History

Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim.
My father made me this blog in year 2002. Back then, I really thought, "Why would anyone bother to read what you want to write. You're a nobody,". I had the same thought when my father made a twitter account @nadiah in 2008, which is even worse, only limited to 140 characters!

Technology is amazing. Even better, the guy who had faith in it when others still doesn't.

Evolution

 

Early Years.

 

I first started blogging only after I had my PMR examination in the end of 2003, with other blogs such as xanga, multiply, friendster, myspace, god-knows-how-many blogs I had out there, to just express feelings; sometimes just to remind myself what I did that day.  I didn't copy those post to other sites because each sites gave me different feelings, and assurance. They were like, different type of friends to me. Only after I started dating, I realized that it's easier to have my unsung emotions into words, rather than telling real-life friends. Everything felt wrong. wrong. and wrong. 

Growing Up.

 

Blogging became more significant to me when I was about to leave the country, to the land that I've never seen myself in, ever. Japan. I felt nervous, unease, excited, and blanked. It was too much for me to handle and of course, I experienced a great amount of culture shock. Not even once had I live far away from home, nor a boarding school, or a college (UiTM was near to home and I went back once a week). It was hard to make friends and get used to the environment.

Back then, a phone call cost a lot. Even though there's Skype, the service back then was not really that great and the family at home still prefer a land-line to talk to you. My mom had a limited time that she can talk to me and most of the time, I had to write a list of (important) things to talk to her. By the time I can get her to talk to me, those things weren't as important as when I needed her. It was really frustrating. I started to pour my feelings by blogging. 

But my-oh-my, LIVE feelings when you're blogging is just a flood of uncontrolled emotions. I once raged about my anger in a blog post, and the person who I was mad about read the post and shared it with others. I was, a kid, in a new world, growing up. (We're best friends now, don't worry)

 Japan.

 

Life in Japan was really new to me. From the vending machines, and the super-fast trains to the "full-suit-man-on-a-bicycle" and the crazy life of a foreign student who had to learn Japanese for a year and a half. Maybe I didn't appreciate them as much as I am now, but I would dig through the memories to learn what I should have. 

I still remember, right after arriving in Japan in 2006. We went to Fukushima for a study group, and I was crying all the way inside the bus when I had the first glimpse of the beautiful scenery of Autumn. 

I knew right away that Allah had so many things for me in-store. Opportunities.

Traveling.

 

I first started my 'overseas' travel when I left Japan, for Europe in spring 2008. I didn't realize that one particular trip was going to change me for the rest of my life. It was, "Jaulah UK-Eire 2008". I started updating my blog whenever I found a place with internet. From Birmingham to Dublin, from Geneva to Paris, traveling on my own accord was really much challenging and fun. 

There's a bigger world out there that I haven't seen, experience. When I go somewhere, it was not for a mere holiday, it was more to embark on a new journey of life, hoping that I would be a whole new person when I come back. "I'm a traveler, not a tourist' was a tagline that I used back then when I first started my traveling blog. 

Da'wah

Yes. Da'wah. Might the word be an allergy to us Muslims, but it is what we are here in this word for. I didn't foresee myself with this word, because my grandmother had told my mom decades ago that da'wah was not cool. Until I went to Japan, and it was what I thought, a norm. 

Almost every time I went to a a sit-together of 5-6 people that we call 'usrah' which is in Arabic means 'family', I learned so many new things that I never thought existed. I bet there are millions more like me who had no idea what's going on in this world and we continue playing and make fun of our precious God-given life.

So I started sharing the knowledge and information about the deen, with the 'Zina Hati' being my first full researched blog post. 

I was/am not professional at it. But I'm trying. I needed help and still searching. 

The Lost Era

The downturn of blogging happened when I thought I shouldn't share unimportant things on the blog. Unless it's really really 'Islamic' or 'professional', I should just keep it for my self. Even with traveling photos, I thought that no one could care less about me. I barely get comments nor reviews whatsoever.

...and there you go, nearly 6 months without a proper blog post.

Commitment went down the drain. Maybe if someone asks me, "Hows your iman?", I can simply answer, "Just check my blog out,". Near to zero.

Truth be told, "hectic, unorganized life". That is what it has been all along. 

New Stage.

 

It is no longer a child's play. I opened a new online business early this year to cater customers to a silly little 'I-help-you-get-what-you-want' kind of thing. It had grown a little bit out of hand when orders are coming in like drops of rain on a sunny day, since I only started it to help my friends. To be honest, it had kept me going for months of being a professional unemployed lady with no proper income. It helped me paid tonnes of bills. Thank you lovely customers. <3 allah.="allah." br="br" thank="thank" you="you">

However, I really can't do it anymore. Why? Me, like my father, holds on to, 

"Been there, done that. Next!"

I can still do the online business selling items and stuff, but the particular industry that I'm doing right now has no longer cross my path of interest. If I should tell you that I need a new hobby, I might be out of my mind since a person like me, doesn't supposed to have time for hobbies. 

The passion to travel is killing me inside. 

But the need to take some time off, with enough funding to even pay for a bus fare is even worse. 

What Now?

I may need to start working full-time anytime soon. But my life is as interesting as anything can be. I can promise you that. (Still hoping for my prince charming to come back to me since he got lost in the jungle with the monkeys.)

It's a miracle that you came across this "History"page. 

If you took your time to read until this paragraph, as a gift, let me invite you to another journey in a twisted blog called, Nadiah's Unsent Letters and Diaries 'Tulisan Dari Hati' (TDH). (Email me for invitation)

Questions?

drop me an email at 

nadiah(dot)azli(at)gmail(dot)com

(I don't even know why I had to type it like this)