Welcome to my blog! My name is Zaha Khan. Through the adventures and experiences of my life these are the few things that I have learnt.  

My first life philosophy is ‘No Matter What Situation You Are Faced With Education Is Always Important. This philosophy is my narrative so get ready to read a lot. It originates from the life of my niece, Emra Waqqas, may she rest in peace. She was 19 years old when she passed from brain tumor. I feel that is it is important for you all to know her story, which starts all the way back in 2013, when I was in eighth grade and she was starting in the tenth grade. Emra was always joyful and filled with energy, just like me, but there would be days when she would have really bad headaches or she would be doing something and she would pass out. Since her parents lived in the U.S. she lived with my aunt in Toronto. My aunt took her to the emergency room and that is when they found out that she had a tumor. They took her into surgery within that week. The surgery was successful, however, the right side of her body was not functioning at all so she was in the hospital for more than a year. She did complete grade 10 and she was almost done grade 11 in the hospital as well.

She was back to her normal routine for more than a year but then all of as sudden one night she went out completely, this was around when I was in grade 10. They took her to the emergency immediately. The doctor found liquid surrounding her brain. Obviously they had to perform surgery right away and remove the liquid but there were two options they could either go into the surgery with giving her anesthetics but there was a chance that she might not wake up and the other option was to give her no anesthetics at all. Her parents obviously wanted her to wake up so they decided to talk the chance and not give her any anesthetics. During the surgery her heart beat would spike up and down, but thankfully the liquid was taken out. After this surgery she got a scan done and the doctors found that the tumor had come back, it had spread and it had gone deeper. Emra’s original doctor said that either they could do surgery now but it was way too much of a risk or they could just put her in therapy then see what happens. He straight up said to my cousin that she did not have along time to live, at most three months. My cousin decided to get a different from another specialist. The new doctor said that doing the surgery would be a risk but in a while after therapy.

During this time Emra was finishing up grade 12 and applying for university. She got accepted into McMaster University. So after a many weeks she went into surgery and came out tumor free. When she gained consciousness she couldn’t move at all. Not even her fingers, her toes, NOTHING. She couldn’t talk or eat! She was fed with a tube. My dad went to go visit her a couple of weeks after her surgery, around the spring of last year. She knew that my dad was with her but she had no way of acknowledging it. The least that she could do was put one finger up then down. But as time went on she could talk and move parts of her body, however, she still spent all of her time in the hospital bed. We all prayed for her and all still do. A couple of weeks after my dad came back we got a call from my uncle telling us that she didn’t make it. She had passed. I didn’t know what to do or how to react. I ran to the washroom and cried all my tears out. When her high school found out about her they name a scholarship after her. They are calling it the Emra Waqqas Scholarship. I’m proud to have her as my niece, to be related to her. To have her inspire me to go to school. 

My second life philosophy is ‘Make Life Easy.’ Especially in this new generation we want to make everything incredibly difficult, long, and filled with unnecessary things. We want all the attention when we do something. I have many examples, but I will only give two. The first example is one that I have been a victim of. When we have a party whether is is with family-friends or close friends. I always see five appetizers, a five course meal, then to top it all of ten types of desserts. You only eat like one out of each thing or two at the most. The amount of food that is taken away is unbelievable. Then there are the decorations: of the table, the chairs, the room, everything that you see. Usually all of those decorations end up in the garbage. There are not a lot of people who actually save them. The amount of things that we waste is unreal. I know some people are not like this, but you have to agree there must be someone that you know who does this. I’m not gonna lie I do this whenever my friends come over.

My final example is about the weddings that I go to. I am from Pakistan and in that area, including India, we have weddings that are USUALLY four to five days long. In these five days this is usually what happens: one evening from the groom, one from the bride, and then the next couple of days are from both sides. Within these days there is a lot of dancing, laughing, and eating. I find this to be the best part, but my main problem is with the dresses that we have to wear. Many people wear a separate dress each day. People spend hundreds, or sometimes even thousand of dollars on dresses. WHY? You only really need like two or three really. Then there is the money that the hosts spend on the food, the lighting, the decorations, and the locations. All for people who show up every single day to each event. You don’t have to spend that much. Majority of your money can go towards an important investment. The money you spend its yours. You get to decide as to what you get to do with that, but there are things that don’t have to be very extravagent. They can be as simple as 1+1=2. 

My third life philosophy is ‘Our History Creates Our Present.’ I believe that our ancestors have a part in shaping our identity. Their culture is our culture, their language is our language, their religion is our religion. For example, my last name is Khan. This means that my ancestors are originally from Afghanistan, which means that I am classified as a Pathan,  but then they came to India. Then a part of India became Pakistan, and our ancestors lived in Pakistan, however, it is the area now known as Lahore, which is the capital city of Punjab. All of this makes me a Punjabi-Pathan. However, I am more Punjabi than I am Pathan. Our family has adapted to the Punjabi culture. We don’t wear Pashtun clothing, we don’t speak the Pashtun language, we do not have the same traditions as them. All of it is Punjabi. Yes I am Pathan, but only by name not by me. I believe that we should celebrate our history, with our country, and our family. Our history is the reason as to why we are here today. 

My fourth life philosophy ‘Be A Diamond.’ I came to FFCA when I was in fifth grade. I was surrounded by people who were fake and rude to me. I was bullied. I didn’t realize this right away. Then in grade six I decided to show myself as someone who I am not. I changed who I was so I could get people to actually like me. But then I met one of my really good friends in grade seven. She caught me acting and told me not to. She said that people can accept me for my true self. I slowly distanced my self from them and got closer with my new friend. I began to shine my true colours. I wasn’t just one fake colour. No. I was and am filled with many different colours that are ready to shine. Everyone should have their own colours that they are not afraid to show. Colours that they should be proud of and show off to the world. I believe that everyone should be able to be themselves without being judged. Everyone should surround themselves with friends that love them for who they are. I am proud to say that I have finally found the perfect group of friends. People that have accepted me for who I am. 
My final life philosophy is ‘The Most Important Things In Life Are Priceless.’ I have asked a decent amount of people what they find they think the most important thing is, and majority of the things that people said were things that you would have to buy in order to achieve it. For example, cars, a house, food, or a pet. I agree that they are important but are they the most important. I believe that the most important things come without a price. For example, your family. Did you buy them? No, they were gifted to you. Your friends. Did you buy them? No, you were gifted them as well. For me my friends and family are the most important because my family is one of a kind. I was put into their hands and I am thankful for them. I don’t think anyone has a family like mine, and I don’t have a family like yours. What about your friends? Friends are people that start of as strangers and end up as people who come by your house often. Friends are people who you look forward to be around. I am thankful to say that I get up in the morning for school excited to see them and learn something new about them, and I look forward to the dumb, hilarious mistakes that we will make that we will remember for the rest of our lives. 

Credits

Picture #1: http://clipart.printcolorcraft.com/2015/11/notebook-clipart-7/

Picture #2: http://jasondrohn.com/its-easy/

Picture #3: http://stewover.com/2015/07/03/the-disturbing-history-of-much-ive-spent-on-super-mario-bros/

Picture #4: https://www.pinterest.ca/alialambert/diamond-in-the-rough/?lp=true

Picture #5: http://www.mainstreethost.com/blog/four-common-seo-limitations-free-or-cheap-website-builders/