Because I can
Gentle, funny, liberal, religious, sharp, tactful, to-the-point, and that laugh to top it all.
So proper, she showed up with a box of chocolate in a beautiful bag. How did she know I like chocolate?
Ah! Her laugh. I can still hear its reverberations. Contagious. Starts deep from the guts and blasts out to a high-pitched giggle. The 6-second roar detoxes your spirit like a 60-minute massage relaxes your body. Happy, clean, pure, and joyful!
Travel with company
She's from Lebanon and has been to Belgium, France, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Canada, Italy, Serbia, Saudi Arabia, and Portugal. She has a US visa and intends to use it. Traveling widens her perspective on the world by meeting its people.
Produce from Sri Lanka
I usually meet people at Starbucks. Currently, in Doha, it is not possible. So, we had to meet elsewhere. To level the communication ground and break the ice, she reached out to me and asked where I've been in the US. We talked about Ohio and Texas, where she has friends. She wants to visit China and Australia. "Why do I love traveling? Why not?"
Happy laugh.
Traveling in groups is her preferred choice. The positive dynamics of like-minded and kind-hearted people fuel her experience. She especially appreciates when they share the same background, age range, prospects, inspirations, and psychological state. Everyone is ready to help the other. They all want to invest their time in seeing as much as possible.
Sunset in Sri Lanka
She started telling me about her trip to Sri Lanka. So I asked about the famous massages they give over there. She casually diverted the subject to the 'the elephants were great' statement. I called her on it. She blushed and cracked a big you-caught-me laugh. No massage for this world traveler. So, I played along and inquired further about 'the elephants.'
They're her favorite animals — intelligent and empathetic. Despite their enormous size, they are gentle, emotional, and playful. She relates to the empathy part as she seeks the child in the people she meets. She skipped taking a ride on one, having seen how they're exploited. Elephants cry.
She looks away and smiles.
She remembered the Sri Lanka trip. Six sleepless nights as she and her friends toured the country in a rented van.
“Why do you travel?” I asked.
"I like the whole experience. I consider myself an extroverted person, and it's obvious.”
We both laughed because she was talking up a storm! Ghina is so easy to get along with.
The COVID solitude has affected her significantly, and she's had enough. The first month of self-reflection was good. Later on, Khalas! She misses life. She misses meeting people for conversations, discovering new personalities and places, making connections, and learning something new. Yet, she says 1000 Hamdillahs to God for the opportunity he's given her to travel this much and to witness when the magic happens.
"Travel brings me joy. My mind and soul open up when I talk to new people and when I eat specially-cuisined food for me. When someone sees me through a food experience. How mind-blowing is that? How cool is that? Right?"
Hold the wine. Ghina does not drink, but she's tipsy with life itself. She visits cities as if she's visiting family or friends. Ghina becomes alive in Lisbon, the proper, wiser older sister to Porto — the adventurous, wilder, fun, crazy little sister. Porto is where the sea, ships, and rocks listen to Fado music. The city is where you dine at a windy hilltop restaurant while you share the food with the local birds.
Meal in Porto
Traveling for her is experiencing the little moments, the unexpected vignettes that become etched in one's memory. Once in Brussels, after walking the whole city during the day, they came across a stairway setting where you could grab a blanket and enjoy an open-air movie as part of a film festival. At sunset, in that setting, among those vibes, Back to the Future with Michael J. Fox will always be a personal movie to her.
Where were you when you watched it?
Her life for the next few years
The COVID experience changed her perspective on life. She learned more about herself, her capacities, patience, and perseverance. She learned what she wants, doesn't like, what is worth it, who is worth keeping, and who is best to let go. Still, the travel bug keeps itching.
"I want to visit spiritual places, meet as many people as I can, and find a career that is more like me."
She likes to get another perspective on life and religion by visiting places in Thailand, Japan, and India. She wants to start conversations with strangers as it comes naturally to her. She is genuinely interested in people and their life stories.
She wants a career that is more like her. She's not sure yet, but she knows she does not want to be a management consultant all her life. She wants a job that is more Ghina. She's looking for something that taps into her creativity and passion as it builds on her analytical skills.
“Maybe go into digital marketing?” she asks, “or go full throttle and become a TV presenter? I don’t know.”
There was a pause and then a deep laugh. She saw it. She felt where she would be. Seeing where you're going is halfway to making it happen.
And then she continued: "I like to have my own show. I just got this idea. I like it so much. Very much. I think if I do that, I'm going to wake up happy. Every day. It's going to shake me. Yalla Ghina, get up. You have something to do. I will feel the impact. Just like now. By talking. How simple is that?"
She wants to make a living meeting people, talking to them, making an impact on the world, and, in the process, having fun.
And as Ghina says, “how cool is that? Right?”
She wants more because she can
She has a dilemma between the Hamdillah I have what I have and the guilt of wanting more. She wants more because she knows she can. She can do more, explore more, and impact more. Ghina doesn't want to settle for 'good enough,' nor wants to look back one day and say: "I wish."
The home she grew up in made her ambitious. Her parents are the most selfless people she knows. Her mother is a perfectionist. They've given everything to their children. They want them to soar without a glitch. Ghina needs help seeing how that can happen.
She chooses to walk in a minefield early, for the price of a mistake can be more affordable than later. Her mother is afraid for her and afraid of the mistakes that she would make. She wants her out but can't let go. Ghina is not scared of mistakes, the ones that will help her grow.
"I want that. I'm scared shitless. And still, I want the opportunity to make mistakes, including catching COVID."
She believes Sobhan Allah when she starts on a new adventure, He will work it out for her. He would make sure that she would be safe and that she would worry less about her parents. The ones who grew up in a turmoiled country and live to worry about their children. She says the mutual worry and her guilt of not being there for them should end. Doing more and traveling frequently gives her the freedom she yearns for.
One of three girls who love each other to pieces. Argue? Sure. Who doesn't? They're all trying to break their home's "I love you, I worry about you" philosophy to a "go, just go" attitude.
Family, spirituality, and religion
Ghina loves to learn about other religions. As a practicing Muslim, she's curious about other people's perspectives on spirituality. She enjoys discussions with her Christian friends. She discovers and, in the process, harnesses the best.
"The Prophet (PBUH) taught us to be good with people of other religions and learn from them. I practice. I fast. I memorized a big part of the Holy Quran and got deeper in its meaning."
She credits her parents for raising them on sound values and religion. She learned, listened, argued, and then understood her faith. She witnessed the love and practiced her beliefs.
In this Holy month, she's fasting to stay in a praying state. Day after day, she's feeling stronger. She turns and talks to that imaginary person who's been with us in the conversation and says:
"Ghina. Look at yourself. Look at what you've accomplished. And you're also fasting. …Damn!"
And she claps for herself and ignites her own imaginary cheerleading squad.
She believes in pushing herself to test her limits. God knows what she's going through as she opens her hands and prays. He puts you in situations so you think of Him and ask Him for the strength to conquer challenges.
"I like the fact that I have the support that is bigger than anything else in this world."
She loves Ramadan. The Holy Month encourages her family to practice love and patience with each other, awaiting Iftar at the end of the day.