2015 has been a really weird year. It's not fair to say it was one of the worst years of my life because in a lot of ways it has been a life changing year. I did so much in it more than I expected and I feel so very blessed. I met wonderful people, went on many unplanned art trips that I completely LOVED and learnt Islamic illuminations, which became one of my absolute favourite skills. But through all of that, I struggled deeply and hated life in more than one occasion.
Best highlights of this year:
- I started my PhD at UEL *still scared & have to work ultra hard*
- Fez Art Trip
- Learnt Persian illuminations
- Turquoise Tour
- Istanbul Art Trip
- Learnt Turkish illuminations
- Exhibited some of my art work at Loud Art
- Produced Products out of some designs
- & strengthened my friendship with some dear friends of mine that I am very thankful for :)
Lowest points of this year:
These are things most people don't know about because I am not a fan of sharing my suffering, but here it goes:
- Heartbreak
- I didn't get my PhD scholarship *yet*
- Questioned my purpose in life
- Questioned my faith and hijab especially
- Questioned my appearance and image
- I gave up and gave in to struggle
- Some friendships ended
- The ending of this year was the most heartbreaking. The news of my dearest uncle passing was too much to handle and it made me take an even harder look of the past year. May he be in a beautiful place in heaven.
I am not entirely happy with the past year, but I guess it's all part of growth and I have many questions to answer in 2016. It is all a learning curve and I am hopeful that this new year will bring more surprises and a mixture of sadness and happiness.
May you and I all be blessed with a strong faith, beautiful experiences, love, laughter and so much joy.
Peace be with you,
Esra xx