Religious offence

There is a lot of discussion about whether or not eating in public in the month of Ramadan is appropriate. There are polls, there are angry conservative and liberal people, the works. This heated of an argument over matters like this could only occur in Malaysia lah. My opinion on this is the same as my opinion on anything when it comes to religion and belief ; to each its own.

So the whole fiasco started in relation to women on their periods and whether they should be allowed to eat in public. Islam very clearly forbids women on their periods to fast during Ramadan, so to me, why is it such a big deal if someone who already can't fast chooses to eat in public? Some people will question, why do you want to show off your period? 'Period tu aib, kena senyap senyap.' I don't think Islam ever said that menstruation was something to be ashamed of, something we should hide and keep quiet to ourselves. All the shame around menstruation stems from cultural belief, not religious ones, and Ramadan is first and foremost a religious experience (or at least it should be...) To be honest, eating in public sometimes is just a matter of convenience, its not that we want to show off that we're on our periods. Where would you expect women to eat anyway? In their cramped hot cars? In public toilet stalls? Make the commute home, even if we're on strict lunch break hours? Or is it because our society still places a heavy expectation on women to cook, so we should be able to cook our own food and not have to go out to buy it. Would this same stereotype be put on men if they had their religiously condoned off days too? The other thing is we have to try and understand why women can't fast on their periods anyway. I read once that it so because Allah understands what women go through whilst on their periods, and so we get breaks. Menstruation isn't fun, you are literally bleeding non-stop, you get cramps and aches, you smell funny, your hormones are at an all time high, you lose a lot of water because you're bleeding, the list doesn't stop. I mean, Allah gave us a break, why can't society? 

Then the bigger question came about, should anyone born a Muslim eat in public during Ramadan? I feel its important to stress the born a Muslim part, because some people born into Islam don't believe in Islam to begin with, and its sad that Malaysia doesn't recognise that. For these people, Ramadan becomes a meaningless forced upon hunger. I know that in this country my opinion is unpopular, but shouldn't your beliefs and religious pursuits be personal. If for whatever reason people do not decide to fast, then its on them. Personally I am a practising Muslim, but I don't understand why I have to expect everyone else to be, especially since there is no compulsion in religion. If you are a fellow believer then don't you believe that the only judgement that does matter is Allah's? This logic is tantamount to saying, its okay if you don't believe, just pretend to believe in front of me so I can assume that I have done my role as a khalifah. Some people get offended because I guess to them its tempting to see another human being eat, but to me that goes back to you actively making the choice to observe the fast. You cannot expect the world to make the choice for you. Islam teaches patience and sincerity, and if you are going to be mad at someone for eating when you can't you are neither patient nor sincere. 

The one argument I find makes sense is that you are not respecting the holy month. It is after all a compulsory fast, choosing not to fast is sort of like saying 'fuck the police'. But even then, I don't know why we have to police matters of the heart. What you choose to respect is up to you, we do not need laws to police adab. If it is such a problem then we, as Muslims, have to find out why people aren't willingly fasting to begin with. Is there something we can do to educate them? Is our syllabus on religion that is taught in schools flawed? Is Ramadan turning into a cultural festivity, are we watering down the meaning of it and what can we do to combat that? How far one immerses themselves into religion, any religion, is personal. Sure, as Muslims we should do our best to be guides, but being publicly angry and loud would only steer people away from Islam. We are representatives of our religion, if we are seen to be narrow-minded, harsh and intolerant, then that is what our religion is viewed as too. As Khalifahs, your duty is to do your best at educating and making people understand, not to force people to comply. Even the prophets couldn't force people.

The over arching thought that I cannot ignore is that offence in this country has a narrow, racist definition. It is a sentiment only Malay Muslims can express, and only if our cultures/festivities are not respected is it ever a problem. Other cultures, other religions, other races, they don't have the space to even be offended, because they are less significant in the eyes of the typical malay muslim. We eat beef in front of Hindus, we make fun of the angry ghost festival and chap goh meh, but their offence is not registered as being significant. The other day, One Dance by Drake came out on the radio, and they censored the word Hennessy, which is a brand that sells alcohol, and legit the ONLY demographic that could be offended are Muslims. And even then, why is it offensive? Will hearing the brand name make you murtad, why is your iman so fragile? I am forever baffled at why we demand respect in the way that we do. We shouldn't, no other demographic demands respect. We should not assume ourselves as more than, just because we were born into the lives that we were born into. The truth is, respect that is demanded will never be true respect. Respect is organic, and that is something Malays need to learn.

I apologise if this post ruffles a few feathers. If you have opposing thoughts, or want to discuss anything, feel free to email/text or even comment below. I welcome discourse of all sorts, and I understand there is bound to be people who disagree. But I do hope you give the idea of tolerance a thought. Have we achieved it? Shouldn't we try? 

Love,

Mira

The old vote

Yesterday, the UK voted to exit the European Union with a 52% majority win. A few friends and I we're keeping tabs on the whole situation, since we're all either headed or already studying in the UK. After being broken down, the demographics showed a few things, one of which was that most of the people who voted leave were from the older generation, and the younger generation voted mostly to stay. 

This fact riled up a few people, and all around social media, people were stating that the old should not vote simply because they have less time to deal with the outcomes. I mean, okay, this makes sense, on average an older person will die sooner so why should they be allowed to vote and make a big impact on something they might not even be alive to witness duhh. But on this opinion, I'd have to disagree. The old should be allowed to vote, and their votes should hold as equal a weightage as anyone else.

Democracy at its core is what it is due to one thing, the opportunity for every person to have a say. It is the one system that truly gives minority groups a chance at equal significance by means of an equal vote.  The moment people choose to disregard a section of society as 'less equal' or 'less deserving of a say', democracy starts to crumble. If we allow a louder group of society to shun another then ultimately, that just leads to an unequal community on the slippery slopes of becoming an aristocratic society. But more than that, the older generation need to be able to vote because even if the duration may be less, the consequence of a vote will ultimately affect them, and at a time in life when they have little ability to do much about it. Think about it, political change will directly affect pension plans, healthcare benefits, accessibility to public facilities, empathy to those who are weak, the list goes on. The argument that the young have to deal with it longer can easily be refuted with the fact that at least you can do something about it, while the old have little energy, ability and avenue to do anything much less lead a reformation. 

We also cannot assume that our grievances matter more than anybody else's. People vote primarily for a change that would help them, and we cannot discount issues that arise from people of a separate ideology from us as less. The old vote voted in the way that they did due to legitimate concerns, job prospects, uncontrolled immigration, etc. Personally, I don't know if exiting the EU is the best answer to such problems, but hey, if they saw it as a problem, we cannot dismiss it as being nothing. Emotionally too, we cannot assume that old people feel less about changes than the youth will. These people are after all citizens who have spent longer contributing to the nation. Just because they don't have twitter to voice it out on, it does not mean they feel any less angry/sad/dissapointed when things don't go their way.

The fairness in democracy means that things may not always go as expected or as wanted, but it is the responsibility of every person to make the best out of every decision. For those who are planning on going to the UK to study, or are already there,  click here to read an article that sums up nicely what Brexit means to you. From the view of someone who had hoped the UK would stay, I think it doesn't sound too bad, maybe just less trips around Europe. 

What we can learn from the Brexit issue is that your right and power in a democracy is your vote, and if you do not use it, you will have to bear the weight of knowing that you may have just let the nation take the course you did not want it to. In an extremely small split decision (52% leave, 48% stay), the voter turnout was 72%, with reportedly only 40% of youths aged 18-24 who actually voted. So no matter how many tweets you tweet, make sure you get yourself to the ballot box, cause thats where it all matters. Use your vote guys, it will matter!

Hope you readers don't mind a rather serious post today. And for my readers from the UK, I hope you find a way to come to terms with the referendum. 

Happy Saturday to all.

Love,

Mira

Skin talk

Ever since I could remember, I've had problems with my skin. Its not a feature I'm particularly proud of, but as of late, I've found that my skin has gotten a lot better. Not being ashamed of my skin is something I've never experienced, so excuse me as I indulge myself in a few barefaced close-up shots.  I'm not #flawless and to be quite honest, I don't think absolute flaw free skin is something that realistically obtainable or normal (if only 14 year old Mira was mature enough to realise this). I'll go through the specific problems I had in regards to skincare, and what I've found works well for me.

1. Oily skin

I grew up with visibly oily skin, and believed that my T-zone would never see a day without oil. I think having oily skin is a common problem in this climate, and one that leads to a plethora of other things (clogged up pores, acne, more prone to breakouts, etc). It turns out that, for me at least, the answer to this problem was simple and basic : moisturise! It seems a bit counter intuitive, 'My skin is already oily so why do I have to moisturise and put more oil on it?!?!' so I stayed clear of moisturising for a good part of my teen years and instead looked to more astringent products to help dry up my oil, or something like that. Right after high school, I gave moisturising a go, and I'm happy to say that excess oil is just not a problem for me anymore! Of course it didn't happen instantaneously, I've found that you need to find a moisturising routine that suits you. For morning use, you want to find a moisturiser that quickly absorbs into your skin, doesn't make your face look oily after a while, doesn't clog your pores and leaves your face feeling supple right after application. At night, I like to use oils. I was super reluctant at first, even after I started moisturising during the day due to my oily skin problem, but its made such a huge difference! A lot of my friends also notice a similar positive result after incorporating oils into their skin care routine, so I'd definitely recommend you to find a oil thats good for you if you haven't already. 

My best and current moisturising combo is Olay's Regenerist moisturiser with SPF in the morning, and Body Shops beautifying olive oil at night. My family has been using Olay for years, and when I gave the brand a go it worked wonders for me as well, so my tip is, maybe ask your mom what works for her. I'm guessing that somewhere in the science, you inherit positive predisposition to certain beauty products (?) and the regenerist line is the best line they have, in my opinion.

2. Breakouts

Acne for me always came in the form of small bumps. I've never had huge zits, but I've always had small little, sometimes red, bumps on my face. Currently, I have close to none of these little bumps. I feel like problems with acne and breakouts always go back to your cleansing and a good cleansing routine starts with a good facial cleanser. As a teen, I elevated to brands like Oxy, Nuteen and tea tree containing products. It took me ages to realise that those sort of products just don't work for me, and left my skin even more irritated, and hence, more breakouts. I feel like young girls do tend to go for those sort of products immediately after they break out, and I don't know why we do it, maybe its the marketing. So note that if something doesn't work for you, no matter how good your friends claim it is, or how good the ads look, stop it! You probably just need something different. I didnt stop it and spent years believing that my skin is just bad and always will be. No hate though on products of this type, it works extremely well for my sister, so I'm not claiming that its bad for everybody. Just be sure that its not bad for you. I've also tried cleansing brushes, the Clarisonic Mia 2 to be exact, and though cleansing tools seem to be good on a lot of people, it didn't really do anything much for me. Just be sure to wash your hands before you wash your face! So again, just get a good cleanser, everything else is just a plus point. 

THE BEST cleanser in the history of the world in my opinion is Herbalism from Lush. It is a green doughy textured face cleanser which does the trick for me, and more! Every time I start using it again, I'll get compliments on my complexion. I'm not too sure what the active ingredient is, but its all natural (even has an expiry date!) and seems to draw out my impurities. Even my nose is kind of black head free. If your looking for something good, try this. 

3. Acne scars

Scarring is a problem that I'd say takes the longest time to solve. It stays around even when everything else clears up! I still have some acne scarring but for the most part, its all gone and people who have seen my acne scars know that there is suchhhhh a big improvement. I've found that getting rid of scars needs a combination of things, but basically, you need to exfoliate and use oils to help with the scarring.

When it comes to exfoliating, you want to think gentle. If you are using a cleansing brush, don't use anything that has a rough texture with it, it'll be too harsh and you'll break your skin. Find an effective, gentle exfoliant and exfoliate twice a week. Also, you don't want to rub your skin too hard when exfoliating, just soft gentle circular motions, and the rougher the texture of your exfoliant the gentler you want to be in your rubbing. Herbalism is not a liquid, its more of a dough that you have to work into a paste, and even then it has a slightly bumpy texture. Since I use Herbalism twice a day, I find that it suffices as an exfoliant for me, so if your cleanser has microbeads or a rough-ish texture, pay attention to whether your scars are clearing up. If it does, maybe you don't need a separate exfoliant. A good exfoliant that I use whenever Im not on Herbalism is Simple's Spotless Skin Triple Action Face Wash with Zinc and Chamomile. 

As for oils, if you moisturise with oils at night, it should help with the scars. I sing praises for Bio-oil. Like everything, effective skincare comes down to consistently doing something so if you don't see improvement after a night of bio-oiling, just keep at it. Unless you break out or show signs or irritation, you probably just need to give it time to work its magic, and bio-oil basically is magic.

4. Dull & Uneven skin tone

These two problems normally come hand in hand, and for me, all you need is to drink enough water and get good sleep. My skin tends to look duller when I have less than 4 hours of sleep in a day, so I feel like your skin really does bear the burdens of your all-nighters ! I've also noticed that when I eat omega-3 rich foods like chia seeds, my skin looks less dull. I don't dare say its because of the chia seeds because correlation does not equal causation, but chia seeds can't be bad for you. Exfoliating also helps a lot with combatting dull skin!

5. Skin picking!

I have such a bad habit of picking at my imperfections, and it causes me to have more breakouts and scars. If you're having the same problem, I know its tempting but good skin is worth just being a litttttle bit more disciplined with yourself. Some tips I have for all skin pickers out there is to avoid the mirror when you feel an urge to pick, or feel particularly sad. Find something else do to with your fingers, like drawing on your skin. Also, admit to people that you pick at your skin. Admitting it out loud to people made me really want to get rid of my habit, and it sort of worked. This is an ongoing struggle though, but one that is not impossible. Leave comments below if you have any other tips!

So there you have it. If you combat excess oil, break outs and scarring, most things just fall into place after that. But one huge thing that a lot of people undermine is your attitude to caring for you skin plays a big role in how good your skin becomes. Its important not to take the stance of hating your skin whilst improving it, and also to be patient when waiting for progress. Don't hurt you skin for fast results guys! Media has made us believe that flawless blemish-less problem free skin is the norm and made us hate ourselves for the littlest imperfections. Truth is, that isn't the norm, and we can't bring ourselves down for not being unable to reach a unrealistic standard of beauty. Skin wasn't made to be marble or porcelain or glass, its made with glands that secrete sweat and hair follicles and pores because its meant to first and foremost protect your insides. So its okay if your skin isn't clear like water, its not meant to be water! 

You gotta love your skin to care for it, and you gotta care for it if you want it to be the best version it can be. 

Hope this post helps, and that everyone reaches a point where their happy with their skin.

Love,

Mira

Critical Thinking

My little sister is home for the weekend. She was telling us about her classes over our pre-dawn Ramadan meal, one of which was critical thinking class. Since we were on the topic, my parents thought it would be fun to have us all play some critical thinking games.

Its is 5 am. I am barely awake for sahur.

Anyway, I play along. After a few rounds, in which all of us fail, Ayah and Ibu keep telling us that this is a highly sophisticated theory on thinking. That we just need to be a little more 'critical'. Now maybe I'm just bitter for not getting the right answers, but I can't help but just laugh at this whole exercise. I mean, its literally one person thinking about a scenario in their head, picking out 1 or 2 facts about the scenario, and making everyone guess what happens, or how the scenario has come into place. But theres a catch, theres only one right answer. So even if you reason out an answer, a good answer, if its not the specific one the person is thinking about, its wrong, you aren't thinking critically enough, you have not succeeded in this exercise.

I mean, it sounds like I'm just expected to guess the answer someone has chosen to be the 'right' one in their heads, right? Like I'm expected to be psychic....

So let me give you guys some scenarios for you to work out, this should be fun, right?

1. Romeo and Juliet died in the room. There is a pool of water in the room. What happened?

2. There was a flash of light. A man died after. How did he die?

3. Two people are dead in a car. The car is not in an accident, and the car is locked from the inside. What happened.

Okay, now you guys think. But let me give you some answers that I feel are possible and logic.

1. The ceiling was leaking, someone didn't mop the floor correctly, the water was poison like idk in the actual story?!?! They slipped or they drank the poison.

2. The flash of light was from a car, he was in a car crash.

3. The two people were beating each other to death or something? One was a murderer/rapist and the other person was a victim and in a struggle they both died. Someone shot a bullet that killed them both? Or they just died dude, dah sampai ajal lol.

Now these are they answers, and the only acceptable ones.

1. Romeo and Juliet are fish, the tank they were in dropped. (Um, ok)

2. The man took a picture of a tiger with flash and got mauled to death. (Oh right, logic, of course. There are no safety barriers in zoos, ya.)

3. It was a woman with her pregnant baby, some sort of complication, they died on the way to the hospital (Logic, but not the only possible scenario)

Don't get me wrong, I lovvvveeeee riddles, I love playing teka teki, and I know sometimes it just is like that, one answer, too bad. But imagine if it was a compulsory class that you had to attend. A teacher was reading out all these vague scenarios, and you had to guess what her version of what happened is. And if you don't guess it, your teacher tells you that you got it wrong. Think harder. Think more critically. The whole gravity of getting the answer wrong changes when you are in a classroom. It would be way different if it was just for fun.

Although maybe I'm just bitter, or not being open to new suggestions of what should be taught in a classroom. I understand its good to make people think out of the box, and not take anything as an assumption is a culture we should try to instill. I know that there are a lot of benefits to doing mental exercises like this. But I'm not too sure how I feel about a teacher evaluating a student on well, guessing. All the same, in a non-competitive environment, I truly enjoy guessing games (or 'critical thinking' games). Let me know what your opinion on critical thinking being evaluated in the classroom is! Maybe I just need some insight.

Hope you are having a great weekend, till next time!

Love,

Mira

Goodbye KY

I officially graduated from KYUEM today!

Graduations and goodbyes are usually filled with bittersweet sentiments, and today was no exception. I think today was the one and only day that I did not rush to get out of college and go home, because as Batu had aptly put it 'Those doors are the end of all this, and we're looking straight at it"

A lot of people graduate KY claiming that the best years of their lives had been spent in that remote campus. I feel that way too. KYUEM was a place that made me feel like I could belong, and I think everyone goes about life looking for a place like that. Upon entering KY, I was a girl who had gone through very different experiences. I went to a fairly liberal and westernised primary school, a very conservative traditional high school, and have been in situations of both extremes. As a result, I always felt like my experiences were always so in conflict with each other. I was always either too conservative or too liberal and hardly anywhere in between, and every time one world crossed with the other, people got shocked and confused. But in KY, theres a place for everybody, all types and concoctions. And if you're in between, no-one will leave you out or not welcome you for it. Sure there are cliques, but my time in KY has made me experience one thing I never had before; no huge obvious divide. You could go to the dining hall alone and know that you would be welcome at any table, and I feel like if we needed an example of a diverse community peacefully coexisting, you just need to come and see our campus. We have comparative religion talks, and religious groups often welcome people of other faith to join in their activities (MUSCOM has surau open days for everybody and welcomes even non-muslims to join their feast, and the christians offered to make prayers for anybody when it came to exam season). We celebrate all holidays with the same amount of gusto, we smile to each other at the walkway (seriously, everyone is so nice to each other, sometimes I get tired from smiling). When I decided to take off my hijab, nobody treated me any differently. The people in the surau welcomed me just the same, people who were curious openly asked me and respected my decision. I didn't feel any hate. Its seen me heart broken, I met a group of girl friends who literally gave me a home when I was at my absolute weakest. And even then, when I ran for president, everyone gave me an equal chance and didn't use my personal battles against me. I've met friends who have welcomed me in, even though I hardly talked to them. You know, everyone gives you chances there. Its great

KY has to be the one place I grew up the most (not physically, if anything I got smaller heh). I am so so glad for everything that this institution had to offer me. Not to mention the amazing teachers who honestly care so much about you. World class, my teachers. Through the good and the bad, I'm so grateful for my time here. 

I'll end this post with a spam of graduation photos, or at least the ones I have with me, so enjoy!

My everyday gang. We take all the same subjects and are forced to spend so much time together.

AJ, Hanna and Mire came to support Fie, Datin and I on our big day :)

Farr and Kas, and Aisyah below are my apartment mates just btw 

The Yayasan Khazanah family, the whole reason I'm here to begin with. Thank you YK!

FAB

This is Ben. Smart, single, sexy. PM for enquiries.

Love,

Mirr

DIDA for women velvet matte lip creme

I love trying local beauty products, so when my best friend Saida introduced me to DIDA for women, I was hooked. DIDA is not only a Malaysian based company, its products are also cruelty free! As of now, they've released one product which is their velvet matte lip creme, and I'm please to report that its amazing! 

The lip creme comes in this cute packaging, and theres a lot of product (the box says 0.25 oz). The shade Saida got for me is called Tango, and it translates to a bright orangy coraly color which dries matte. Orange is not a color I usually use, but I'm glad I have this color in my makeup kit now because I think it compliments my skin tone quite well.

This is how the products looks within 15 minutes of application. Like I've mentioned, it dries matte like most trendy lip cremes, but it didn't sink into the little cracks in my lips or dried my lips out or anything like that. I also didn't have to apply lip balm or scrub my lips first, though it might be useful to know that my lips are pretty, well, huge, and they aren't dry to begin with. Saida has slightly dry lips and she mentioned she'd use lip balm first just in case, but still, its better than most local matte lip products that just dry you out (or so I've heard). While it dries it does feel a little like its going to be really dry, but after it sets, its fineeee. I daresay 10/10 for not drying out ness whilst remaining totally matte.

The other thing to note is that this lip cremes staying power is beyond amazing, seriously guys, staying power better than any boy I've met! We swatched a few different shades in the store and after washing our hands, it didn't budge!!! So I decided to do a little experiment and see how long it would last. Note that although it was Ramadan, I was on my period so I had lunch as usual and ran some errands with Saida. After lunch and about 4 hours, this is what it looked like:

AMAZING

Now I've tried colourpop's matte lip cremes, but in comparison, I think think Dida takes the cake in terms of staying power. I proceeded to go to the bazaar, have dinner and went out for coffee, and 11 hours after application, I came home with my lipstick still in place. No budges! I was documenting my lipstick progress the whole day on snapchat, but I forgot to save it, but I assure you, it looked the same after hours and hours and hours and I didn't reapply in the slightest. Upon coming home, I got ready for bed and washed my face and all that, and only then did my lipstick flake off a little. Even then, most of it was still pretty intact, which kind of scared me... but its all good, cause all I needed was a little oil based makeup remover (or just oil, like the one in your kitchen) and it came right off.

So staying power is crazy good, but that also means you have to be really careful in application. And you have to be sureeee that you want to use that colour because, honey there is no turning back. If you were in a rush, or applying your makeup in the car, um, I'd wish you the best of luck but I wouldn't dare if it was me. Still, I'm super duper impressed. 

If any of you are interested, you can check our their instagram ( @didaforwomen ) or their website : https://www.didaforwomen.com Its priced at RM 45, which for the size and the quality is great value for money. You can order on their website or check out their showroom at Publika ( B2-3A-2 Block B2) 

I can't stop singing praises about this lip creme. Its like my favourite thing in my whole makeup kit now, and I'm sure you would love it too.

Love,

Mira

On happiness 2

'If everything I do is a personal attack to you, then its gonna be tough'

A very good friend once said that to me in a rather heated argument, and me being the sensitive emotional pixie I am, am thinking about that statement up till now. 

I love hard. Friends, boyfriends, if I love you I'm pretty all in about it. And sometimes, I get really sad about the smallest of things. Like, why didn't friend A not ask me out for lunch when they were free, or why are all my friends so happy without me in this picture? The irrational part of me is thinking, omg, they're doing this on purpose, they've left me out, I'm left behind! They're being happy just to  make me sad. I'm guessing to a certain degree everyone experiences this; feeling left out or unimportant, as if someone didn't want to include you in their happiness. I'm a litttttttle bit more extreme. Sometimes even when people are completely out of my life do something huge, a small part of me can't help but feel like, oh, their doing this to make me sad.

But it just struck me, maybe people's pursuit of happiness is not tangent at all to you.

I mean, get over yourself Mirr.

You really really cannot expect anybody to always stop and consider what their choices would do to you and your happiness, because most of the time, if its between fighting for their own happiness or ensuring yours, their going to pick their own. And this isn't because they are spiteful or mean or inconsiderate, its because the onus of happiness is on you and you alone! So if friends decide to plan a trip without you, an ex got a new partner, people are down your road and having a meet up, its probably because, their thinking about their own happiness. And you cannot force anyone to make your happiness a priority, not family, not your spouse, not your children, not anybody. 

But what can you do?

You can start focusing on making yourself happy, and not regard plans that don't have you in them as a personal attack. It doesn't mean you're left behind, insignificant or unimportant, its just, we all have our own destinies to fulfil, and sugar, you're not going to be the main character in everyones story. Or in anyones story, save your own. So why bother how many times you get cast in somebody else's movie, direct your own, make it yours.

Be happy. Be happy with yourself, by yourself, for yourself.

And that my friends, is a hard lesson, but one I am intending to finally learn till the end.

Love,
Mirr

Roadtrip?

I'm currently in a car ride that feels like its taking forever (seriously, it felt so much shorter getting to Kedah, I don't even have the energy to snapsing anymore!) My cousin just got married, and her husbands family is in Kedah. My dad taught it would be fun to take a road-trip and drive to attend the wedding. I guess it was a not horrible idea, I've been pretty down and sad this whole week so a trip would've forced me to stop sulking in bed. Plus I taught, I could blog about Kedah and the things I saw, the stuff I ate.

Except the moment we got to the hotel, I went to the toilet and I swear to god, someone pulled the flush in my body. It was like WOAH, surprise mira, this is all the contents of your stomach. And it didn't stop, I had to shit (pardon my french) every half an hour! It was my worst case of food poisoning yet (which idk how I even got poisoned, I hadn't been eating anything weird or much at all the past week). Hence, all I have to say about my trip is, diarrhea.

I mean when Im sad I like to purge all my emotions but I didn't know my bowels signed up for it too.

My roadtrip was pretty much me alone in the room, taking no trip at all save ones to the bathroom. I broke the toilet ok cause I flushed so much. The wedding was nice but I couldn't eat much because my stomach was really upset and everything that went in wanted to come out five minutes later. And thats suchhhhh a pity because the food was apparently really good.

Anyway, I hope the highway has good enough connection because I am nottt gonna reach home before 9.30. I forget how tiring sitting down can be, and am always (sadly) reminded whenever I take long trips. Sorry my post today is a lil shitty (hehe, geddit)

Love,

Mirr

My 20th birthday!

My post is late! I know!

I knew I was going to blog about turning 20, but truth be told, growing up comes with challenges, and man I am beat. I need a little bit of looking on the bright side, and remembering the good things, so here is my birthday in pictures, which turned out to be (one of) the happiest day of my life. I only really took pictures of one event that happened (from many!), but I was blessed the whole day, 3 cakes and surprises on surprises on surprises! It was great, so enjoy.

I think the best part is that, my different friend groups tried to make it special together. Growing up, I was always super paranoid when friends from one gang meet friends from another, but everyone just gelled! I guess its comes with age and maturing, but I'm so glad.

Thank you for your wishes, and the love. I've never felt more appreciated than my 20th birthday, and I owe it all to a great family, and amazing friends. + I got one very unexpected surprise, AJ showed up when I thought she was in the UK! I cried so many tears of joy. I am currently in a place where I do not have many happy words, but they say pictures speak a thousand words, so heres to remembering the good days on all of the bad ones.

Love,

Mirr