PrefaceThis poetry collection is my first venture into publishing. It gives me great joy to be able to share all these personal and hopefully enlightening pieces of myself. I am a yet-to-be established writer, still finding my footing. During my current journey into finishing my first degree, my writings have become an anchor to which I can hang onto during any turbulence I encountered along the way. I have been writing as far back as I can remember and slowly trying to create my own identity as a writer. I started confiding in poetry while I was still in middle school, and found it to be a comfortable outlet. It used to fill the long silences which I was assigned with at that tender age. There was so much raging within me that I could not explain or understand. I felt the need to explore myself and delve in deeper, but I needed a judgement-free environment in which I could do that safely. Not only did writing help, but it also created a shield when things got rough. I experienced many challenges during my high-school years. I had to overcome numerous personal issues that began to take over my life. When it came to writing, I could express what I felt and give voice to my thoughts and ideas. It slowly helped me regain my confidence in the darkest of times, and helped me create a persona strong enough to handle a reality that seemed adamant on tearing me down. I carried on writing throughout high school, while also being published in yearly school magazines. Being born as a Middle Eastern woman has always come with its challenges. My varying experiences as a person who had struggled with creating an identity in the midst of a difficult society taught me a lot about the world around me. Living in such a contradictory culture that seemed to clash with the advancements of our world made it difficult for me to set a specific moral compass, and thus, it took a lot of searching and self-discovery to be able to deal with such a feat. These experiences have shaped my writings at large and the poems that I present in this collection. It is a representation of a journey, or an odyssey - a road I walked on towards an understanding of myself, the world around me and the way I felt about both. As a child, the biggest influence in my life was my father. My mother had passed away when I was still very young, and so my father took on the role of both parent figures, which strengthened my bond with him as a father, confidant and friend. He has always been a person that valued knowledge and understanding, thus he always encouraged me to go out into the world with curious eyes. He taught me the importance of books and their effect on a person. His interest in books helped him achieve a unique outlook and creed in life, all shaped by his hunger for unbiased knowledge. The older I grew the more infatuated I became with my father's view of life. He was my idol and I truly aspired to become like him, a unique individual with all the strength knowledge could grant you. So, I began to read, and my interpretations of this knowledge began to flow through my pen.It was my own take on life, my own warping of knowledge and experience that soon materialized. As a native Arabic speaker, I decided to branch out and focused on grasping an understanding of the English language. This dedication fueled me to start writing in English so that I may expand my knowledge and skills. A combination of my interest in different styles of poetry, varying from sonnets to post-modern prose has also given me the tools to create my own stylistic experience as a writer. I am presenting in this collection an experience, or a glimpse into my psyche. I hope it takes you on this journey which details my sorrows, confusion, heartbreaks, and strength amongst other emotions I had faced. I am baring my soul, and it makes me nervous but also delighted to be able to share my knowledge and opinions.