planning a plan

i feel so calm here. it's nice to have a place where i can unwind.

i completely forget how to do fancy things like cuts and links. (BBCode? HTML? Markdown???) however i am excited to learn learn learn!

so there's a disturbingly drought of quality, accessible children's literature for muslims.

in fact, i'd even say most kid's literature today is sort of rubbish. yeah, there are pretty pictures, and yeah, lots of the books meet critical acclaim and have a place in the public conscience, but i still find these picture and chapter books leaving me wanting more.

so instead of sucking on my thumb and taking a nap, i've decided to do something about it.

i like drawing, i know some basic coding, and i have some basic writing tools at my disposal. now all i have to do is sit down and actually write. i've put plans to paper (well, the evernote app) and i'm doing research to make something i can at least look back at and say, "i didn't give up on myself."

i pray God leads me to the resources i need and guides me on how to write something genuine, engaging, and beneficial for our ummah (community).

seeya 'round!

you hear 'bout them houses?

tiny houses are my most recent obsession. as someone who's had to leave school because of lack of funds, mental illness, and inadequate mental healthcare, i worried a lot about my future. how am i supposed to care for myself and a family if i can barely function alone?

i don't think anyone needs reminding that the housing market is basically an above-ground graveyard. buying a house? welcome to hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans, interest (which i despise), and a good chance of debt! if it's one thing the US is amazing at, it's handling debt really really badly.

those thoughts swam in my head and did laps around my anxiety for a long time.

ENTER THE "TINY HOUSE!"

i remember seeing a tumblr post on a tiny home that, at the time, seemed novel and rebelliously stylish. i'd never seen anything so small and gorgeous. my heart was full of love for this purposefully crafted abode. not only was it small, it was cute! back then there was no mention of price and i didn't really care because i was a middle schooler obsessed with fandom tumblr. (insert embarrassed shivering here.)

as someone who's pretty much only lived in apartments, i'm used to small spaces. i actually always preferred small. big houses tend to feel impressive at first, then lonely and "empty" as time passes. that's how i felt sleeping over at relatives' places, anyways.

so about a week ago i actually watched television (gasp!) instead of youtube. what i saw shocked me.

those same tiny houses i saw over half a decade ago were being featured on tv, and there were multiple shows dedicated wholly to their construction and the people who'd live in them! and not only that, they were waaaay cheaper than your typical home today. $15k? $35k? $60k? i was shocked. of course each tiny home is different and they can ecome super expensive depending on who's building it, materials, labor costs, and what you're going to prioritize in your home, but it was still a much better alternative to a 30-year mortgage.

my dream? buy one of these babies cash. no payment plans, no interest (seriously what's up with this country and ridiculous fees?), no problems.

so anyway, that's enough about ~the dream~ exciting me at the moment. there are lots of legal hurdles in the way of owning tiny homes in many states (especially the most populous ones) but tiny steps are being taken to make sure that people can live with peace of mind in their teeny tiny houses.

seeya 'round!