Ali’s army | 🇺🇸

The same cross, which looks like a source of hope and blessings for one person looks scary and cold to another person

Done with the finals

My parents were married for 55 years. One morning, my mom was going downstairs to make dad breakfast, she had a heart attack and fell. My father picked her up as best he could and almost dragged her into the truck. At full speed, without respecting traffic lights, he drove her to the hospital.

When he arrived, unfortunately she was no longer with us.

During the funeral, my father did not speak; his gaze was lost. He hardly cried.

That night, his children joined him. In an atmosphere of pain and nostalgia, we remembered beautiful anecdotes and he asked my brother, a theologian, to tell him where Mom would be at that moment. My brother began to talk about life after death and guesses as to how and where she would be.

My father listened carefully. Suddenly he asked us to take him to the cemetery.

"Dad!" we replied, "it's 11 at night, we can't go to the cemetery right now!"

He raised his voice, and with a glazed look he said: "Don't argue with me, please don't argue with the man who just lost his wife of 55 years."

There was a moment of respectful silence, we didn't argue anymore. We went to the cemetery. With a flashlight we reached her grave.

My father sat down, prayed, and told his children: "It was 55 years... you know? No one can really talk about true love if haven't done life with a person."

He paused and wiped his face.

"She and I, we were together in the good and in the bad." he continued. "When I changed jobs, we packed up when we sold the house and moved. We shared the joy of seeing our children become parents, together we mourned the departure of loved ones, we prayed together in the waiting room of some hospitals, we supported each other in pain, we hugged one another each day, and we forgave mistakes."

And then he paused and added, "Children, that's all gone and I'm happy tonight. Do you know why I'm happy? Because she left before me. She didn't have to go through the agony and pain of burying me, of being left alone after my departure. I will be the one to go through that, and I thank God for that. I love her so much that I wouldn't have liked her to suffer..."

When my father finished speaking, my brothers and I had tears streaming down our faces. We hugged him and he comforted us, "It's okay. We can go home. It's been a good day."

That night I understood what true love is. It is more than just romanticism and sex, it's two people who stand beside one another, who are committed to one another ... through all the good and bad that life throws at you.

Peace in your hearts.

From Facebook

ahh finals, how i love u!

1. The white guy wearing a “94” hat:
“Finding something that u r passionate abt and letting this thing push u every single day”

2. Black guy with patchy beard:
“Peace of mind. If I wake up every morning without any worries and have peace of mind, I reached ultimate happiness”

3. Black dude with the face full of tats:
“Waking up every morning feeling that God gave me a chance to get up today. Do u think u can wake up by urself?!. I like to smile tho bro, I can’t walk around with a face like people owe me something. U have a good night”

4. Old white lady with a short haircut and beautiful smile:
“For me, it is my family. My number one priority in life, my definition of happiness is making sure that my family is sound and safe”

5. Black girl with a white hoodie on in her early 20s:
“For me personally, it is being financially stable and my kids, i got two of ‘em, and also my man coming home every night, bringing bread”

6. 14 yeard old kid with twisted hair:
“ right now, I am just trying to grow taller bro during the break, it is not working out tho, i wanna be tall until my birthday, it is in February on valentine’s, i am trying to talk to these upper class girls, they are badddd”

7. Mexican guy with long hair in his late twenties:
“Thats a good question bro. I gotta figure it out for myself after all these medications they gave me. U know I lost my brother 6 months ago due to liver failure , and then 2-3 weeks after that, my feet were sore, I thought it was just because of working too hard. But after a few days, the pain got more intense and my ankles were swollen and one day, I fell and stopped feeling my legs, thats when my wife took me to the hospital. Doctors said my condition is very rare and it was due to depression. I had to learn how to walk again, I am feeling just a little better now, but doctors said the disorder might come back and they suggested to apply for unemployment. So I’m still trying to think of my definition of happiness bro.”

8. The black dude with the braids:
“ this right here (pointed to his little daughter). Kids. Why do u ask this question from me? A lot of people think kids are burdens and they dont take care of their kids, but at the end of the day, this is ur blood, looking at them grow up, u see urself. I am 32 and i got 4 the oldest one is 14 and this is the youngest one she us 4”

9. White guy in his early thirties with flesh tunnels in his ears:
“My definition of happiness is my family. My kids. I see myself in them, that way, even if I die one day, I will still live on”

10. The black dude on a black hellcat:
“100 grams of indica”

I am gonna have a survey on 10 random people I see in the street. The question is “how to reach ultimate happiness?”. I will be sharing the answers once I am done with everyone.

I got an idea 💡

I am bored

Practice makes what?!

So long story short, they are trying to rip students off with so called “required insurance”. First year, the insurance was mandatory but we got to choose our own insurance company, and I went for the cheapest one obviously, which was $300 for one year, now the university is requiring, not even offering, to pay $350 for only 4 months, with the “secret insurance company”. And they are doing it massively with all students. What if the fee is actually $50 for a semester and the university is making us pay $350?!! All students might not care and just pay it, but not me! Cuz, similar things happened twice in the past. First, it was for a academic platform we r required to subscribe for a class, which was $150 through the university bookstore, and the professor said we HAVE TO buy it through the bookstore. I bought it from the platform website directly and it was $125. Did I only save $25?! Maybe, but it was the same exact subscription that no one could tell the difference, plus this $25 on gas can help me travel 400 miles. Second time, it was for the tuition fee, maybe u didn’t know, but Stetson gave me full tuition scholarship before I arrived here, and schools generally give renewable scholarships, which essentially means, if the expenses covered goes up by $1, ur scholarship will go up by $1 too. Basically, our tuition went up by abt $3,000 this year, but they sent me a new scholarship statement with the last year’s tuition amount. I immediately emailed the financial aid office and asked them to raise the scholarship, i told them that I was told my scholarship is renewable and otherwise I would not come to Stetson. They emailed me back apologizing that it was their mistake( i am gonna attach the screenshots to the next post). Now, was it the small mistake that happened to me only? I wish! I later found out that all of my friends are paying a lot more than they used to, as the prices went up, while me paying the same amount. But if I didn’t take action and didn’t email them on time, same thing would happen to me. Now, assuming the prices go up every year by a similar amount, I would have to pay over $10 grand extra in my senior year. How expensive would be my fear of standing against their business plan, which they call “a small mistake”.

I learned a lesson: “don’t ever feel shy, scared or dumb to ask questions that concern you, cuz if u dont act on time, ur fear of looking dumb or cocky might come at the bigger expenses”. This lesson is just a very very small example of the advantage i had as a part of my study abroad journey, for people who as if it is worth it.

I set a goal to achieve by Dec 25 and if I really accomplish it i will give myself a very good treat that I have been waiting for years!