existence leans its mouth towards me
because my love
cares for it.
RUMI

My story

Born to Palestinian parents who immigrated to the US in the early 1970’s, I grew up doing what was expected of me rather than what felt good to me. I grew up fulfilling other people's desires and cultural and societal contracts. Our family lived in inner city Milwaukee and nearby working class areas (Racine & Kenosha), where I began seeing the devastation that humans created with their thoughts and beliefs - from bullying and addictions to crime and abuse.

In the mid 80’s, my parents moved the family to their birth place — a West Bank village near Ramallah, Palestine. It was a very enriching experience, where I met my grandparents and immersed myself in everything the land and its people offered. However, political tensions bubbled, and the 1987-88 Palestinian uprising forced my parents to move the family back to America.

In 1996, three weeks shy of completing my second semester of college, I was diagnosed with stage two non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Eventually I’d witness other family members, friends and community members go through similar illnesses and life circumstances.

The cancer diagnosis changed my perception about how to live. I dug deep and experienced an internal uprising to seek out the deeper truths of life. This began my journey towards knowing myself, and accepting myself and my rightful place as a human being - a powerful, resilient, creative woman who is full of love.

Background

I'm an entrepreneur, writer and multi-passionate woman who wants to make this world a better place.

I have a masters degree in Leadership & Organizational Change from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

I'm an author who wrote Palestinian Women: Rising Above Limitations, Expectations & Conditions, which paid homage to my heritage and the evolutionary changes of a Palestinian woman's life in the past eighty years.

I’m a freelance writer who has written for The Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation and other online publications, worked on book projects related to autism and sexual health, and interviewed notable voices of our time, including Noam Chomsky, Rula Jebreal, and Rima Tarazi.

Gratitude

All the people and experiences on my journey have supported me to taking steps closer to being the person I am today. When you experience the effects of war, illness, death, cultural and societal 'messages' - and growing up with inadequate mentorship - you have to find a way to break down unhealthy habits and rebuild yourself into YOU. You have to find the right mentors to guide you rather than running away from issues or leaning on others to fix your challenges. You accept yourself and others for who they are, clear limited and old belief patterns, and live a more balanced and abundant life.