Who uses pen and paper anymore? I went through about five or six journals and diaries in my youth, each time vowing to write in them every night and even giving them a name. I wanted to treat them like a person that I could talk to at any moment in time, and be able to give them to my children and grandchildren to read and cherish-- like in the movies. It's 2011, and each time I go to Barnes and Noble I always walk by the stationary section touching the mature looking pens and lifting every shining paper weight. I look at the journals, in awe of the designs and envious of people that actually use them instead of placing them on their coffee table for decoration.
I was born in 1986, to a Muslim mother and a Catholic father. I know, I know, how in the world does that even work? Thankfully (or maybe not) they are not religious passed the point of saying a prayer when an airplane takes off and lands. My mother is originally from Turkey, a wonderful and beautiful country. She is the oldest of six, having to mature when her father passed away when she was only 17. She supported her siblings and her widowed mother by working too much. What choice did she have? None, really. It's what you do when you love people-- you help them thrive by thriving yourself.