A Sad, True Story
Hi, I am Hiba, a 14 year old student. I was born on February 19, 1997 in Meknes. It was the greatest day in our family; I am my parent's first and last child, and my paternal and maternal grandparents’ first and last grandchild. So you can say I am the special one whom everybody loves and takes care of. My mother took care of me until I became a three month old baby, so I was taken to my maternal grandmother's home and was raised by her. Even if I didn't have any brothers or sisters, my aunts and uncles were there for me, and treated me better than they treated each other.
My mom and dad used to visit me every weekend, but I wasn't really used to them. I wasn't calling my mother "mom" like all the other children my age. I was just calling her by her first name and the same for my dad. But of course I wasn't going to stay with my grandmother a lifetime, so when I was 3 years old and I had to go to a nursery school, I went to my parent’s place. I was a quiet little girl who loved so much her parents and aunts. I didn't have friends then, except my classmates. But I didn't go out like the others to play and have fun with my neighbors. My father was a lawyer and my mom an employee at the Court,so you can imagine how they think.
When I was eight, I had a first true best friend; we were sisters and loved each other a lot. Her parents were divorced and her mom was my French teacher. We traveled together, studied together, we were just inseparable. But for some family problems, we weren't allowed to see each other afterwards. However, we kept a promise deep inside our souls that one day, we would meet again, break all the rules, and just feel the happiness we felt when we were eight.
And then came my 11th birthday! I started forgetting about sadness. Then my dad…well, it's not easy to say that even after three years… my dad passed away. That was the event that completely changed my life. I just realized how much my paternal grandfather and aunts hated me. And I really mean it. When someone dies, I just don't know why everybody's first worry is the money. Well, maybe it's because he was MY dad and not theirs. When he was sick at the hospital, I remember myself praying, looking from a window to the sky, and saying “Oh God. I absolutely know that my dad will die someday, but don't let it be today.” The last time I saw him alive, he was at the hospital eating. He asked me how my day was and if I had great grades. I said yes, so he encouraged me and said “Well, good luck." It was the last thing I heard from him. But I kept asking myself if that was a coincidence. He was wishing me good luck for the life that he was leaving behind. He was always telling me that I could consider him as a dad, a brother, a friend and anyone I wanted. I knew that I didn't love him for who he was but for the person I was when I was with him. A quote I saw one day made me stronger:
“Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death.”
So I want to say, Daddy, I'll always love you, dead or next to me - it doesn't make a difference. You may think it's a pretty sad story, but I am surrounded by many people who make my life beautiful. First, there is my mom and my maternal family, and second, I have my band of friends. We just have a lot of fun together and laugh all the time because as Victor Hugo said, "Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face." We just hope we will always stay together, because we know everything about each other and love each other. Anyway, you can say that we are all a single soul in a lot of bodies. My mom is like my other half; she just completes me and wants for me all the best as all mothers. “Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together."
Sometimes I think about my future like any teenager, and I just say to myself, “I really love English, so I want to be an English teacher.” After that, I want to help my students learn English, and make them love the language. And then comes my biggest dream: MARRIAGE! I'm still young, I know, but I've already started to think about marriage, children, and a wonderful husband, whom I will love more with time because a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading my life story and keep on reading! As Alberto Manguel said : “To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.”
By Hiba Zouhri, Int 6
My mom and dad used to visit me every weekend, but I wasn't really used to them. I wasn't calling my mother "mom" like all the other children my age. I was just calling her by her first name and the same for my dad. But of course I wasn't going to stay with my grandmother a lifetime, so when I was 3 years old and I had to go to a nursery school, I went to my parent’s place. I was a quiet little girl who loved so much her parents and aunts. I didn't have friends then, except my classmates. But I didn't go out like the others to play and have fun with my neighbors. My father was a lawyer and my mom an employee at the Court,so you can imagine how they think.
When I was eight, I had a first true best friend; we were sisters and loved each other a lot. Her parents were divorced and her mom was my French teacher. We traveled together, studied together, we were just inseparable. But for some family problems, we weren't allowed to see each other afterwards. However, we kept a promise deep inside our souls that one day, we would meet again, break all the rules, and just feel the happiness we felt when we were eight.
And then came my 11th birthday! I started forgetting about sadness. Then my dad…well, it's not easy to say that even after three years… my dad passed away. That was the event that completely changed my life. I just realized how much my paternal grandfather and aunts hated me. And I really mean it. When someone dies, I just don't know why everybody's first worry is the money. Well, maybe it's because he was MY dad and not theirs. When he was sick at the hospital, I remember myself praying, looking from a window to the sky, and saying “Oh God. I absolutely know that my dad will die someday, but don't let it be today.” The last time I saw him alive, he was at the hospital eating. He asked me how my day was and if I had great grades. I said yes, so he encouraged me and said “Well, good luck." It was the last thing I heard from him. But I kept asking myself if that was a coincidence. He was wishing me good luck for the life that he was leaving behind. He was always telling me that I could consider him as a dad, a brother, a friend and anyone I wanted. I knew that I didn't love him for who he was but for the person I was when I was with him. A quote I saw one day made me stronger:
“Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death.”
So I want to say, Daddy, I'll always love you, dead or next to me - it doesn't make a difference. You may think it's a pretty sad story, but I am surrounded by many people who make my life beautiful. First, there is my mom and my maternal family, and second, I have my band of friends. We just have a lot of fun together and laugh all the time because as Victor Hugo said, "Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face." We just hope we will always stay together, because we know everything about each other and love each other. Anyway, you can say that we are all a single soul in a lot of bodies. My mom is like my other half; she just completes me and wants for me all the best as all mothers. “Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together."
Sometimes I think about my future like any teenager, and I just say to myself, “I really love English, so I want to be an English teacher.” After that, I want to help my students learn English, and make them love the language. And then comes my biggest dream: MARRIAGE! I'm still young, I know, but I've already started to think about marriage, children, and a wonderful husband, whom I will love more with time because a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading my life story and keep on reading! As Alberto Manguel said : “To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.”
By Hiba Zouhri, Int 6