Obaid's Mecca

The following is a short poem that I wrote in high school regarding the promise of the UN of, "Never Again," wherein the United Nations claimed they would work to never allow something like the Holocaust to ever occur. Here are my thoughts: Usually when we think of the term genocide, We think of the millions of Jews. The ones that for their life they would try to hide - the ones that were inhumanely abused. The ones that, like you and I, Had a home, a family, and friends. The ones that did more than cry, seeing all of them meeting their ends. The ones that were forced to suffer, because they were seen as different or impure. Just because a man thought he was tougher, extreme hardships they had to endure. The ones that were put in concentration camps competing just to live. Just to be put in our place, imagine what they’d give. The ones that in extreme numbers and groups. were tortured, burned, and killed. With bullets or with ga...

This is a vlog (video blog) of my wife, Aamrah, and I traveling to three different states over this past spring break - Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. We made it just out of enjoyment, not out of any serious vlogging commitment or competition. It shows various highlights of our trip and some scenic places that we come across. We began our trip in Las Vegas and toured the city for the duration of a morning. Then, we traveled to Utah, headed for Zion National Park Service. Before planning for this trip, I had never heard of Zion, but in my opinion, I found it to be underrated. I feel as if it was overshadowed by the Grand Canyon because that is the main site that is talked about in the Arizona/Utah region. It had a very immersive mountain experience with hiking trips as short as an hour and as long as 8 hours. After Zion, we drove East and stayed in Page, Arizona. Then, we drove South to the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon. After visiting that, on Day Four of our trip, we made our way ...

  Here are some examples of my previous drawings: 1) is a drawing of Derrick Rose (before his injuries 😭) 2) is a charcoal, still-life drawing and 3) is a drawing of the holiest site on Earth according to the Islamic tradition, the Kabah in Mecca.

This is an advertisement by the mobile service company, Metro PCS, that I found to be very creative and funny. In it, the narrator is mocking Sprint's network speed in order to strengthen Metro PCS' authenticity (ethos). The advertisement effectively uses humor as a tool to appeal to pathos. Also, by depicting a man clearly upset due to the speed of his network right before displaying "Metro PCS", the ad appeals to logos.  Enjoy!

I'll be honest right off the bat. I was not as impressed by the movie as I was made to be. Meaning, the movie was overhyped for me, so I went into it waiting for an unimaginable twist or a mind-blowing event, but the movie ended by then. Had I gone in with lower expectations, I'm certain I would have loved the experience more because, don't get me wrong,  it was an  amazing  movie!  Cinematics, plot, acting, and soundtrack were all captivating and impressive! My one advice to the person who hasn't watched this movie it to go into the experience with lower expectations and you will truly enjoy it.

I chose this picture as the background to my blog because it is a pencil drawing of the interior of a mosque, and I sensed that it said things about me: 1) I felt it was able to depict the idea that I am fond of art and drawing. Also, it communicates that I enjoy trying at my creativity and personalizing what is mine. I hope to, as time passes, become even more creative with my blog by experimenting with fonts , sizes, and c o l o r s. 2) Like I mentioned in my previous post, this being an Islamic structure, it is especially meaningful to me.

I named my blog using the word "Mecca" because of the two meanings that it brings to the table: 1) "A mecca" is said to be a place that attracts many visitors; therefore, calling my blog a mecca implies that people will one day be attracted towards it, giving me a motive to actually put some thought into what I write. 2) The former term was derived from the city of Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him), and the way millions of Muslims visit it every year (as depicted above, wherein lines of people are praying around the Kabah, the holiest Islamic site in the world). This meaning of the word holds meaning to me as I see Islam to play a huge role in the way I live my everyday life and interact with others.