We are pleased to debut a piece written by Maryam Al Qassimi for our August theme “Family” which is titled “Cherish The Ones You Love”

Their warm smiles draw close to you as you enter your home. Their tender greetings fill your heart with admiration and gratitude. You hear your younger relatives’ laughter in the distance, and older family members’ sophisticated conversations.

You watch the scene as it all pours into you_ The music of family is your safe haven.

Their familiar topics echo between the halls of your home. Their assuasive voices fill the empty spaces that were once missing in your life. Their love is a type of love that never wears out. Whenever a patch is torn away from you, new advice and remarks are left as memories for later on in life. Their devotion will fill the emptiness that you once felt, and slowly, they become whole again.

Here I am, slowly collapsing into a sea of untrammeled and secure thoughts. There is no way to feel frightened or distressed when I’m surrounded with the people who I trust most in life. Families support you, no matter what. No matter how many misunderstandings and arguments that are held, a family is a family. You can’t help but feel like strangling your little sibling or cousin, and in the same time. You can’t help but smile when they have achieved in something.

It is almost ridiculous that teenagers these days have a certain attitude towards their parents. They would be there with their friends demanding who has more of a horrible life when they don’t realize what they posses. Children their age would be lying awake, dreaming of a life they will never have. But instead, they’d be lying to their families, tricking them into getting whatever they please, rather than feeling grateful for what they already have.

If I have a chance to enlighten you in my own experience, I’d advise you to be happy. Even though I am just a 15 year old, with little experience, I am mature enough to understand. When you’re at home, sleeping comfortably, others wake up at dawn to work for the support of their families. Some children are lost in this world, not knowing where home really is because they grew up orphaned. So instead of helping others, we throw tantrums, want attention, and hate our lives when others dream of having ours.

In Ramadan we have a chance to think about all those things. To join our families together and give thanks for what we have. In Ramadan, you have a chance to stretch your hand wider than it already is, and give.

Author: Maryam Al Qassimi