the little things are the big things

مَّا أَصَابَكَ مِنۡ حَسَنَةٖ فَمِنَ ٱللَّهِ ◘

From the ones who will write to their loved ones near & afar and bring them simple joy from a small photography greeting card. 

To the privilege to pursue what I love, a feeling that is never lost from me. The guilt & gratitude that simultaneously lives on in my head & heart. 

To the little girl who ran over, pointed up with her tiny finger, & cheered “Falasteen!” 

To go from not knowing if anyone would even like my photos to now having joined markets, pop ups, art fundraiser, online sales, a Muslim owned gallery, and connecting with so many spectacular people who provided encouragement & support. All in between a summer that included traveling to 10 countries. Alhamdulillah. 

To the resistance I received against the photos that declared my belief in “from the river, to the sea” without having to utter a single word. 

To the pushbacks, the friendly demeanor turned cold once seeing more than just the nature photos. The so many more behind the scene nos, some fueled by a full portfolio of celebrating Islamic art. 

To the people who felt seen, heard, and represented in the community by someone as small as me. 

From the Palestinian woman who felt she had to whisper to me how special it was to see the beautiful golden dome that translates to so much more.

To the negative twist in a face when correcting someone that it’s a mosque, not a church.

To the one who tried to argue with me that the Dome of the Rock "is in Israel, not Palestine." While another had me confirm I believed Jerusalem is in Palestine because we “never want to give money to a Zionist.”

To using pretty pictures as an avenue to spark engaging conversations, exchanging travel stories, and illuminating how culture & faith intertwined led me to be who I am. 

To understanding that aside from my self-doubt on my photography skills, some dismissive looks came because it was the beauty of the content that people didn’t want to have exposed or attributed to a faith they ignorantly despise.

To portraying how serene Muslim countries are. That as a young woman from the West, I can attest to how safe I felt, the hospitality, the incredible people who aren’t what your media deems them to be. To open eyes with real experience and truth. To use an amiable approach to counter a narrative that propagates the oppressor. To create conversations that lead to a perspective of acceptance & understanding.

To connections with business owners who understand the labor of love to get to the finished product. To the other artists / photographers whose compliment of my eye lifted my confidence at my core. 

To my Vanderbilt degree that is collecting dust, my past career that nourished my overseas travel, & that dunya focused six-figure salary that never gave me the sense of fulfillment I feel now. 

To my incredibly supportive family, aunts, cousins, who despite all the years lost while I lived far away, showed that distance doesn’t ever mean love is lost.

To ignoring the advice that when starting a business, you should not toe against the line that may lead to missed opportunities. To me, nothing is worth censoring my values, my experiences, my truth. To me, the measure of a person isn’t their accolades, followers, or awards - it’s what they stand for.

To every little kid that dragged their parents over because colors! Puffins! Sheep! To then challenge them to choose a favorite picture, to tell me about their dreams, & encourage them to never give that up. 

To new friends who showed up without question & to those I haven’t seen in over 10 years making the effort to reconnect. 

To every traveler who got to relive their abroad memories with me. To those who admired in gratitude for what a special gift it is to exist in this world we live in. 

To setting out with the intention to create something for yourself without any expectation other than just to feel proud of you. 

Most importantly, to my faith that uplifted me out of my lowest lows and guided me to discover my best self. So many tears, happy & sad, so many restless nights settled through His word, so many moments that brought me true clarity in The One.