Letters to My Daughter

You know the Quality of what you write is diminished if you are reclying your posts. But if your readership is just you, then does it really matter? I've even included a picture of a monkey. "I felt that my 19 years had prepared me for this moment, this particular time in which I would choose between risk and safety. If I am to believe anything I write on this blog, I must do what is difficult because it is the only thing worthwhile. If I believe that the meaning (of love and companionship) is truly superior to form, and the external prettiness of French pedicured toes and new clothes, then I need a change. I write about rationality like it is the bulk of my soul, but the fear of commitment is 98% irrational. If I believe that the beauty of knowing somebody else is significant, then I can make the time. I must make the effort to try before I begin to run."

In attempting to memorize the 150 or so pages I've read so far this semester from my Logic textbook, I have finally caught on to the basic principles of Logic. These realization come at a good time, within days of my midterm for which I have completed perhaps 30% of the required preparation. 1. You can prove anything from a contradiction. Once you show A & ~A, you can show Q, M, Z, whatever your heart desires. This would suggest that if there is a illogical flow in your thought process, then you can make up any silly thing you want. For example, Zaid and Ayesha are best friends. Best friends spend free time together. It is not the case that Zaid and Ayesha are best friends. This set would include inconsistent claims. And you can derive truth from a inconsistent set. So it is valid to conclude I will pass Logic. The roomate is OCD. The world is a made of white chocolate. New Jersey is not a state. 2. Valid arguments do not necessarily have true premises. In order for an argument...

I am sitting in my basement, with work streaming out of my ears and nose, uploading a picture of a monkey for my blog. Could the ridiculousness of the situation be any more apparent? Despite my feeling like a monkey, I believe that this Ramadhan has been a month of some spiritual regeneration. I am finally convinced that disobediance to Allah's laws are bad. This idea I have only accepted superfically for most of my life. I understood that obediance is good, and that disobediance with respect to matters of the heart, is bad. I am not particularly extreme in my disobediance and unfaithfulness, just the casual neglect of my own feelings and intuitions, but this marks a moment of REFORMATION. It happened in the laundry room in my apartment building. All around, there are signs that say WARNING! Do not put more than 1/4 cup of detergent in the machines because your clothes will not wash properly. And twice I deliberately choose to disobey this edict taped conveniently over ever dryer, ...

Happiness is a really strange thing. It is difficult to describe, though it is often expressed most simply as a declaration. The following is an attempt to verbally share with you this feeling of happiness. Happiness is when you wake up in the morning smiling, happy that you made Fajr for the first time without an alarm or your roommate. Happiness is the ability to smile and remain content when your academic career is in shambles, your relationships with your TAs are in need of repair and maybe bribery, when your presentation timeline is several weeks delayed, when your gpa seems like it was half of what you had last year, when you have a logic midterm and two papers to submit in the same week, when you are convinced that there are not enough hours in the day to eat, shower, pray and study. Despite all this, your heart remains peaceful, and you are smiling. You are convinced that you don't need to sleep, and that there's always enough time. Even though it hurts when you laugh, ...