The courage & strength of a young girl

As a 15 year old girl, I was concerned about things we now refer to as first world pains. Things that are meaningless to the majority of the world's population. Most of us live the same everyday ordinary routine giving very little thought to thing's changing without us planning for it. Sometimes it's necessary that we think about the possibility of things being different than what we expect. One day we could be enjoying our lives with the people we love and another day we might never be able to spend time with them again, not because we don't want to but because circumstances change and make it impossible to live life the way we once knew it.

Circumstances were beyond uncontrollable for a young afghan girl that was the inspiration for finally starting my blog. At first I hesitated to write about things that most people, myself included, find it difficult to talk about let alone hear, but I think it's important that we learn more and acknowledge these events so that one day we might have the courage to do something about a similar story or circumstance. The innocence this 15 year old girl should have was taken right from under her. Sahar made the news headlines today after escaping torture at the hands of a family she married into. Her first attempt to escape was barely acknowledged and she was returned to the so-called family that was supposed to take care of her.

At 15, Sahar, among many others we hear about or those who's stories are left untold, has lived through pain and hardship none of us would even remotely allow nor tolerate. But truth be told, if I had experienced even an ounce of what Sahar had, I would likely have given up without a fight. Sahar, on the other hand, clearly didn't give up considering what we are able to see of her and hear her tell us.

It's hard to hear a story like Sahar's and feel helpless on what to do about it. In most circumstances, we probably couldn't do much standing at a distance but to share her story is a deed in itself. Writing about the reality of Sahar'slifel, humbles me and makes me appreciate the good fortune I have lived. Hopefully someday Sahar will live out the childhood she never lived.

Here is the link to the BBC article about Sahar's story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16388825

What's in a story you ask? I say Life!

I have been meaning to start this blog since coming back from Kenya where I rediscovered my love of sharing stories through writing. It is now January 3, 2012 and I have officially decided to start documenting stories about maisha (life) on my blog. My original idea was to share things about my life and my passions since that's the idea behind most personal blogs. I assumed I would have a lot to say and talk about because I have been fortunate enough to have traveled much of the world. What's not to love about seeing amazing sights, taking part in new traditions, meeting unforgettable people and embarking on new journey's and adventures? Absolutely nothing! It's everything we look forward to and remember from our travels. But tonight it dawned on me when I read a very emotional and disturbing story that sent chills down my spine. I have been on many adventures and will never forget the people I've met along the way but what about those people I didn't get to meet? The one's whose voices are never heard or shared.

I want my blog to be more than just the story of My Maisha (Life), I want it to be about Maisha's here, across our borders and all over the world. I want to share stories of lives we know little about especially those who's voices can't be heard or shared as much as ours, all while sharing my passions for education, languages, cultures, people and travel.

Now that I finally have an idea of what I want to write about, I hope that they are as compelling, thought provoking and instrumental in making us realize how fortunate we are to be able to share our thoughts, ideas and opinions very easily.That being said, I'm ready to take on stories from around the world and hope you enjoy reading them as much as I love writing them.