Posts

College: The Unnecessary and Avoidable Evil

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I'm a little over two months into my freelancing career change and at the moment it's not going all that well. I haven't been hired for any steady jobs and the jobs I have been hired for haven't paid all that well--though I'm grateful to have gotten them, something is better than nothing. However, I am in pretty good spirits and I am learning a lot about freelancing and a lot about myself. I still couldn't be happier and I am positive things will get better. I have been listening to podcasts and reading blogs and articles about how to make it as a freelance writer and it's mind blowing how a lot of these folks share my mindset when it comes to college institutions. All of these freelancers want the same thing: they want to be their own boss, run their own life, make money the way they want to make it without being a slave to a corporate paycheck. So Naive I was... Sooo not worth it. Keep your diploma, I'll take that money back. I WASTED four y...

Procrastination, Our Terrible Friend

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An interesting theory on Procrastination and How To Stop it From Killing Our Goals So I was procrastinating all week when it came to figuring out what subject I was going to write about this week and while trying to avoid brainstorming I came up with a brilliant topic: procrastination! While mindlessly scrolling my Facebook feed--my go-to procrastination tool in my unproductivity utility belt--I saw an article post entitled,  " 9 ways to stop Procrastinating on Your Screenplay ". Interestingly enough, that is exactly what I've been doing!  Seeing as how the article was relevant to my exact situation, I gave it a quick look-see and was fascinated by an insight about procrastination that was articulated in a way that I have never heard before:  "Procrastination is ultimately a fear of being judged". Suffice to say, I was intrigued.

The No BS Guide to the 2016 Presidential Election for Those who Despise Politics (Like me)

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Yeah I know what you're thinking. It's the middle of 2016 and I'm just now writing about the election. So I'm jumping into this a little late alright? Being on hiatus for so long, I have to play catch-up on a lot of hot blog topics so here goes. First, a disclaimer. As the title says, this is a guide for those who despise politics. I would be one of them. Trust me, I've tried to get into it and feel like it's my duty to be at the very least be informed but cot' damn I can't stand the garbage! As a child, I used to think that I just needed to get older to care about politics and that soon enough I'd be watching CNN all day like my dad does but NOPE--almost 29 years old and still can't stand CNN, C-SPAN, and all the talking heads blowing hot air either lambasting political leaders or being engaged in a circle jerk. This is my good faith attempt to breakdown the election and the candidates and the implications of the upcoming election(wh...

Back From Ramadan Hiatus

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Hey everyone, your favorite PhilAsifer is back at it again to give you a quick update in regards to my absence. So I couldn't keep myself to a consistent writing schedule AGAIN, but this time I have a pretty valid number of excuses.  First off, Ramadan has kinda put a pause on my blogging. With it being a month of spiritual reflection and trying to devote more time to the Qur'an, PhilAsify 101 had to take a backseat.  Plus some of the topics I've wanted to touch on are political and worldly issues and I didn't want to get into that stuff during Ramadan. Secondly, I've been trying to focus more on my freelance career and establishing myself. The best way to do that is to put myself out there and find work and deliver top notch quality writing. That's not an easy task so I had to put my regular blog posts on the shelf that way.  Lastly, I have had other writing projects and developments that were more pressing. For example, I finished writing an E-b...

Another Muslim, Another Setback: The Orlando Mass Shooting

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"Aaaagh! It's another friggin Muslim guy!" I blurted out to my wife while sitting on the couch scrolling the news sites to find out information early Sunday Morning about the Orlando Mass shooting. My family and I woke up and turned on the TV to news of a tragic shooting at a gay night club in Orlando where a whopping 50 people were killed and 53 were injured. Those were the headlines plastered across the screen of a scene where it showed men, bloody and injured being carried away from the club by friends. Others were traumatized, crying from the carnage they had just experienced. It was horrifying. All we could say while captivated by the coverage was, "Man he (the shooter) better not be Muslim." That's what prompted the search on my phone and sure enough, the idiot was. And sure enough, I reacted like Homer Simpson would when he heard something horrible happened and is praying to himself "Don't be the boy, don't be the boy" and then wh...

The World Loses A Legend: The Passing of Muhammad Ali

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Cassius "Muhammad Ali" Clay passed away Friday at the age of 74. He was known as the  People's Champ and for good reason. He won the hearts of the public with his character. He was the fiery fast talker, charismatic and opinionated but could back up his wit and verbal jabs with legit lightning fast jabs in the ring. He's proclaimed as the greatest boxer in the history of this sport, but it was his personality and actions outside of the ring that made him the famous influential figure that the world will never forget. Social media has had an overwhelming outpouring of messages, tweets, and tributes to the fighter. He was a universally loved athlete because of his intellect, his sense of humor and his bravado. In a day and age where the world looks so disapprovingly at Muslims and Islam in general, it's ironic that someone seen in such admirable light across various creeds, ethnicity and backgrounds for his life and body of work and his activism was a Muslim.  ...

Why Getting Fired From My Job Was The Best Possible Thing That Could Happen

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"It's just not working out." That was the reason I was given when I walked into the conference room where my Supervisor and the HR Manager sat and had me sign off my termination papers. Nothing else was stated between my boss. She got up and briskly walked out of the room. My reaction? Well...I didn't exactly say that but that's the vibe I gave. And as cool as a response as that is to getting canned, that wouldn't have been my reaction a year back. A year ago, I would've been floored by getting fired. I could see it now, my heart sinking, my voice cracking as I would pathetically beg them to reconsider. Anxiety would take the wheel and I'd be terrified with the outlook since there was no backup plan or steady income of any kind that I could fall back on. What would I tell my wife? How would I pay the bills and the rent? What are we going to do!? Nope. None of that happened. I was truly at peace with the decision. And it was the right d...