This little girl is grateful...

(Continued).

Around 15 years ago, this little girl moved to the Middle East because her father landed a job there... she carried her stuffed toy Dalmation and rode a plane for the longest trip she had ever taken in her life (well, the one she remembers anyways).

She had just finished first grade and celebrated her 7th birthday a month ago, for the last time, with her cousins and her best friend Erin C.

So yeah, her family left all that was known, comfortable and secure for a life in a country where they knew they could provide their daughters with an even better life.

Flash forward to the year 2005 and the eldest daughter (me) graduates High School and so it's time to move back to the once known, comfortable and secure lifestyle... which now seemed like the opposite (after 11 yrs of living in the Middle East).

After many many many teary goodbyes to friends who became more like family, we returned to real family in the United States.

Once again, here enters the once little girl who had moved out of the US at the age of 7 and has now come back as an 18 year old adult. She is unsure of what the future holds for her and finds it hard to completely blend in... she does not have a drivers' license, dresses differently, has a slight accent, never had a job and has never had any schooling in the United States since 1994.

She moves to the US in July and starts practicing driving right away, even though her family has only one car at that time. She lands a job at Macy's and starts working there by August 12th and starts schooling at a community college by September.

She finds is hard to adjust because other people seem to be able to sense that she is different too, and although she is kind and friendly... she is shy and without prodding finds it hard to make friends in the first year of college.

The second year gets better, when she meets 'S' in an Arabic class and they become friends :) [Unfortunately, 'S' is no longer a friend because she found a larger group or friends and eventually stopped caring for me]. 'S' is half German and half Palestinian.

[[Eventually I move out of the community college and transfer to the state university over here.]]

One friendship led to many others and here I am in the year 2009 all ready to graduate from college and I was overwhelmed by the number of 'actual' friends which I had on facebook (even after cutting down ppl who were just acquaintances, I had around 200 friends that I was pretty close to!).

So yeah, I have a looot to be grateful for... I would have never thought that a shy little girl who was the only Asian (the indo-pak type :P) in her whole elementary school would grow up to spend her whole life in a foreign country and then come back and start over... struggle, but thrive in the United States.

I remember how difficult, emotional and hurtful my first year of college was... and now all I have are fond memories, alhamdulillah (Allah is worthy of All Praise).

I am going to be the first one in my family to have an American degree and my parents could not be prouder. I am grateful to them because they're the ones that worked hard and paid my tuition each quarter, sometimes struggling with it, so that I would not have get any student loans when I start off my own life.

So, I think I have finally deciphered the real reason for my nerves... a chapter of my life is now closing and another one is now starting... one that I don't know much about...

But, recalling how I've done it many times before... I have faith that I'll be able to get through ok :)

Thank you God for all the mercy, love and guidance that you have bestowed me with.