Exams stress
By Showkat Ali
It’s that time of year
When I’m full of fear
Scared and unable to sleep
I keep these thoughts near
Afraid to share
Or show my fears
Revising hard
Like it’s a bigger fard
Than following Islam
Which keeps me calm
My final exams are nigh
End of an era
But my mind is full of terror
Grade eleven
Final year
Have to do well
A few A*'s and maybe
A couple of A's
That is If I’m lucky
If not how do I tell my family
That I failed miserably?
My mum crying
My dad staring
Into space
With an empty face
Sombre dark frame of mind
Takes hold like somebody died
I let down the family
What will people say?
Relatives boasting
Their kids done outstanding
Whilst my parents hide their shame
In isolation
Holding me for the blame
My life aint worth living
And I think about myself deeply
I think about suicide
Ending this pain and worry
With escape to break free
Expectations so high
My older siblings are flying
In their careers
Doctors and engineers
I’m expected
To go higher
Maintain the tradition
To succeed in education
Qualifications
Job applications
Working hard
Lots of money
Fame and success
Is everything
Getting married
Having kids
Retirement
And that’s the end!
That’s the plan my parents got
But I find my mind
Thinking and asking
Is their more to life than this?
Following the society
or following my Creator?
Where does happiness and success lie?
This life or the next?
You decide.
Exams can be retaken
But if I waste my life
Will I get the chance to come back and re-take?
The author can be contacted on showkotali@hotmail.com
His blog www.Islamic-education.blogspot.com
Please feel free to publish, forward and circulate as widely as possible.
excellent lyrics...
u keep ur efforts on this kind of stuff bro... rather than the political anti-western stuff
no, i really like it...made proper sense...
well done.
JazakAllah brother, your comments much appreciated, please feel free to put this in hte magazine if you wish.
As for the political stuff well its reality as I and many people see it.
As for anti-western, well some would say that the Quran states many things which we must accept as fact eg The only way of life acceptable to Allah is Islam.
[url]www.7cgen.com[/url], the place to be
Any decent kid thinking the stuff in that poem needs a bit of reassurance and encouragement, not a guilt trip. I wouldn't glorify that frame of mind. Nothing wrong with becoming a doctor.
[size=10]The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.[/size]
[size=9]Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)[/size]
his poem got me thinking something i was talking over with my husband. I too used to think typical asian parents always wanting their kids to be doctors and lawyers without a regard for what they want. But now i'm beginning to understand their mindset in a way. They just don't want their kids to struggle in adulthood like they did.
Many of our parents came here and got menial jobs working in factories, doing cleaning jobs etc etc. Jobs with no real prospects. They worked very hard to earn their wage packet and had very little luxuries to give their children. I remember patching up clothes as a kid, using hand me downs from other siblings. Nowadays clothes are so cheap you can buy new clothes even on the smallest of budgets. Things were different then.
So is it so bad that our parents want us to go into professional jobs, coz lets face it that's where the big earning potential is.
Also if you look at the most successful ppl on earth with regards to wealth and vocations they tended to have really pushy parents, or they themselves were extremely ambitious and always willing to take a risk. That's how i want my children to be with regards to work. I dont want them to just get by and do without luxuries. There's nothing wrong with a few luxuries especially if you earn it in an honest way.
We spend half our lives studying then the rest working just so we can have a comfortable lifestyle. So why waste it in dead end jobs, when we have the potential to do better?
I wouldn't force my kid into something they weren't interested in. But kids get their interests likes and dislikes via influences. So i will positively influence them, nothing wrong with that. End of the day it's their choice. But i know i'm not letting my child go through years and years of the education system just to sit in a job they could have got without even so much as basic gcses.
If they're not good in academic things then i'll put my kid through an apprenticeship, many great entrepreneaurs have been born through this nothing shameful in it, even though asians think there is. The degree route isn't the only way.
p.s Being a doc isn;t so bad think of all the humanitarian work you can do?
P.S it is possible to have a balanced life where religious obligations and others are met. The greatest islamic scholars of the past were mathmaticians, physicians, astronomers etc etc as well as islamic scholars ever thght of that?
i think its very important for muslims to get out into de community n have proffesional careers and should be encouraged because i know 4 a fact alot of muslims just choose de easy way out of education!
ZShabbir