We came across this piece on Hessa Al Bahli ‘s blog titled “Once Upon a Girl” and we absolutely loved it and we were thrilled to be able to host it on our website. We hope you enjoy it

I used to know a girl, once upon a time, who was full of life and joy that it seemed like nothing can ever stop her from living a good life and enjoying its moments. She was a simple person who lived one day at a time and who was evolving of kindness and love. It was her strong faith that made her believe that everything and everyone can be healed with a touch of magic, a glimpse of hope, and a huge trust in love. She was blessed enough to touch many lives and leave a cherished memory for years to come.

As the years passed by, the times changed, and people moved on as it was finally the time we all await and that is the day to declare our financial independence by getting into the career life and become a permanently fulltime employee. Our poor girl got surprised to see that the values she was once raised upon did not exist in a world of greed. Indeed, the competition in our modern career life is so agressive as if it was an endless battle which leaves you wondering if you’ll ever be able to come out as that honest person you once were.

We come out of the battle either as winners who have built huge guarding walls to protect our hearts from showing any sign that could be translated into weakness and maintain stone cold features, or we come out as losers full of bitterness and grudges. The battle never ends and the battlefield continuously celebrates a new winner and erases yet another memory of a loser. After all, there’s no space for small fish in the tank of big fish.

As for the girl I used to know, she is very distant from her true self living a desperate life where money doesn’t have any value anymore as she lost the most important thing to her and that is her happiness. Someone once said: “Money doesn’t bring happiness …” I used to laugh and say “Sure it does!”, but seeing my poor friend I retreat and surrender my case to the wise.

What happened to our childhood dreams? What happened to the things that used to matter the most to us? What happened to our days that were filled with laughter with no penny in our pockets? What happened to us? And what happened to our society? I want my happy loving girl back, and I want my dreams.

Author: Hessa Al Bahli

You can find more of Hessa Al Bahli written work at her blog page here