ProtoStar: Rabia Arif

The Evening Star
Proto-Star Interview

There are not many people who know this amazing lady but she has been the life and soul of The Meraki Magazine in the start. Rabia Arif was the amazing and the opening social media manager of the magazine. She is an amazing person with a very nice spirit. She is also a very good photographer and her poems are so beautiful that you feel in love instantly. So here is your chance to know this amazing person, Rabia Arif.

1.       How would you define yourself?

That depends on how many words I have. Jokes aside, I’d say smart and sensible with a sense of direction. Or I’d say just trying to be better a version of whoever I started off as.

2.       How proud are you of being yourself as a writer?

I am not a published writer, not even a really well known ones. I’m more of a beginner is most senses. So I can’t say I’m really proud of it, as I haven’t achieved much out it or even took myself out of the comfort zone.

I am proud though that I can write because writing is one way to put forth feelings without any restrictions.

3.       Do you realize that you belong to an only a very small percentage of people who can have a huge impact on the world?

I do agree to the statement. But I also believe that we all have it in ourselves. If we try to shed off the exterior of selfishness, we are all the same on the inside.

4.       How proud are you of being an introvert? Does it cause you any problem?

I am not exactly an introvert. More like an ambivert depends on my mood and the people I’m supposed to be surrounded by.

5.       Where do you see yourself in the future?

I honestly have no idea. I am not a person of high ambitions; I take one day at a time. It may not be the best of policies but it is what keeps me going.

6.       What genre you like to write in?

Well, mostly motivational stuff. I love composing poetry in awe of the Creator and this oh so beautiful world He created. My favorite topic to write on would be the sky with or without the explosion of its colors.

7.       Do you want to focus on one specific genre or be an explorer?

Like I mentioned earlier, I am as yet sticking to my comfort zone. I could venture if I wanted to.

8.       How are you as a reader?

An avid reader, I almost eat books. I don’t know if that is something I should be proud of.

9.       Name your favorite Book(s)?

The Kite Runner, The Book Thief, The Shadow of the Wind, All the Light We Cannot See and a few more.

10.   How would you want to be remembered as?

Someone who always went out of their way to help others.

11.   Tell something funny about yourself?

Everything funny about me just left my brain right now.

My sense of humor is like that. (chuckles nervously)

Jokes apart, I don’t think there’s anything funny about me, I just like making people laugh.

12.   Why do you write?

To vent mostly, to appreciate, to reflect, to motivate, I guess that’s about it.

13.   When did you started writing and how?

I kept a diary when I was younger (how cliché)

Approximately at the age of 14 I guess.

14.   Have you ever cried while writing?

I’d have to admit, yes. But letting it all out both physically and emotionally, was therapy.

15.   What is your most prized piece of writing?

The first few poems I wrote on Wattpad. Some of the work that gets reposted from my Mirakee account or Instagram.

16.   Who is your ideal as a writer?

Khaled Hosseini. He is on another level altogether.

17.   Who is your mentor? If there is one?

None at the moment.

18.   Do you want to be a full-time writer or think of it as just a hobby?

I’d like to invest further, but at the moment it is more of a hobby.

19.   Have you ever fall in love with someone, you were writing about?

Is this about falling in love with a character? If so, I don’t stay long enough with them to actually fall in love. And if this is about a person, then yes I have.

20.   Have you ever been heartbroken? Explain

Not exactly heartbroken, trust broken is more the word.

There’s not much of an explanation. You can love someone even after they break your heart but you can’t trust them once they’ve broken the trust.

21.   What is the inspiration that gets you going?

Jannah. All this endurance in a temporary world for bigger better gains Inshaa Allah.

22.   People usually, talk about success stories after being successful, how would you define your success story in making? How hard it is?

Life is hard. But a person has got to start somewhere.

23.   What kind of help you think you can get in this phase?

Moral support would be great.

24.   What is your favorite color(s) and why?

Blue and green and all shades in-between, because they remind of the sea which happens to be my happy place.

25.   How are you as a person? Talk about your strengths and weaknesses?

Kind of laid off, easy-going I guess. I think I am way too understanding, which is both a strength and a weakness. Like, a person could totally let me down and I’d be like, yeah I understand.

26.   Are you scared of taking risks?

Not scared, just lazy.

27.   What is your phobia?

Alhamdulilah I am not phobic or haven’t so discovered as yet.

28.   How hard it is for you to answer these interview questions?

Not hard at all.

29.   How do you deal with writer's block?

I read and read and read until I feel like writing again.

30.   What is your area of profession and how hard was it for you to challenge the standard being either a doctor or an engineering mindset?

I did try dentistry before I opted for psychology, but I think stereotypes begin at home. My family never objected to my choice of profession, so it never was much of a challenge for me.

31.   What is one stereotype you want to break?

The gol roti stigma perhaps.

32.   Do you think gender plays a role in success? If so, How?

It happens all over the world whether I agree to it or not. It also depends on how one defines success.

33.   Literature, History and linguistics today falls under the umbrella of the social sciences department, do you think they are sciences? Does everything has to be science to be cool or Arts are something which is equally cool department?

What would science be without creativity? I think both fields coexist beautifully. It’s not one over the other, at least not for me. I am equally in love with both.

34.   How are you as a friend?

I would like to think of myself as a good friend but the more honest answer would have to come from one of my friends.

35.   What are your goals in life?

None too big, to just have lived a good enough life earning for the next.

36.   How much gratitude helps you in life?

I am a firm believer of “Gratitude is the best attitude.”

37.   What is one book that touches your heart?

I got a lot of those, but the one book that really does and hopefully always will, is the Holy Quran.

38.   What is one book you will recommend to people? One for new readers and one for regular readers?

I would recommend readers to always carry around a copy of Reclaim your Heart.

Books like; A man called Ove and Tuesdays with Morrie is too recommended.

39.   What are your aims or goals in your area of the profession?

I chose psychology to understand the human mind and behavior and that is what I aim to get out of it.

40.   What makes you happy and what makes you sad?

Little things make me happy and my own faults make me sad.

41.   Do you get emotional easily?

Not anymore, I don’t. But I cry easily if you’re asking about a specific emotion.

42.   How would this interview help you in your writing path?

I have no idea but it was fun. Thank you for hearing me out.

43.   Share a nice quote?

There is some good in this world, and it is worth fighting for. (LOTR)

I also love this hadith:

Make things easy for the people, and do not make it difficult for them, and make them calm (with glad tidings) and do not repulse (them)

44.   If you have to help a person starting their writing path, what would you tell them?

Observe, scribble, ponder, write.

45.   What would you like to say to your readers?

A person can do whatever they set their minds to do. The only person holding you back is yourself.

 Follow Her: Rabia Arif