Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
IT has been exactly a year since I lost my mother to cancer and a lot has happened. Back then many people said that I should not worry as she was in a better place and that it was up to me to move on with life.
Some suggested that in six months time things would become easier and that life would be better.
Trust me; it does not get any easier - in some ways it actually gets harder.
Everything that has happened to me after my mother's passing seems to have been of a huge magnitude to both me and my family.
Many good things have happened this year. I learned to become a stronger person. Although it is difficult to put into words, if I had never lost a friend and a mother I would never have been aware of the trauma of cancer and consequently would never have been so passionate in spreading awareness about the disease.
I have also experienced some rough times in the past 12 months. Heading the list, of course, is the academic pressure to stay on top of studies ... and university concerns have proved a heavy load without the help of my mother. There have been lonely days when I would think a lot about things and wonder how it would have been if my mother was still there.
Nevertheless, I still had my friends to offer support. Without my three closest friends, Salman, Hussam and Yousif (Thank you guys) I would have been lost and even angrier with everything around me.
You never realise who your true friends are until times of adversity. Therefore, my advice to all my young readers is that no matter how much we want a perfect life there will be times when things don't go according to plan - look at it as a test from God of how strong-willed we are.
Also, find a friend who you think may have fallen and pick them up, it can be lonely at times unless you have a helping hand!
