by the age of 12 and moved out and dropped out of school at the young age of 15 years old. Invested in KFC restaurant chain after meeting Col. Sanders in 1956 and became a millionaire by the age of 35. By 1969, Dave had opened his first “Wendy's” and the rest is history. Dave did end up graduating almost 45 years later in 1993 by passed away less than a decade later in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, due to liver cancer in.

-3- Nicholas Cage

Born Jan 7, 1964, movie actor Nicholas Cage, best known for his movies Face Off, Gone in 60 Seconds, Rumble Fish and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, dropped out of Beverly High at the age of 17. Went on to claim rank #37 in Premiere's 100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood in 1998. Between the years of 1983 to 2004 Nicholas Cage had made $76,285,000 off only 12 of his films.

-4- Christina Aguilera

Born Dec 1980 on Staten Island Christina was destined for fame. Early in high school Christina's mother pulled her out of school to home school her because other kids where jealous of her new found fame. Christina has now moved on through life making a ton of number one songs on the charts and selling over 25 million records worldwide.

-5- Jim Carrey

Born on Jan 17, 1962 in Newmarket, Ontario Canada dropped out of high school at the age of only 16 years old. Jim eventually moved on to do many movies and is best known for his work on Ace Venture, Bruce Almighty, Number 23, Man on the Moon and many more. This Canadian dropout has won 2 Golden Globes, owns his own 25 million dollar plane and has made over $100,000,000 between the years of 1994 to 2003 off only 11 of his movies.

-6- John Travolta

Long time movie star and Oscar nominated John Travolta was born Feb 18, 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey. Travolta dropped out of school at the young age of 16 and went on to build a highly enviable career in showbiz. Travolta is best known for his movies like Look Who's Talking, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Wild Hogs, Face Off and many more. From the years 1994 to 2007 John Travolta had cleared over $100,000,000 from only 15 of films he's starred in.

Simply put, school isn’t for everyone. Although there tends to be a stigma attached to being a high-school or college dropout, a number of well-known and highly successful men began their careers by taking a calculated risk and dropping out of school.

I guess in some degree you need some type of education to be somewhat successful but all of these celebrities have proven if you have the drive and a dream to go somewhere in life you can get there no matter how much schooling you might have. In my personal opinion if you can read and write then there is no reason why you can't be successful in whatever you might pick to do with your life just follow your dream like these celebrities did!

Time and experience is a great teacher in itself.

These intriguing insights were penned by Momina Chaudry, a recent college grad with a strong passion for writing. Abruptly thrust into the world of fashion with a new job as Marketing Executive for aura-b, Momina firmly believes she has a lot to learn and enjoys being guided and nurtured by the think tanks. Her strengths include but are not limited to: hard work and being a self-motivated team player.

PS- This article is by no means an endorsement for dropping out of school. All we think Momina is trying to say is...

After all, Oprah Winfrey said it at Harvard's commencement in 2007.

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moments

-Em on Emy Island, Bill Sharp: www.billsharp.wordpress.com/paintings-of-ireland-circa-late-1990s/

      moment (ˈməʊmənt) — n
           1. a short indefinite period of time;
             2. a specific instant or point in time;
             3. physics- a tendency to produce motion, esp. rotation about a point or axis
...

I have these moments.

One second, everything feels strangely…alright. As if you’ve finally put together one part of a gigantic jigsaw puzzle and can safely sit back, rest for a while, bask in its glory, then move on.

But then there’s a tremor. A quake that shakes your entire universe off the very foundation you thought you’d finished laying that one second ago.

It’s always a why. The beginning of the never-arriving end. A constant cycle of melancholy and confusion, of doubt that drowns you like the hysterical tides of an ocean ripped at the seams.

Why?
Because motives we all have many, but time only allows us the pursuit of a few.

Why? Why am I in it?

Is it for the stakes? For the money, for the applause, for the split second of instant gratification?

For the curtain call, the peak of prestige, the delusional expectations?

The seemingly never-ending love, the unspoken joy or just a relentless desire to belong?

Or is it the stability, the safety of a routine…the sake of distraction coupled with a stigma of sitting still?

The fear of the unknown, or conscious oblivion of the known?

Do you do it to prove yourself? Or to have other prove themselves unto you?

To convince yourself you're living a dream or shun the reality that it is nothing but a mirage?

Is it really to assure yourself you’re safe against life's unexpected horrors?

Or to seek control of something that is forever going to be out of your reach?

You question, you seek and you spin around in circles, letting that momentary gush of euphoria fool you when you are doing nothing but driving yourself insane.

Until...

ENOUGH.

Step out of the spotlight. Blind yourself no further.
Stop asking questions you know you do not want the answer to, not yet.

Because questions are not only meant to be asked,
They are meant to be answered.

-Bushra

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A Tortuous Path

Life is harsh and it is tough

The surface isn’t smooth, it’s very rough

Why do I feel so much pain?

Am I in a desert where it does not rain?

People on this planet are as clever as fox

Everyone I know is rigid of their orthodox

They are mean and they believe in selfishness

I am afraid of their evil plans and fiendishness

Their tongue seems to be like a dagger

In their eyes everyone is like a begger

Their behavior is a cause of stress

Others they just want to suppress

It is sturdy but you have to survive

With strength will you have to strive?

- Faruk Ahmad, 14, Pakistan

Amazon Under The Boom, courtesy of www.gogallery.ru

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