THOUGHTS OF A SOMALI GIRL

Hi everyone! I'm back in Canada safe and sound! Alhamdulillah! I'm so happy to be home. I've never missed my home so much. Neither have I missed nor appreciated food in Canada, my bed, my stove, and yes, even my washing machine! My trip to Mogadishu with my family was definitely a humbling one. I've never appreciated the life we have as much as I do now. You only come to understand and appreciate your life when you put yourself in someone else' shoes. I was already somewhat aware of what life in Somalia was like. But actually living there was what made me have more appreciation for the life I had.  I could never live in Somalia. The family I have there would always ask me whether I would move there. Whenever I'd politely say no, they'd say the same thing: "This is your home, it's where you are from. You're whole family is here." I'd feel conflicting emotions. On the one hand, Canada is where I grew up. I consider ...

Hello everyone! I saw something today that I just wanted to quickly share with y'all.  Humans are helpless when they are babies. We completely depend on our mothers. It  was an exhausting day and I was on my way home from class. I was on the bus. A young woman came in with a stroller. She didn't look much older than I. She sat down on the seat beside me. I watched her lift the edge of the blanket covering her baby's stroller so she could look through the small corner at her baby. Inside the stroller, underneath the canopy of a blue blanket, was an adorable little baby. He looked about 2 months old. The bus ride was rough and bumpy. Every now and then, the bus would be jolted and we'd all be jarred from our tired stupor. Each time, the young mother would lower her head to peek through the small corner. Checking on him. To see if he was okay. I'd look at the child each time his mother peeked in at him. He looked comfortable and kept staring at m...