I am pretty sure many girls, mainly my friends, will totally hate me for saying this. But it is true, many girls are doing their best to get the perfect hubby or let me rephrase are “hunting down” their future hubby because if you reached over 25 years of age without a hubby then you are such a spinster.

Well, I knew that many people think that way and probably it's a traditional thing. For instance, right after graduation people keep asking “Oh, didn’t you graduate college, why aren’t you married still“ and the whole gossiping starts. Educated girls are haunted by idea of ending up not married, and how society will look at them, it is so depressing.

I am talking about my colleagues at college, girls who are still teenagers, and didn’t even reach their 20s, and all what they can think of is “the perfect guy” and of course there is an amazing list which I would love to share.

• Major: Engineering or Medicine 
• Car: something expensive
• Looks: Not so ugly.

I think this list is absurd, what about chemistry? Personality? And common interest? Can’t you fall in love with a guy who is majoring economics, does that make him any less? Won’t he be the same guy you like, won’t he fill the image of the “Perfect Husband”.

“Why you should find a hubby at freshman year” - people say: -

• You are still young, you start looking at the age of 18 probably find a guy when you reach 21
• You have the senior classes, next year there will be new freshman students who are younger than you and the seniors will graduate.

In case you remember the comedian Ramadan series ”3awza agwaz” which features a group of 30 something women who are under social pressure and in urge of finding the right guy. This is pretty much what I am talking about, but teenagers in this case.

Yes, I swear, some people still think that way, some girls don’t even care about their academic career, they may get straight A’s because this is a good qualification in finding the hubby. Of course, this is also related to the idea of loving whatever their ”crush” is into. For instance, if he loves football, they are crazy about it,  if he loves video games, then again they love it. And so on. Identity? Oh yeah right, it will show up after marriage.

Don’t get me wrong, I do respect people who get married at a young age, and I do respect the whole marriage concept, and I would totally understand and respect it even if a girl wants to drop out of college and get married because she WANTS to, not because she is afraid of some sort of a social stigma.

I hate to see girls who are obsessed with this. I mean, it's the 21st century right? Women do other things besides marriage; there is a career and a whole life that they can lead on their own. Marriage is important, but it's not what our whole life relies on. And, college isn’t about literally stalking the right guy, it is about building an academic career, getting the most out of it, learning more and even signing up for extra classes in order to become the best version of yourself. What if the right guy never showed up? Life still goes on. And, honestly, I don’t think any of those methods to “hunt down” your future hubby are even working.

This sounds a bit weird but I do believe in so called destiny and fate. So, pretty much what I am trying to say is-because I am sure some you got lost in translation-Enjoy college life and the whole experience, don’t limit yourself with the idea of “Mrs. Perfect”.

I love weddings because you dress up and have fun with your family and friends not because it is another chance to track down a new a hubby. I am not a mad teenager who is asking people to be anti-marriage, I am asking them to enjoy their teenage years because they are awesome and they are the chance to be stupid and learn from your mistakes. Being a teenager is fun, and when it comes to worrying about ending up as a spinster, let me tell you this, you have many years to worry about that.

The other day, I was sitting with my grandma as she pulled out her address book to make her round of family phone calls. I looked at the archaic artifact, completely baffled. Who still uses an address book? And a tangible one at that? Everyone I know is either saved on my phone or I find via social media. and that’s not a good thing.

The older generation genuinely follow up on their correspondence, and not because they have to – but because they want to. They call family, just to check in and chat. A birthday is rarely forgotten.  My 75 year old aunt has lived across the Atlantic Ocean since I was kid, and she has never forgotten to call me on an occasion. As for our generation, we Facebook. We text. And if it’s an emergency or we are too lazy to text (the latter being the most common), we pick up the phone. Granted, social media has allowed us to reconnect to old friends and connect us with new ones, but has it jeopardized our communication skills? I think it has.

We write on each other’s walls on birthdays and say congrats on a status, but when was the last time you called a relative ‘just because’. When was the last time you hand wrote a letter, sent a postcard or gave someone a greeting card that wasn’t free online? Maybe you have, maybe it’s just me. I’m almost certain it’s not just me.

The way I see it, our conversations are quicker, our level of concentration and attention has become equal to that of a fruit fly.  At social gatherings, we all stare at our phones and when hanging out with family, each person has a laptop, phone, or ipad glaring in their face - and I’m convinced it’s because of how over-stimulated our brains are from our phones and social media. Why write someone’s phone number down? If I need it, I’ll send them a message on Facebook.  We pretend not to see each other’s phone calls (oh, don’t play coy. Everyone’s guilty of this at one point!), but then get upset when someone doesn’t return our call.

What worries me the most is the thought of what our kids will be like: Will they even understand the basic social etiquette of calling someone on their birthday? Or will a Facebook wall be all that is needed?

Just food for thought. 

When i first heard about Naqeshny.com I was really confused – I didn't really know what it was about. As far as I knew, it was a place where people could argue with one another till no end. After seeing all the buzz about it online, I decided to take a look. The second I logged on I wasn’t only impressed, I was hooked.

After doing the initial sign up, the website gives you a quick quiz with a few questions. Based on these questions, you are assigned a certain color according to your views. My color turned out to be Orange. Anxious to know what that means, I clicked on the button that said “more about colors”. Being really curious, I was dying to know what my color meant as the screen popped up with the following message – “What your color means is something that will become clearer to you with time”. What could seem frustrating actually made me more interested in exploring this website. I automatically started searching for people with the same color as me to see if their values, opinions and thoughts are similar to mine.

The whole concept on its own is unique. Dating almost a year and a half back to the revolution, Facebook was swarmed with people’s opinions and constant debates. We’ve all seen our fair share of arguments and friendships threatened because of political disagreements. Sooner rather than later, people were scared to post their thoughts on Facebook, in fear of getting attacked for their own opinions.

Now Naqeshny isn't just some place you can argue, but rather a place where you can learn about others and yourself. Once you click on the “Debates”, you get to see that people aren't just arguing about politics, but about everything from football and economics to the age-old battle of Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola. Naqeshny is a platform that allows people to voice their opinions, while keeping the focus on the issues and not any personal vendettas. Debates can be public or private (between two people) with subscribers voting for the viewpoint they support.

What we've all learned in the past year is that people’s opinions change, you can see ones that supported our revolution in the begging now don't andvice versa. Naqeshny offers you a chance to grow as a person, learn as well as respect other views be it political, social or just plain old silly. The ultimate surprise is that your color might change according to your views. The human mind has unlimited potential for change and what you believe in today can be something you hate tomorrow.

Are you ready for a different color?

WE SAID THIS: If this trial run is any indication of things to come, Naqeshny is paving the way for civilized discussions and freedom of expression.

If only social climbing burnt calories, I bet you 99% of Egyptians would be as skinny as Victoria's Secret models. Which actually brings me to my next point: why are girls so NOT CREATIVE?

Last weekend in Sokhna, the beach could have been a catalogue for Victoria's Secret. Copy paste, I swear! Come on girls, be a bit more creative BLEASE!

Ok, back to my initial point.. So now suddenly everyone wants to be a politician? And if you are unable to be one, because with all due respect, last year your only concern was how to score some coke in parties and now you wanna be a politician?

Anyways, if you are unable to be one, the following are most likely the steps you will take to become a peseudo politician:

1. You will either tweet about politics 
2. Befriend all the revolutionaries 
3. Try and open an NGOs or be part of a party? By that, I mean a political party of course (again, the only parties we were exposed to were Ganz parties max)

My point here is that since everyone's social lives have declined tremendously in Egypt, people have exchanged this with politics, which again for me is Social Climbing.

WE SAID THIS: IF YOU CAN'T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM?