Cold Blood

Cold Blood

Jan 24, 2016

Location: Spadina Ave & Front St W, Toronto, ON M5V, Canada

Over-sized chunky sweaters are a deceiving fashion option. For starters, they have the miraculous ability to hide any food baby you may have acquired from excessive burger-and-poutine-binging followed by a neglecting attitude towards your local boxing gymnasium. They give for a laid back vibe while retaining a chic, I-barely-tried demeanor thanks to the emergence of minimalism (bless you New York, circa 1960). And, perhaps most importantly, they are nearly never warm. Say what you will, but your over-sized crochet sweater will only do you wonders against the harsh winter chill if you layer on a thick coat. All those cross stitches make for copious amounts of minuscule holes which allow all the cold air to flow freely all about your upper half; a sad realization in early to mid fall when "sweater weather" is nearly an excuse to dawn your bare legs in allegiance to the no-tights-club and assume the role of sweater wearing, ballerina bun rocking, cute uni student with matching leather backpack and boots.

But who are you kidding? You were cold as the blood in your bones.

Over the course of four years in Toronto, your body gets somewhat good at expecting the cold post-December's mild holiday season weather. Yet you'll never grow accustomed to the pain in your ears on your way to classes, or the inability to pull out your phone as you've stuffed your hands deep within the abyss that is your warm pockets. You wont adapt to the icy sidewalks that make your toes freeze-over and you'll never know how to possibly keep your chin up and eyes tear-free to know where you're going.
To combat my daily all-black attire, I threw on the only white pieces I could find in my condo (both borrowed from Becca's closet). These photos were taken as quickly as possible. Meriam and I shivered behind my little camera on a snowy, windy late afternoon. 'The 6' as they now call it, has been bitter this year. Stay warm, stay productive, stay healthy, and pray that I get better soon! I've fallen incredibly sick (though I've convinced myself I don't have the time or luxury of being ill) and my doctor is begging me to - wait for it - take a day off. To which I merely laugh and cry.

Thrifted Coat | Dynamite Sweater | HM jeans | Borrowed Fur Scarf | XXI Boots | Ralph Lauren Gloves

Read more »

comments: 0

New Year, Commence!

New Year, Commence!

Jan 4, 2016

Location: Magnificent Mile, Chicago, IL, USA

Ode and joy to 2016, a year filled to the brim with the ever-so-classic 'this will be the best year yet!' facade.

Read more »

comments: 0

Suede and Plaid

Suede and Plaid

Dec 24, 2015

Location: Toronto, ON, Canada

'Plaid' to be read as 'Played' for the sake of rhyming with suede.

Read more »

comments: 15

December Necessities

December Necessities

Dec 10, 2015

Essentials for this time of year are as follows– keep warm, keep healthy, keep it simple, and avoid wasting time to your best ability. As we paddle through the last of our term assignments and dive head-first into exams, these rules keep us alive. At least physically. Also Mumford and Sons. Always Mumford and Sons.

For even the most skilled time managers, University means December creeps up faster than you can say “wait why are there Christmas decorations for sale in September?” Even more so in your final year when the last week of November means scrambling to complete “why you should accept me and not the hundreds of more superior, qualified candidates” personal statements for Grad Schools while attempting to maintain respectable marks. Executing such obligations with five hours of sleep a night (if you are lucky) renders nearly impossible without a few I’m keeping hella busy essentials.

One: an incredible day planner for jotting your schedule to the minute and scrawling all assignments and notes. Might I recommend one of thesehelpful fellas.
Two: Caffeine. This goes without saying. I take mine in the form of Iced Soy Chai. Milk makes my stomach churn and coffee gives me anxiety.
Three: An over-sized, comfy sweater and chunky scarf to keep warm and try to give the casual-cute vibe (*disclaimer, I am bad at successful casual-cute vibing).
Four: a pair of large spectacles to successfully mask your nearly larger under eye circles and to give your drying eyes a break from contacts. These are a new favorite of mine – incredibly comfortable and, importantly, they do not slip off my face as my nose stares straight down into my Orchestration textbook. Bonus points for making me feel as geeky as I am when I talk about my favorite Marvel an DC characters.
Five: A pretty, flowy dress which gives the illusion that you indeed have your life together and have not yet given up (however untrue this may be).

These photos were taken a week ago at the Toronto Christmas Market. Occasional breaks are required to maintain some level of mental sanity, therefore Sunday was spent swooning over unaffordable (for students, at least) trinkets and hot Apple Cider. This miniature vacation was followed closely by a seven-hour retreat to a nearby coffee shop for hydration and homework.

I must now continue on with cramming.

I bid you all best of luck.

H&M Sweater and Scarf | XXI Dress | c/o Firmoo Glasses | Nails by K Nails
Thanks to Rob for taking my picture!

Read more »

comments: 3

On Recent Events Regarding Paris

On Recent Events Regarding Paris

Nov 21, 2015

Muslim child in Urumqi, China

Last Friday evening, amidst a concert I played with the University of Toronto wind ensemble at Trudeau high school, my eyes were glued to my little phone in hand - frantically reading all news updates I could find via Google. A tragedy in Paris again, not even a year after the Charlie Hebdo terror attack. There I was, amidst all the "terrorist attacks in Paris" updates, praying to God this wouldn't be another so-called "Islamic extremist act".

The last few years have been frustrating and sickening to say the least. Humanity as a whole is constantly affected by the inhumane acts of a few radical, misinformed (oftentimes young/brainwashed) individuals with no proper intelligence or understanding of their actions, morals, or 'beliefs'. Heinous crime after heinous crime, tainting, altering, and shamelessly mangling a religion "in the name of God."

Yet what God, I ask you, would allow for such an inhumane act as mass murder of innocent civilians?

The fact that I, as a Muslim, am glued to the news after any shooting praying and hoping this isn't another "ISIL kills in the name of Islam" bullshit only proves how media has altered our perception of the "root of terrorism." (FYI so many other terrorist organizations claimed the attacks as their own.) Too often does Islam and terrorism come to mind when one of the words is spoken. An unfortunate truth I've lived in since second grade when tragedy struck in NYC on 9/11.

The acts of violence in Paris are in no way a proper representation of Islamic beliefs or Muslim "rituals" (as some have grossly called it). Rather, they are a disgusting act manufactured by uneducated and naive individuals more interested in falsely defining jihad than picking up a book. And yet, people still point fingers at the Muslim community as a whole.

No surprise that ignorance instigates fear. No surprise that history repeats itself. No surprise at all.

Though these events were in no way a surprise, exceptionally shocking and filled with the utmost sorrow, the aftermath was perhaps another shaking slap back to reality - (at least, on a personal level) – that perhaps very few ounces of ‘progress’ have been made since the birth of Islamophobia. Social media is plagued with thousands calling for a reconsideration of the “Syrian refugee crisis”. Senators writing to Obama informing him that they will not be accepting refugees into their state(s) (perhaps forgetting that this terror is exactly what they are trying to run away from?). Even here in Canada, a group of individuals insisting that we reevaluate our decision to welcome a number of refugees. Some have even called for a shutdown of all Mosques (Headline titled: Trump Says Something Stupid Again) and a deportation of Muslims (sounds like ethnic cleansing to me). 

As seen in both political media and social media, lives of those living in America or Europe are discussed about considerably more than those living in Asia, Africa, or the Middle East. This is perhaps most recently seen during the tragic events in Paris. The overwhelming crisis appeared on all news sources. Millions of people shared the events and headlines on their social media platforms – actors, actresses, politicians, and the world's most important, influential leaders, voiced their condolences and their willingness to support Paris in whatever they may need. The hashtag Pray for Paris was trending on just about every media outlet and Facebook introduced two new features – one for Parisians to inform friends and family that they were safe, and one which allowed users to temporarily add the French flag to their profile photo.

Though this support is in no way a negative affair, the same reaction does not materialize when another non-Western country is involved. Only one day previous to the attack on Paris, Beirut was grieving over the detonation of three suicide bombers which killed 43 civilians (which, I admit, even I did not hear about until a few days later).  Hundreds of individuals die daily in Syria, and Gaza still remains an occupied territory in Israel. Yet the reaction of these catastrophic events are not granted the same media coverage. Not even a little.

This is in no way a new phenomenon. The idea of a so called “Western” society has affected the lives of billions (in no way speaking for everyone who lives in the West). Specifically in the “Muslim World.” The idea of a “Muslim World” – at least on a financial, political, cultural, and military standing – is a strange concept far from reality. The vast majority of the Muslim population today is so immense and exceptionally diverse. It is filled with a plethora of languages ethnic groups, ideology, and sectarian positions - most of which are non-Arab. FYI. Even in Western Countries themselves there are over five million American Muslims and ten million European Muslims – and these are all individuals who were born in “The West” and lived there their entire lives.

Yet still, so many envision 'all Muslims' to be radical terrorizing individuals. To which I roll my eyes. There are currently 1.57 billion Muslims in the world (23% of the world's population). If you were to speak to these individuals, it would be exceptionally obvious that ISIL (which should be referred to as Daesh) in no way holds religious legitimacy and should in no way be treated with any form or level of credibility - aka: how we stand against any other fanatical group. Therefore, I do not apologize or bother explaining my "interpretation" or "beliefs" to those asking why "my religion" "allows" for such violence and abuse. My religion does not allow that nor does it support it. And obviously, neither do I.

So, before you blame Islam for killing “in the name of God,” I urge you, please view this as you may view the West Baptist Church – a wretched, misinformed few citing religion for their own personal agenda. In this case, a way for Daesh to further “prove” that the West and Islam are against each other. Islam and Muslims are not the problem. Radical, extremist people are.

TLDR: ISIL/ISIS (Daesh) does not represent Islam and believing that it does in any way is pretty moronic. 

Read more »

comments: 1