2011 Meme! (stolen from Candice, Amber, and Kaighla)

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu everyone!

I have a more substantial post that I will write tomorrow (no, no announcements of marriage or pregnancy!), but for now I saw this meme on several other blogs and decided to post it myself.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
Over the summer, I lived in an apartment with my best friend Tiffanie; this was the first time I've ever had my "own place" that wasn't a dorm room.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Didn't make any this year, not planning to make any next year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
The Muslim chaplain at my college gave birth to a darling little girl, Alhamdulillah.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
Morocco, and a quick stopover in France.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
I definitely want more Islamic knowledge.

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 15, the day I rode a camel in the Sahara at sunset. It was super cheesy and touristy, but still awesome nonetheless.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I did quite well in all of my classes.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Alhamdulillah, I can't really think of anything.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I love all the things I bought in Morocco, especially the lovely Qur'an (with transliteration!) and my gorgeous djellabas.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My mom is slowly becoming more tolerant of the fact that I am Muslim. Alhamdulillah times a million!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Al-Shabab in Somalia. Seriously, they are some of the most disgusting, inhumane people I've ever had the misfortune to read about.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Knowing me, probably food. :P

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I got to visit a Muslim-majority country!

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2011?
"Buffalo Soldier" by Bob Marley (it was played in the car we took on the way to the Sahara Desert), "Aicha" by Outlandish, "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay, and "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. Happier or sadder?
Happier, no question. Last year at this time I was in the depths of OCD and depression, and things were looking pretty grim. Alhamdulillah, I have gotten much, much better.

ii. Thinner or fatter?
I think fatter. What can I say, I love food!

iii. richer or poorer?
Richer, since I'm working two jobs at school and I've been pretty good about saving it.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Memorizing new surahs and exercising.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Wasting time on the internet.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
I stayed at home with the family and made dinner for everyone.

21. How many one-night stands?
Zero!

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Top Chef, baby!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, I don't think I truly hate anyone.

24. What was the best book you read?
"Defenders of the Faith" by Samuel Heilman.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Dabke music, lol.

26. What did you want and get?
I got to finally visit a Muslim-majority country.

27. What was your favorite film of this year?
I really didn't watch many movies.

28. What did you do on your birthday?
I was in Morocco. We drove from Marrakech to Zagora (about a 9 hour drive), so I was on the bus most of the day. We stopped for lunch at this cute restaurant and I was surprised with a cake. I think I slept for most of the bus ride (I love sleeping, though, so it was a good way to spend my birthday), and I treated myself to a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice at the hotel we were staying at (which is my avatar on this blog). It was my 21st birthday, so I wanted to have some kind of "special drink". :)

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Same as last year; jilbabs, jumpers, skirts, tunics, sweaters, and long al-Amira khimars (nope, I haven't "graduated" to more "sophisticated" hijabs, lol).

30. What kept you sane?
Television. :P

31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Shahrukh Khan, *swoon*

32. What political issue stirred you the most?
All of the revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa.

33. Who did you miss?
Tiffanie, Rachel, my sister, and my dog.

34. Who was the best new person you met?
Amalina, a fellow sociology major at my school; I knew her before, but we actually started hanging out this year.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
I have become much more secure in my deen, and with that, I think I have become more accepting and kinder to others.