Some things we get attached to become so dear to us that letting go feels impossible, and everyone can relate to that in their own way.

I’ve been used to drinking water from my favourite bottle ever since I was a kid. The love my heart holds for that one water bottle — the one that’s been keeping me hydrated — is hard to put into words.

And I’m sure many of you have one or more objects that you hold dear. However, when that one thing is taken from us, something breaks inside us.

Today, I lost my favourite green-coloured water bottle. It broke this evening… and my heart shattered into pieces.

What made it special was not really something I liked about it. It was special because of who gave me that water bottle. My father, the precious being to me, the one I love the most in this world.

I know it doesn’t make any sense to you. However, losing my bottle wasn’t the pain. I will get a new one in little to no time. The pain was the reminder of some moments in my life that had not favoured me, and those moments meant a lot to me.

Looking at those shattered pieces of glass, I was reminded of my dream of becoming an aerospace engineer. I was reminded of not being able to apply to my dream universities because my parents did not agree.

“The universities are far away from home!” they said.

Never will I ever understand this concept that girls cannot go into co-education or universities in other cities because “girls are girls”!

Not being a feminist here, I could never be one. And, yes, parents are possessive of their precious daughters. I used to convince my classmates with such statements when it happened to me. I had a feeling they were not being possessive or anything. They just do not believe in me.

Life is not always what we assume for ourselves. The universe can favour you if you let yourself dream, and dream so hard that no one can come between you and your dreams. There is so much in the world that you do for the sake of your parents and their love. And I do agree that one can never pay back for all our parents do for us. You owe them everything after Almighty Allah.

There’s something so therapeutic about studying and knowing space. I have always loved the cosmos. My love for space has always taught me that we are so small compared to the universe. A gentle reminder that ego, jealousy, hatred and envy have no place and make no sense.

It is only through a place of humility that we can love and know the Creator of space. And time. And everything in between. Only then can we know how to love ourselves and know ourselves deeply and understand the hidden treasures life holds for us.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 26th, 2025