11 Personal Questions : Raya Reflection
12:54:00 PM
1. What makes you happy?
My family
and friends accepting me for the person that I am with all my flaws and
imperfections. Having them here with me, loving, caring and supporting me
throughout my ups and down. I’m extremely blessed to have a strong support
system, my family and friends eventhough I’m not the best in showing my love to
them.
2. Do you work to live
or live to work?
I’m happy
with the switch of career that I did from the legal world to fashion and
blogging full time and I feel like there’s no turning back. My work makes me
happy but it comes with a lot of challenges especially because I’m very fairly new
in the industry! There are people who believe in you and give you endless
support but at the same time there are those who doubt you too and try to bring
you down. But I guess, that is something normal everywhere and we just have to
always be positive, keep on focusing on what really matters and continue to
work hard, be patient and persevere throughout the hectic and stressful period
as well as just face all the challenges one day at a time.
Coming
back to the question, the support and love that I have received for aere and
this blog motivates me to work even harder and give more. But especially the
past few months when I’ve been super crazy busy, I have been reminded by people
around me who sincerely care and are concerned that sometimes I push myself too
hard or push myself beyond my limits too.
Now there
are a few people around me who has met me, sat me down and asked me to take
care of my health more because they see me push myself hard to work for aere
and rnadia.com. Sometimes I don’t realize that I’m pushing myself too hard when
I’m just into it. Until there are close ones who tells me to slow down. So for
me I’m still in the midst of reflecting, whether I live to work or work to
live. But theoretically, I know that our own health and those whom we love
should always be a priority, above work. So I am still working on juggling
everything and creating a work life balance. I personally think that a lot has
improved compared to say, 4 years ago.
3.
Why " FEEL " for aere’s Raya collection this year?
FEEL. It's an aesthetic expression of the balance between
joy and melancholy.
Eid to me is a bittersweet occasion, one of joy and
gratitude at what I’ve been blessed with, yet at the same time, it is also a
time of quiet reflection and nostalgic reminder of what I have lost. Those that
spend their Eid apart from their loved ones will understand the unexplainable
sense of longing on Eid. It is a time of self-reflection and introspection. A
perfect time to ‘feel’. It is this balance that I try to express in aere’s FEEL
eid collection this year. This collection is somewhat very personal to me
4.
Who do you miss the most
this Raya?
My late daughter Jibrael, my beloved first child. And my second child Adik
Jibrael whom I carried but never got to meet. My estimated due date was
supposed to be the first week of June. I was supposed to be 39 weeks this
Friday. I was supposed to be 9 months pregnant since 2 weeks ago. So, the past
few weeks haven’t been easy even though I’ve been keeping myself really super
busy accepting different types of good opportunities.
God knows best and took my second baby from me
and placed her at a better place beyond imagination, beautiful heaven to be
with Jibrael. All praises to God for blessing me with two children in heaven. I
know some might not understand it and sometimes I forget too, but I’m really
truly blessed to have them waiting for me there. Till I meet them and be
reunited with them in heaven if God wills it, I will continue to miss them and
try my best to be strong and give my best here in this world so that they can
be proud of me too eventhough I will never know it.
I also miss my late grandmothers Arwah Opah
and Arwah Tah, and one of my Tok whom I never met. I remember the last few
times I met my Arwah Opah she always pampered and manjakan me and also always call me Cucu Sulung Opah coz I’m the
eldest grandchild out of many, many cousins. As for Arwah Tah, the last time I
met her I told her I was preganant and after that I was hospitalized because of
my pregnancy and I didn’t get to see her for the last time as she passed away
when I was in the hospital carrying Jibrael. Arwah Tok, Tah’s husband passed
away when my father was really young in primary school so eventhough I didn’t
get to meet him ever, I miss his presence as a grandfather. May God bless
theirs souls and place them in the most beautiful places in heaven for their
sacrifices and love. God knows best.
5. The hardest question for you to answer nearing Raya?
Last year,
it was “Where did you spend your Raya holidays?” Because it hits. Blogged about
it in “HerThird Raya : Expect the Unexpected XVII” and "Visiting Jibrael & Friends".
This year,
its “How many months pregnant are you now?”, “Why do you look so skinny even though
you’re pregnant?”, “Are you pregnant?”, “What happened to you skin?”…
Supposed
to be 9 months now. Because I’m no longer pregnant, not yet pregnant but pray
for me please. The skin started to be like this because of the pregnancy
hormones when I was pregnant and now probably just because of different types
of stresses.
6. Favorite raya memory?
Every Raya holds different memories for a
reason, I can't chose one - but amongst the most memorable are: my first Raya
as a wife and my first Raya as a mother. It's also a family tradition for the
whole family to get together on the night before Raya. That's also very
special. I am blessed to have my family, relative and friends.
Blogged about my first Raya as a Mom 3 years ago in "Black Eid : Raya on Fire 2013", "Night Before Eid : Raya on Fire 2013" and "From Ipoh to KL 2013".
Also about my first Raya as a wife 6 years ago in "Reflections of Raya 2010 : 1" and "Reflections of Raya 3"
7. Favorite raya dish?
It would have to be my mum's rendang
pedas ayam or rendang daging besamah which she only cooks specially
for Raya.
8. Raya playlist?
The evergreen, sentimental and nostalgic raya
songs. I grew up happily singing along to them, but now I can understand the
deeper message behind these songs.
9. If you were a flower, what flower would you be and why?
I feel that I would be a rose - It's my
favourite flower. To me there's something beyond the rose that people overlook.
The rose may be delicate, but the thorns that come with a rose, it's there for
a reason.
10. Tell us about aere’s Raya collection this year, what inspired it?
This Raya, the collection is called FEEL. Eid
is definitely an occasion of celebration and happiness, but for some, it is
also a time of reflection, a time of bittersweet nostalgia for those who are
unable to celebrate this joyous festival with their loved ones. Eid is also a
time of connection - Rekindling relationships. Seeking forgiveness. Reigniting
and strengthening bonds further. Getting in touch with our innermost feelings -
that was the inspiration for this collection.
So for this collection, we decided to strip
our pieces bare of adornments and embellishments. We focused on sophisticatedly
simple designs with dramatic and clean cuts. The spirit behind this collection
is very personal to me.
aere's commitment to comfort and
multifunctional versatility is also ever-present in this feel Eid collection.
Our tops and bottoms are available and can be worn separately - throughout the
year with creative styling. That is one of aere's uncompromising values from
when we started our raya collection last year.
11. If you can dress any celebrity, living or gone, who would it be?
Angelina Jolie. I really admire her work
for speaking up on behalf of the Syrian refugees and I
admire her beautiful commitment in raising her family. I could really see her
in one of aere's feel Eid pieces. For those who have passed, Maybe Audrey
Hepburn - She was always elegant, simple and classic. Her style has withstood
the test of time.
IF you are wondering why this came about, I
was actually interviewed by FashionValet for aere’s Raya collection this year. And above
are some of the questions that I answered and I added a few more questions.
It’s all about reflections this year. So just decided to share my full answers
on the blog here.
If you have any questions, just leave them on
the comments section below, if there’s more than 8, probably I will continue
with a Part 2. Thanks for reading! As we are entering the fashting month and Ramadhan
soon, I seek forgiveness from all of you if I have ever hurt or offended you in
any way though my writings or any other way. May you have a blessed Ramadhan
and a beautiful Eid this year with your loved ones!
Wearing aere's LEA Top in this photo captured by Eric Blink during
aere's campaign photoshoot last week.
Anyways, check out aere’s FEEL eid collection. The versatile pieces are available for order today and also follow aere's updates on IG. :)
PEACE & LOVE!
4 comments
happy ramadhan al mubarak!
ReplyDeleteDear sister,
ReplyDeleteI've always been a fan of your blog and instagram but this is my first time leaving a comment. I share your sadness regarding Jibrael's little sister and I pray you find strenght in God's test, may you rise above your sadness, may God lift your iman through this difficult time and may good things come after, here and hereafter. If its not too much to ask, can you tell me your second child's name if you already decided it ? So I can say a prayer for the Jibrael and your little one. If its too much, then I'm sorry I asked. Please stay strong. God is with us, God is kind. Believe in Him and you will be rewarded twice as much as you've been tested. Hugs from sabah.
Love from afar,
Liyana.
Dear ,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this.Giving us positive sparkle to continue our lives. Your journey of celebrating Raya with your loved ones is very touching. well, all of us always miss the moment of celebrating our childhood Raya, nostalgic yet super duper exciting.
I am deeply sorry for what happened especially about you are not pregnant and something had happened before that. Honestly, letting go is not something that we can do as we talk about it. It is a process and hardly a tough one. Please keep your heads up and never look back.
For every questions that people will always ask you about, please just let them ask. But keep in your mind that there two beautiful baby waiting you in Heaven. Keep focusing on Allah's greatness and always believe in Him.
I wish you have a very good life and deserve everything that you wish for.
Love . .
Salam sis, I've been following you on social media for quite some time. I'm sorry for your loss. I always blog about my baby and how he is growing well. So when I read your posts about your babies, I feel sad and in awe at how brave you are. I cannot imagine going through what you went through. Allah is the best of planners and may He give you strength and happiness. Stay strong. <3
ReplyDelete