Sincerely, Sawda

Before my exams my English teacher gave the class a list of words that are commonly mistaken when used. I was recently having a clean out and stumbled across the list and thought "Hey, this is actually quite useful" ,*1 and so I thought it was worth sharing. Affect/effect, they're/there/their / your/you're : These are probably the most mistaken words, which in can proudly say that I'm able to distinguish between.  Affect/effect for example is commonly confused. ' Affect ' being a verb  can be replaced with another verb and still have the sentence make (partial) sense . And so, if you are unsure as to which one to use, replace it with a verb and see if the sentence makes sense. I personally use 'play' in times of doubt. Eg; the movie affected her / the movie played her. If a movie could play with something then the  sentence would make some sense. ' Effect' on the other hand is the aftermath or result of something. So when ...

It feels like just recently when I was sitting in the exam halls doing my GCSE exams, and I have been waiting (not so nervously *1) since mid-June for the results. I did well; Pathetic fallacy played its role as today was a sunny day and I got 5A*s, 6As which I am very happy with. Can't stop saying alhamdulilah (All praise be to Allah *1 ) for these grades because they've made me so happy. What's more is that all my friends did well, as did the rest of the school so the mood of today has been great.  If you read my first post, you would have read that English was never my strong subject,  and so one aim of the blog was to improve my literacy skills; but to my surprise it turns out that one of the A*s was in English literature! That grade of all grades was the most shocking, that single grade is what made everything sink in and actually reduced me to tears or relief and joy. It seems that I underestimated myself in some sense as I wouldn't expect myself to have gott...

One thing I told myself I would do this summer is read more. I started this book earlier this summer and left it unfinished (really bad of me, I know).Nonetheless, I finally finished it and decided to review the book as I enjoyed it. This is probably the only book that I've read twice - not because its my all-time favourite, but because I was given the book about five or six years ago,I read it, but hurriedly, and also didn't appreciate the book because I think I was too young to understand and grasp what she was saying. I particularly enjoyed the book because I could relate to it in so many instances. I think my dad bought me the book to encourage me to wear the hijab, or to keep me convinced when I had already started. I'm not too sure, but I either way, the main character, Amal, 16 year-old Palestinian living in Australia decides to take up wearing the hijab "full-time" rather than when having a bad hair day too. The bo...

So it turns out that my post for last week ( week one of NCS) didn't actually post for some bizarre reason, and so I have to apologise for being post-less for so long. Nonetheless, I'm here,back for now and posting. Outside my comfort zone. If I have to describe the last two weeks in one sentence that would definitely be the sentence. I did things that made me uncomfortable, drained my physically, and even mentally. Take week 1. The physical challenge. I admit that I am not at my best in terms of fitness levels at the moment, so doing what I did in the last few weeks hasn't been easy. Funnily enough also, all the activities had something to do with being outside my comfort zone in different ways.  Underground caving was wet and muddy, which in the massive suit we had to wear was especially uncomfortable. Additionally, it was dark. I wouldn't say I am scared of the dark, but I know that at the point where we were asked to turn off our headlights and close our ey...

Although Eid was on Monday, I thought it was necessary to make a post based on Eid. For those who may not know, Eid- ul fitr is the first day of the next Islamic month after Ramadan, and so marks the end of the month of fasting. It's a day of celebration and often described as a festival. The Prophet SAW said:  "Every people have a festival and this[ referring to Eid ] is our festival" This explains the celebratory nature of the day, and so many people set off to celebrate their eid. But what does a Muslim typically do on Eid? There are many things to do to celebrate Eid, as long as their within Islamic bounds there is much choice. However there are certain customs followed on Eid day to stick to the Sunnah (teachings and ways) of the Prophet SAW.  It is recommended that one does ghusl (a whole body ritual bath) One would wear the best of their clothes as    This is related by ash-Shaf'i and al-Baghawi. Al-Hassan as-Sibt says: "The Messenge...

Eid is fast approaching- either tomorrow or Tuesday- and so as the custom follows a lot of people are out to get their henna/mehndi done*1. I have always loved henna;the intricacy in some designs are just beautiful, but It seems this year henna has become increasingly popular as stars like Rihanna indulge in the trend. Below are some pictures of henna designs I like: The henna inspired tattoo was a definite improvement to whatever Rihanna tried before.*2 This was popular on twitter. Creative and pretty Pretty sure the jewel in the middle is just for the photo and doesn't actually stay there. The detail is great here Black henna is great for people who are darker, lovely and bold. The henna cuff is a new popular trend, very nice though especially with the finger detail. I don't know how to describe this other than amazing. I've come to realise that good nails aid the look.  Borders of the hand and feet ar...