Here We Start – Issue #37

Dear Sail Readers,

As an Editor in Chief, I often try to avoid stating that one issue is more special to me than the other, however, for so many personal reasons, this issue, the 37^th, is special to my heart from so many aspects. Some of the articles touch on matters that I think we all have been mulling over for a while, such as our hectic fast paced lives, our general impatience, the affect of smart phones and social media on our personal lives and levels of communication, and many more of such. Going through the articles for this issue made me realize couple of things: first, that I’m not alone in feeling that, so nothing is wrong with me in particular; second, with the team’s reflection on those matters they gave some guidance on potential causes or more insights, those encouraged me to look deeper to find the roots of those matters and start acting on them. I’m not saying that all the matters are now resolved thanks to reading the issue, but at least it gave me peace, and a push forward to the better. Hope this issue helps you to reach the same.

We have 4 new members who joined us from this month:

• Alia AlHazami, through her column: “Hidden Promises”. Alia Al-Hazami is an ambitious 16 year old Emirati. Her dreams consist of owning a successful business and publishing a novel. Her main aim is to prove that Arabs can amount to success. She has been featured on websites such as ThinkUpGCC and Untitled Chapters
• Maha Bin Fares as an illustrator. Maha is a young Emirati Graphic Designer. To her, design is a mirror that reflects the way she thinks and the way she believes that nothing is ever impossible. She grew up with the passion of observing the beautiful things around her from the beautiful skyline of Dubai to the golden sand dunes.
• Maryam Zainal as an illustrator. Maryam is an Emirati Graphic Designer; a graduate of the American University in Dubai with a BFA in Visual Communications. Born and raised in Dubai expanded her perspective and built up her passion for design. Her love for drawing, painting, photography and videography pushed her to create multiple, extensive things. Her creative solutions are fun, simple and conceptual. She believes in pink, and she believes that there’s beauty in everything.
• Omar Al Owais through his column: “Of Ships and Kings”. Omar, a 15 year old with an attitude. He’s an avid daydreamer, a devoted bookworm and that guy from class with the really weird laughs. His main interest is conveying his thoughts and opinions on any given subject, whenever, and whatever. Often chastised for being very ambitious.
  “Of Ships and Kings” is an excerpt from a poem by one of his favorite authors as a child, Lewis Carrol. In that poem, the character’s talk about a multitude of subjects, hence the title of his column, in which he will be discussing several topics from several arenas.

Have you all noticed how our 2 new columnists are 15 & 16 years old? And we also have Dubai Abulhoul who is 16 years old. It absolutely warms my heart to see such good talents at these ages who acknowledge their skills and are brave enough to share them with the world. I’m very proud of our new generations and what they have to offer.

Here is our content’s listing for April 2013 – Issue #37:

• Beyond Inspiration – My Leave of Absence from Social Media: AlAnoud AlMadhi ponders upon her sabbatical from social media and how it affected her life.
• Hidden Promises – Sandstorm: Alia Al Hazami compares life to a sandstorm that not everyone can come across easily and invites us in the quest for contentment!
• Mental Pondering – Moving-on Narrative: Budoor Al Yousuf explains that being glued to the past is a never-ending roller-coaster ride, it is harmful to us and everyone around us, moving on in the only way to survive.
• Of Ships and Kings – 3arabeezy: Omar Al Owais discusses the hardships that the Arabic language is currently facing
• Rebel With A Reason – Immune To Error: Dubai Abulhoul Sarcastically highlights the lack of human interaction because of technology and social media.
• The Mind’s Eye – Impatience: Moadh Bukhash reflects on how city life has an impact on our everyday attitude, making us impatient and erratic. This is a friendly reminder to take time in our daily routine, and remember the manners which have been passed on to us through generations.
• Tifosi – The Media’s Influence On The Career Of An Athlete: Khalifa Al Hajeri takes Tiger woods as an example to show how the media has a role in athletes’ grooming, demise, and sometimes, their comeback!
• To The Point – Take Initiative… Create an Impact: Mohammed Kazim describes how creating a positive impact can counter negativity in society. Inspired by a Quranic verse, Mohammed walks the reader through three aspects of taking a successful initiative such that it yields a positive impact
• Too Blunt for Words – Too Relaxed? Or Careless?: Fatma AlKhaja questions the reason behind the very relaxed attitude of some people at work? What is different about them?

Enjoy the reads and the illustrations by Anood Al Mulla, Maha Bin Fares, & Maryam Zainal.

Warm regards,
Iman Ben Chaibah
Editor in Chief