Somaya Mohamed

This pandemic has provided the time and environment where I could analyze my life and self-reflect. I dissected many aspects of my life, mostly pertaining to all the things that have affected my mental health and relationship with Allah.

I decided to take a trip to Ethiopia, not because I wanted to, but because I believe I had to. At the time, I found it difficult to recognize myself and those around me. Only during this pandemic was I given the time to unearth issues I had, recuperate, and realign my values in a country overflowing with my kinfolk.

This pandemic has also been a very humbling wake-up call for me. It emerged and caught me unprepared and off guard. As humans, we like to plan for the future, believing nothing between now and our plans will befall us, but the current series of events have reminded me that that is not the case.

We may heedlessly plan and dive into a rat-race lifestyle, but in the end, everything is by Allah's Will.

- Somaya Mohamed