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Category: The World

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Hurricane Ida: How to deal with a Storm

by Zehra Farooq on September 15, 2021
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August 29, 2021, the entire state of Louisiana seemed to be experiencing some form of PTSD…

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I got the Pfizer COVID Vaccine: Here’s why

by Zehra Farooq on March 28, 2021
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I got the Pfizer COVID vaccine and I thought I should share why I made the…

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WOMEN (an-Nisa’) – Translation of Selected Verses

by Zehra Farooq on February 12, 2021
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This series of posts will include a translation of select verses from the Surahs in the…

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FAMILY OF IMRAN (Al’ Imran) – Translation of Selected Verses

by Zehra Farooq on February 12, 2021
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This series of posts will include a translation of select verses from the Surahs in the…

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THE HEIFER (al-Baqarah) – Translation of Selected Verses

by Zehra Farooq on December 22, 2020
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This series of posts will include a translation of select verses from the Surahs in the…

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Coronavirus Quarantine – 10 Ways to Deal with it as a Graduate Student

by Zehra Farooq on March 17, 2020
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“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made…

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10 Ways to get out of a Slump

by Zehra Farooq on February 1, 2020
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  The mind is its own place and in itself,  Can make a heaven of hell,…

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Contemplation Quest Life in a Blog
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Contemplation and the Quest for Knowledge

by Zehra Farooq on December 19, 2018
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“Rumi tasawuf ka badshah tha!”, one of my professors remarked during a particularly insightful lecture on…

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Tax Machinery in Hot Spot – A Rebuttal

by Zehra Farooq on August 27, 2018
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An article was published in the “Business and Finance Weekly” section of DAWN newspaper on 27th…

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Philanthroconomy: Making a Difference in Pakistan

by Zehra Farooq on January 20, 2016
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Volunteerism and philanthropy, if looked at in combination, would signify the purest form of human desire…

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This is from my trip to New York. I am standing ne This is from my trip to New York. I am standing next to The Vessel. But I shared it to share the following: • “Why aren't you in school? I see you every day wandering around." "Oh, they don't miss me," she said. "I'm antisocial, they say. I don't mix. It's so strange. I'm very social indeed. It all depends on what you mean by social, doesn't it? Social to me means talking to you about things like this." She rattled some chestnuts that had fallen off the tree in the front yard. "Or talking about how strange the world is. Being with people is nice. But I don't think it's social to get a bunch of people together and then not let them talk, do you? An hour of TV class, an hour of basketball or baseball or running, another hour of transcription history or painting pictures, and more sports, but do you know, we never ask questions, or at least most don't; they just run the answers at you, bing, bing, bing, and us sitting there for four more hours of film-teacher. That's not social to me at all. It's a lot of funnels and lot of water poured down the spout and out the bottom, and them telling us it's wine when it's not. They run us so ragged by the end of the day we can't do anything but go to bed or head for a Fun Park to bully people around, break windowpanes in the Window Smasher place or wreck cars in the Car Wrecker place with the big steel ball. Or go out in the cars and race on the streets, trying to see how close you can get to lampposts, playing 'chicken' and 'knock hubcaps.' I guess I'm everything they say I am, all right. I haven't any friends. That's supposed to prove I'm abnormal. But everyone I know is either shouting or dancing around like wild or beating up one another. Do you notice how people hurt each other nowadays?” • Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 • #society #norms #grad #phd #phdlife #phdstudent #phdjourney #phdcandidate #lonely #wanderlust #wanderer #wander #travel #newyork #thevessel #thevesselnyc #newyork #newyorkcity #quotes #quotestoliveby
‘Kun Faya Kun’ is a term mentioned in the seco ‘Kun Faya Kun’ is a term mentioned in the second last verse, in Surah Yasin of The Holy Quran. It translates to ‘Be, and it is’. It is a directorial of our Lord, whatever he wishes, undoubtedly becomes so. • ‘Kun Faya Kun’ is poetry. It discusses the importance of the existence of God. It opens a spiritual window to communicate with Him, with maximum transparency of your heart. • Indeed, when the sky seemed to break upon you, He made you hold still. He made you strive, to overcome what was holding you, then. Did you ever wonder, why are you here, where you’re right now at this very moment. What would’ve happened if you would have chosen an alternative way back then, at some rugged point in your life? You’re here because He wills. •• K’un Faya Kun. Be and it is. •• Decades from now, you will listen to it, and still be struck with the same wonder, as you are, now, while listening to it through television, youtube, or any communication media. ‘Kun Faya Kun’ is a lullaby for children. • ‘Kun Faya Kun’ is nothing but a dagger to pierce the clichés of religion. It’s wrong to say, this song is an association felt by Muslims only. This song is for every religion there is, who’ll let it through them. Perhaps, that’s why the bizarre, tickling emotions you feel, after the song ends, are so important. It informs you about it’s distinction. And then it lives with you, forever. • The only way you can anatomize and elaborate ‘Kun Faya Kun’ properly is by the sensation of an ointment nourishing a bruised spot. The tip of an iceberg. • ‘Kun Faya Kun’ is a process. A mystical awakening. Nothing more. Nothing less. K’un Faya Kun. Be and it is. 36:82 —— Song: Kun Faya Kun Film : Rockstar (2011) —— **This text is a direct re-share of part of a soulful comment by Mahadi Hassan on YouTube. • • #kunfayakun #music #soul #soulful #rockstar #philosophy #faith #positivevibes #sabr #patience #perseverance #peace #arrehman
We have all heard that once we make our bed in the We have all heard that once we make our bed in the morning, we set the tone for a productive day because we take pride in starting the day by completing a mundane but necessary task. • Today I will let you in on a secret. It is one thing starting your day by making your bed. Sure it sets the mood! But nothing does the magic quite like waking up to a clean kitchen - that is what will really put that spring in your step right off the bat, even before you think about making your bed. Its a mental thing - a process that will automatically trigger a “i can do anything” sentiment within you. • So whenever I feel like I am losing control over all the tasks I need to do and life seems overwhelming - my trick to gaining back some of that control is to start the night before. It would be overkill to try and achieve this every single day so start small. Maybe just the night before a Monday. Or the night before a really busy day. Try it!!! Trust me - this ALWAYS works. • Best part: It works even when your bed is unmade. • And btw, its been said that every once in a while, we should leave our beds unmade so that the sheets can breathe. • Tomorrow I will brew some fresh coffee on that clean stove in my clean kitchen, even before day breaks, and the me from tomorrow will thank the me from yesterday. • #selfcare #success #cleankitchen #cleankitchenatnight #wordsofwisdom #organization #cleaning #cleaninghacks #cleaningmotivation #morningmotivation #morningcoffee #vibe #single #gradlife #successmindset #fulbright #phdlife #phdstudent #phdjourney
I clicked this photo of a woman on a bench in Cent I clicked this photo of a woman on a bench in Central Park, New York city when the fresh leaves of a fall wonderland could be spotted from a mile away. She wasn’t alone but I am grateful for the opportunity to capture her by herself because this image allows me to share the following: • Don't raise your girls to be porcelain roses protected behind a cabinet's glass sliding doors. Raise your girls to be wild roses growing on mountaintops, exposed to the sunlight and to bees. I give you this guarantee: that life requires the latter and the prior is a myth. • C. JoyBell C. • #centralpark #nyc #newyorkcity #centralparknyc #feminism #girlpower #woman #womanstrong #womensupportingwomen #womenempoweringwomen #feminist #femaleempowerment
Throwback to being in Sedona, Arizona with my amaz Throwback to being in Sedona, Arizona with my amazing @eisenhowerfellowships MESA group that became family. • General Colin Powell was the outgoing Chairman of the Board at Eisenhower Fellowships when we had program and I did have the privilege of meeting him along with other fellows of our group. The meeting provided an opportunity to ask one to one questions, and I think its safe to say that it was an extremely insightful conversation considering that our group consisted of people from all across the Middle East and South Asia. • The fact that General Colin Powell has moved on today, saddens me because with him we lost a generation of insight, a bank of knowledge, and volumes if history. • Rest in peace #eisenhower #eisenhowerfellowships #colinpowell #generalcolinpowell #sedona #arizona #sedonaarizona #fellowship #travel #travelphotography #travelblogger #travelgram #eisenhowerfellow
“I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes m “I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift.” • • Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life • On the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC at sunrise, wearing this interesting take on a man’s Chapkan from @generation_pk ‘s 2017 collection called “bring basant back” which has truly stood the test of time. I really wish @generation_pk would do more interesting creative collections such as these. • #generationspk #brooklyn #brooklynbridge #nyc #nycphotographer #nycphotoshoot #fall #fallbreak #sunrise #travel #travelphotography #travelblogger
I am sure you have all heard about Hurricane Ida a I am sure you have all heard about Hurricane Ida at this point. I have shared my account of what happened over on my blog. • The post is not a blog about my personal emotional experience or how I felt or how I prepared for the storm. The post is about how developed countries tackle natural disasters. The blog intends to elaborate how public/private organizations and infrastructure come together like clockwork in times of a crisis. The post is meant to inspire policy in developing countries like Pakistan. • The link to the blog is in my Insta bio. Care to read and share? • • #hurricaneida #lifeinablog #hurricane #hurricaneida2021 #hurricaneseason2021 #hurricanes #storm #storms #grad #gradschool #gradlifegrind #phd #phdstudent #phdlife #phdjourney #economics #econmajor #fulbright #usefp
This is Pakistan 🇵🇰 • You might have hear This is Pakistan 🇵🇰 • You might have heard and seen glimpses of my country, Pakistan, in the news or within articles on developing economies, also often within shows and movies showing hackers, or in spy shows like Homeland. You might have also seen images of various parts of the country and/or her culture and landscape. That’s one side of the picture though. And within this video you will see the other side. • Since I have been living in the USA, I have been blessed with a number of friends from around the globe and they often ask me what Pakistan is like. They ask me whether its true that it has security problems for the common man and is underdeveloped and poor; that its mostly agricultural land with little to no infrastructure; that militancy is rampant. • While my country has its own set of diverse problems, just like any other country on the planet, it also has another beautiful side with gushing waterfalls and flowing rivers, luxurious infrastructure within metropolitan cities, river walks, and a whole lot of nature; it is scenic with an incredibly hospitable population, boasting a cuisine filled with array of mouthwatering dishes harboring a kaleidoscope of flavors. • This is Pakistan 🇵🇰 • These pictures are not mine. Nor are the videos. I want to tag all of the people I can who own this content, most of which I took from the incredibly delightful insta profile of: @travelbeautifulpakistan • Content pictures/videos belong to: @precarious_panda @usman_zubair @ali_awaiss @usman_zfr @itsfaique @tarik.khattak @salman_b37 @fahadhanifff @pirusaein @muneebnaeemm @ghayyurj @khwajasaeed • *other photos are from google. • #pakistan #touchitchallenge #tourism #nature #naturephotography #pakistani #fulbright #fulbrighter #usefp #inspiration #lifestyle #lifestyleblogger
D•U•S•K • • • The pale stars were sli D•U•S•K • • • The pale stars were sliding into their places. The whispering of the leaves was almost hushed. All about them it was still and shadowy and sweet. It was that wonderful moment when, for lack of a visible horizon, the not yet darkened world seems infinitely greater—a moment when anything can happen, anything be believed in. • • Olivia Howard Dunbar, The Shell of Sense • #evenings #dusktilldawn #dusk #sunset #sunsetphotography #meditation
We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We gro We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations. Anais Nin #instadaily #inspiration #inspirationalquotes #workmotivation #motivation #positivevibes #postivethinking #tuesdays

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