Zainab's Writings

I do not know what really triggered it, but I think it was the world of books which inspired me to write. I had always been an avid reader since the age of three, and at six I read-an abridged version of- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , at seven I read Jane Eyre , and began reading Harry Potter . Of course, I understood only a fraction of the words used in them, but that did not prevent me from reading them. I marvelled at the rich vocabulary, and the unique way the authors used to express their feelings and describe a scene. Thus, inspired from books, I began to write as well. At first I wrote only stories, but the list grew rapidly. I was soon writing poetry, which began from simple, childish poems such as ‘I have a cat, It sits on a mat’, but grew to more thoughtful works of poetry. As I started school late-at the age of five- I had a lot of opportunity to write before that, and it was unrestricted, free writing. I had the freedom to let my ideas flow free, and nobody pointed ...

Only recently I was looking at an old notebook of mine, reading the English essays I wrote before my English papers. At the end of the notebook I had copied down Creative Writing topics from past papers. As I read the list of topics, I came across one I found increasingly interesting. The topic was: 'Write a story in which loosing a passport OR an identity card plays an important part.' I found it so interesting that I began working on it straightaway. I thoroughly enjoyed myself writing it. It was days  after that I had written anything other than my history, geography, and Islamiyat answers! “Ahem. Your ID card, please,” said the plump, moustached guard at the entrance gate of the university. “The ID card?” I blurted out. “Uh, yes, I do believe I have it somewhere in my bag” I said, half to myself. Just looking at the grim-faced guard made me nervous. I unzipped my bulging hand bag which I had purchased only three days ago at the start of the university session. The g...

Book: A Day in Your Life 24 hours inside the Human Body Author: Dr. Hilary Jones Length: 399 pages Publisher: CORGI Books Year of Publication: 2014 ISBN:  10: 0552159514 A Day in Your Life, by Dr. Hilary Jones takes you on a trip inside the bodies of the Enniman family: Adam, his wife Eve, their three children, Ben, Poppy, and Ruby, and their pet dog Rufus. This book will “ tell you about all the utterly incredible things your body does all on its own, without you ever being conscious of it. It will explain why you dream and what exactly is it that wakes you up in the morning and fall asleep at night, it tells you why you yawn or laugh, and how you see, hear, and taste. It describes how your breathing and digestion simply happen without you even having to think about it and how your heart, no bigger than the size of your clenched fist, unfailingly goes on beating billions of times during your lifetime without ever getting tired.” (Excerpt from the book) A Day in...

My name is Rani. I was bought up and cared for at a farm in Gujranwala. In the farm, I had no worries, only pressure to produce more milk. The farmer, Fazal-din, was a kind-hearted person and treated all of us with love. My life was full of all sorts of luxuries and comforts a cow could have. I was allowed to stroll all over the farm, to graze in the lush green meadows and to eat as much grass as I wanted to. I could lie in the hot, Punjab sun for simply as long as I wanted to and only at night would the farmer collect all of us and lock us up in the barn. And none of us minded that, let me assure you.  The sight of the heavy padlock, and the sound of Fazal-din’s heavy snores- which echoed in the barn at night- gave us a deep sense of security. Those were the days, let me tell you. It was only in September that I entered the world outside the farm. And I discovered it was a greedy world. A world full of envy, jealousy, and deception.  The people here were hateful and des...

I had been attempting to write a story with a word limit of hundred words for several days. But it was extremely challenging, so I loosened my restriction to 150 words. Here is the story(it has no title yet): As I stared between the bars of the prison cell, I deeply regretted my visit to the jewellery shop. It had not been a good idea at all, since I had no money on me. Just as I had entered the store, a dazzling gold necklace caught my eye. It was a beauty; all studded with tiny, shimmering rubies. I glanced at the price tag. My face fell. It was too expensive. When no one was looking, I silently unhooked the necklace from its stand and dropped it into my pocket. Then I casually headed towards the exit. It all happened in seconds. The security guard grabbed me by the collar and started yelling at me. The proof against me was in my pocket, and before I knew it, I was taken off to jail... I could not think anymore. I buried my head in my knees and started crying. ...

An argumentative essay. The topic was really interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed myself while writing this. :D So, here goes! For each ball a bowler bowls in an international match of cricket, he earns millions. The crowd is completely captivated in watching the game. Each ball holds a glimmer of hope for both sides-one team dreams it will be a stupendous six whilst the opposing team wishes it will be a wicket. Whatever the outcome of each ball might be, the player is paid a huge amount for it. He is paid not only for playing in a match, but also when his team is victorious. Players are also even ‘bought’ for billions to play in national leagues, in even those of other countries. It is the same with actors and singers who are paid large sums for each simple performance. One might argue that several of them are brilliant performers who deserve to be monetarily rewarded. Their powerful acts enthrall audiences and leave a strong impact on them. Even though all do not perform eq...

I wrote this quite along time ago. On 19th March, to be exact. Life is noisy. Birds and roosters begin chirping at the crack of dawn, closely followed by loud horns of school buses, vans, cars, and motorbikes. After people have left for work and schools, one expects some peace and quiet. But no: everyone has awakened by now, and life’s hustle and bustle does not spare a moment of silence. The neighbour’s baby has just awakened from her nap. A shrill cry again interrupts the stillness of the atmosphere. The mother of the infant hushes her, singing a lullaby in her loud voice as she puts her off to sleep. One cannot help but sigh. Not far off in the distance, some labourers have begun their day’s work of demolishing an old broken-down bungalow. A fruit seller walks down the lane, yelling loudly to inform the neighbourhood that he is here to sell his ware. An occasional motorbike passes down the street, interrupting the serenity of the morning. One realizes it will be impossible ...

 One of my early essays(edited). A well-planned esssay. But unfortunately, quite brief. It scarcely fulfills the word limit. :( My Exams are (almost, but not quite) over. That means I can type and upload the fantastic essays I wrote for them! XD So, this one was a quite surprising topic(Young people of today have no interest in politics. What are your views?). I mean, in Pakistan, it is quite contrary to the statement above. But that meant I could establish a strong arguement, so I decided to go for it. :D  I disagree with the opinion that youngsters of today have no interest in politics. In fact, I believe that today’s youth holds a strong interest in politics. Most strength in political party rallies is from the youth. Young people participate more enthusiastically in political events than adults, who are either uninterested in such events or have other priorities. Young people find this a fun pastime and participate in such events with great gusto and zest. Moreo...

YIPPEEE!I made it to a one hundred posts! I had just posted that quote and returned to my dashboard when I caught sight of the post count. I squinted. Ninety-nine? I decided to make it a hundred so here I am writing the 100th post. Congrats to myself!

"There may be very few  literate people in the world,  but even fewer are writers ."         ~Me

I wrote this on lately(yesterday, to be exact) for -what else?-O level's English. The topic: Write a story about someone who had to break the rules despite knowing it was wrong.  Read on ! The Biology exam She had never been confident of herself, especially in her studies. And as far as biology was concerned, she never felt confident in the least. She had been studying the subject for her upcoming board exams for almost a year; the past twelve months she had spent in a whirr of classes, tuitions, and mock exams. She had memorized the functions, names, and terms for almost all human, animal, and plant system and organ. She had studied well, mastering everything she was taught. However, an uncanny doubt remained with her, an uncertainty about whether she would be able to do it or not. The whole time during the car journey to her examination centre, an inevitable fear remained with Sarah. Fear-that she would never be able to do it- which was why she had kept her mobile in...

I am sharing this brief post to mark this blog's second birthday. I have shared 96 posts here on this blog uptill now.

I was working on this project for a long time. I finally completed it today and decided to share it here as well. Instructions: -Click the Green Flag -Use arrow keys to move backward/forward -Make your own lemonade!  View the Original Project  on  Scratch .

I was recently writing haiku-after a long time. First I made up one about Pakistan(that wasn't too good:( ) Then I created another one. This one was far better. :) I liked it very much XD so I decided to share it here because a haiku is short and doesn't take long to type. :D  A cozy morning Sunshine floods the room, A newspaper, cup of tea, The austere beauty

This was a narrative essay title: 'Write a story which includes the sentence:'He could never resist temptation.' I had this idea for a long time for a story, but I only got around to writing it the day before yesterday. I had to give it a title, so I named it 'The Chocolate Cake', because it was the one which caused all the trouble! Everyone was out. Only Ahmed was home, lying on the couch, watching television. In the middle of the football match, he realized he was feeling extremely hungry-despite the bag of potato chips he had just golfed down.  His stomach grumbled angrily. Ahmed took to its warnings and went into the kitchen. The cupboards only contained his wife Saira’s dinner set, big canisters of flour and sugar, spices, and other cooking materials. Desperately, Ahmed opened the fridge. A big chocolate cake attracted his attention. It was a huge cake covered evenly on the top and down the sides with creamy dark chocolate. The top was neatly bordered wit...

I was doing an English task for a Creative Writing where you had to write the first chapter of a story. This is 970 words long(I know, it's completely  off the limit) and, well, it's awesome! Btw, It may seem weird at first, but you should read it to the end, I hope you'll like it, too! “Are you certain that you want to go?” The old man asked for the umpteenth time. “You may not be able to be transported into the present.” He added gently. “Yeah, Yeah, Of course I’m sure; I’ve told you that before!” Ali said; half excited to have his dreams come true and half annoyed at the old man’s constant warnings. Ali was an eleven year old boy who loved to read science fiction novels. He was thrilled by tales that involved leaping through time into the future or past. He was curious to know whether time machines existed or not and how they worked if they did exist. Fascinated by the idea of traveling through time, Ali developed a strange wish to be transported into the f...

A great topic, really- I am tired out of studying and it was fun to compose this, I had so many points in my head! Studying may be an important part of a youngster’s life but it is incorrect to say that it is the most important aspect of a young person’s life. It is important, but its significance is yet to be understood. I won’t be wrong in saying that they are aspects which need to be given more importance. Firstly, the purpose of life is not to study, study, and only study. There are things prior to studying, and thus they deserve more time and attention. These things need to be sorted out, and priorities should be made. For this a student should have a flexible routine. Studying should be included, and a reasonable time should be allotted for the activity. But some freedom should be given, and strict limitations need to be eased. A youngster gets bored and tired out of only studying, and this should be kept in mind. There are certain important things in a young person...

A descriptive essay. I thoroughly enjoyed myself writing and editing it! Pakistan is well known for its exotic cuisines, which most visitors find spicy yet extremely delicious. Flavoured with unique, bittersweet herbs and spices, and garnished with richly aromatic ghee, with brilliant hot chillies mixed in, the food is, undoubtedly, mouth-watering.  From the tender, juicy kebabs, to steaming biryani topped with raita and colourful vegetable curries, the food can be described as merely tantalizing. Even the soft, crisp flatbreads, the naans and the chapattis , garnished deliciously with butter or sesame seeds, are delicious. Visitors, and even natives, are tempted with the sights and smells outside a small local restaurant or dhaba s. Chicken being roasted on huge, wavering fires, and Haleem being stirred vigorously in huge cauldrons, with wonderful aromas drifting in all directions. Hence people are magnetically drawn towards the restaurants and end up having a scrumptious ...

In an Asian society, where women stay at home and have the domestic responsibilities in their family, ‘going shopping’ is something they really look forward to. Whether that means spending long hours in malls or going to a nearby local store to buy groceries, shopping is something that really excites and fascinates people, especially women and young girls. People take shopping as an interesting pastime, and they only see its pleasures. The fervor and excitement of going shopping, the glitz and glamour of malls and flashy advertisements attract people a lot. But the main reason for why shopping fascinates people so much is the products. Everyone enjoys admiring jewelry and accessories, and trying on stylish sandals. It is the items they see in stores and shops which attract people so much.  But shopping has many disappointments, let alone the dreadful pain in the foot you get from walking for long hours in the market. One of these are the high and unaffordable prices. It is ver...

This was an O Level's topic which I really liked:('Is it better to have comfort or excitement in life? Give reasons and examples to support your views.') Now I don't usually write argumentative essays because they bore me, but this one was exceptional so I decided to do it. XD I wrote this back in November but I forgot to type it until now. So naturally, I edited it quite a lot. :P So, here goes: What a young person wants in life is excitement. An exciting life is fun and interesting. Without some excitement and adventure, life could be really boring. Imagine a person who lives in a comfortable house and lives a structured life. All the furniture, clothes, footwear, and everything else he possesses are comfortable. He lives in a big clean, house, with security guards outside who keep him feeling safe and protected at all times. He has a big Mercedes to take him wherever he wishes to go. The big double bed he sleeps on has a mattress of a perfect size and ...

My letter was recently published in  Dawn's 'Young World', A magazine for children. Before I share it with you, let me tell you that I do not really like Young World, and the quality of articles published in it. But this article, " Do Students Need Mobile Phones " by Muhammad Yawar Shirazi published Nov 28, 2015(this letter can be found at dawn.com), was different. It was the first good  article I ever read in the magazine so I decided to write a letter. Fortunately, it was published. This is the letter I wrote(emailed)to Young World: This is regarding the letter 'Do Students need mobile phones?' by Muhammad Yawar Shirazi (YW,Nov 28). The article was written very well and described the insignificance and disadvantages of mobile phones for students. I agree with the writer that mobiles are not meant for children. Mobile phones prevent children from doing other healthy activities. It is my request for YW to publish more useful stuff like this. Za...

It is better to sleep a dreamless  night rather than  having a nightmare ~Zainab Salman