Fatima's Archives

Hey everyone! This is a poem that I wrote a while ago - in fact, over a year ago - when I was desperately moved at hearing the news of another relative planning to move abroad. To be honest, this subject that has been of significant pain to me since an early age. I've seen many close family members, friends, and teachers move abroad over the years, and each time I hear of someone else planning to do the same, it hurts. To think that one would push aside their own community, the place in which they were raised, and the ties with people who are so closely related to them at the mere prospect (and not even assurance) of being able to live a better life in a foreign land is hauntingly painful. I do, however, also acknowledge that there are quite multidimensional reasons for people choosing to leave this country. Of course, I am well aware of the unstable economic conditions, and the fact that they greatly affect the living conditions of the majority of our population. I know that...

A few weeks ago, I attended a program at IVS, about which I discussed in my last blog post . One of the tasks that we were assigned during the week on 'Space Odysseys' was to create a piece of art - be it a painting, a write-up, a poem, or a sculpture - based on a space from a story. The story was a ' cassette kahani ', an old-fashioned audio story about a prince and how he risked his life to fight an evil magician and rescue his father. The story, which was in Urdu and was probably recorded at least thirty or forty years ago, was fast-paced and adventure packed, telling a thrilling story of the prince's journey. We listened to the story on the first day of the week, and then were assigned the task of working on an art piece inspired by one of the spaces in the story. We were asked to work on this project throughout the week, and had to present it on the last day of that week. I decided to write a piece of poetry on a scene from the dungeons, when the prince is tr...

This month, my siblings and I had the amazing opportunity to spend two weeks at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS). We had joined their Crossover Program, which was a program for students aged fifteen to nineteen years. The full program consisted of four weeks, but students could choose to join any of the courses, so we had signed up for the last two weeks. The first week that I attended – which was actually week 3 of the complete program – was on space and architecture, called ‘Space Odysseys’. It started with an introduction to space and how we see it, in relation to our own selves. There were several interesting presentations, numerous discussions, and even field trips that focused around the topic of space. Although there were a lot of things that we had already seen, this course provided a new angle of looking at them. This course was led by four instructors – Dr. Suneela Ahmed, Ms. Natasha Mukarram, Ms. Rakhshaan Qazi and Sir Usman Ansari. All of them be...

Hey everyone! A few days ago I wrote a story, this time too, in response to a topic in an AS level English Language paper. Although the topic asked for a 'descriptive piece', what I wrote is more of a story (despite not following a proper story structure!) than a descriptive writing. Nevertheless, it is better than some of the other stuff that I wrote lately, so I'm posting it here. I would really look forward to any feedback and constructive criticism on it. Write a descriptive piece called Laughter and Tears . In your writing, create a sense of contrasting moods to help your reader imagine the scene. It was a hot afternoon and they were playing hide-and-seek in the house. This time she was “it”, and as she counted to hundred, they rushed into their hiding places, giggling and whispering. The innocent young girl, unaware of what life held in store for her, laughed as she rushed from room to room, spotting each one of her friends. She had been running down the ...

I recently attended a workshop called 'The Basics of Photography' at ERDC . One assignment during the workshop was to take some photographs that told a story. That is, the photographs were not supposed to be just beautiful and artistic, but had to represent an idea or perspective. They could be a series of photographs that showed progress/ development, or just one picture, and at the end of the workshop, we had to present and explain it. Being somewhat an environmentalist, I decided to make my presentation on environmental pollution. We went to a park for photography, and in the park, while others focused on flowers and leaves, I took pictures of plants that were surrounded with junk. Hence, I named my presentation 'No longer beautiful' - a representation of all the things in nature that were once beautiful but are no longer so because they have been spoiled by mankind.  What I have managed to capture is hardly a tiny fraction of the whole idea behind it. This prese...

Here's a story I wrote a few days ago in response to a topic given in an AS level English Language past paper that I was solving. I think it has been quite a while since I wrote any stories - I've been more into writing articles lately - so the standard of this is perhaps not as good as it should be. Also, this story is focused towards exploring the inner thoughts and feelings of the main character, rather than building suspense and excitement, which I think is a weak point, but that is what the task had asked me to do. I hope you enjoy reading it. I would really appreciate any feedback and constructive criticism, as there certainly is a lot of room for improvement. Additionally, my exams are only three months away, so feedback and suggestions would be very helpful. Write a story called ‘At Last’, about a person who has waited a very long time for something important to happen. In your writing, create a sense of this person’s mood and how it changes through the story. ...

Hey there! Here are some tips and ideas for becoming a writer. This text was part of the activity booklet in my workshop, Writing Made Easy . I don't know if I'm the right person to give this advice. After all, I'm not a professional writer myself, and only write because I like to. But I think these tips are more like some motivational ideas to encourage you all to write. They don't tell much about the intricacies of writing, rather, they are some general ideas for anyone who wishes to become more fluent and consistent in their writing. I hope that this will be helpful and motivating for you. If you'd like to ask me anything about these points or writing in general, please leave a comment below. I'd look forward to any feedback and suggestions, and would also like to know if you have any tips for better writing. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below! Do not hesitate. Write whatever comes to your mind, without worrying about whether it is rig...

Hey everyone! A lot has happened since I last posted here and I am strongly feeling the need to post about it now. After returning from our trip to Turkey , I along with my siblings, Zainab and Ibraheem , made a documentary on homeschooling, about which I had mentioned in a previous post . It is a quite detailed video in which we've answered some frequently asked questions regarding homeschooling, as well as talked about many of our experiences. The complete video is approximately fifteen minutes long and is called 'The Story of Three Homeschoolers'. Unfortunately, we haven't uploaded the video anywhere online yet D: but if we do, I'll be sure to post it here as well. But the thing I wanted to share about right now is my own thoughts and reflections on a workshop I recently conducted called 'Writing Made Easy'. This was a three-day workshop that I did at ERDC  for children aged nine to thirteen. This was the third workshop that I conducted at ERDC -  I ha...