It is that time of the year where we sit down and we reflect. We truly reflect on all the brilliant times and the bad moments. We admire the gifts and the times of growth. We cherish the love given by our families and learn from the lessons. 

In this article, I will be sharing the top 22 things of 2022. From books to music to moments, I hope to document some of my best highlights of this year, as well as recommend you some new things to try for 2023! 

Disclaimer: My intention is not to show off or brag. I have also had my own share of bad days this year but I choose to focus on the positives. If you need help with anything, please reach out to me in the comments or contact me via my email privately.

My Word of the Year and Why:

Word: Consistency

This year, it was all about being consistent and applying the lessons I learnt throughout my life to authentically be me. To me, consistency was showing up on both the good and the bad days!

My Top Quote of The Year And Why:

‘And they planned and Allah also planned, and Allah is the best of planners’.

(Surah Al-Imran 3:54)

This is my favourite quote of the year and it somewhat encapsulated some of the moments of this year. It is okay to plan out your goals – I love to be ambitious and know where I am going in life. But sometimes, the GPS can reroute and Allah can take you somewhere else. Stay calm and patient. Always follow your gut and keep moving. One day, you will realise that there was a reason why everything happened to you <3.

Top 2 Books of 2022

I don’t necessarily agree with all the lessons in each of these books but there were some lessons that I learnt or were reiterated to me in these books. 

Who Moved My Cheese? 

This was one of the most recent books I have read and it was so creative yet insightful! This book is a business fable based on two mice and two Littlepeople (humans the size of mice) who are looking for Cheese. The Cheese is a metaphor for what we want in life and the story describes the lessons that they learn while trying to look for the New Cheese. Because of its versatility, I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

The Courage To Be Disliked 

This was another great book which I still keep some lessons from. For example, treat all relationships as horizontally not vertically, meaning that treat everyone the same. Another great lesson was that you create symptoms for problems and problems arise due to people. There were some very unique lessons here!

Top 5 Places/Restaurants of 2022

Mi Chaii

This was a 5/5 afternoon tea place for me as it sold Asian afternoon tea. It was very delicious and I remember that coupled with the great service, great conversations with my sister and with the great food, I really enjoyed this place!

Brigit’s Bakery 

This was a very unique experience where I had an afternoon tea in a bus for the first time. This is where I had my bridesmaid proposal (where my sister asked me if I could be her bridesmaid). The vibes were so cool and with the picturesque view, tasty cupcakes and being in a cute bus, it made me feel very special and honoured.

Chai Ki 

I ate this food on the hottest day of Britain (19 July), so it was hard to eat this in the heat, but going back I really enjoyed this food! They even gave me a free cake at the end because it was my birthday that day!

Charista 

Again, the fuchkas from this place are so memorable. I really enjoyed having this food near the window and it was truly a pleasant experience!

Bond Street

Bond Street in the winter has beautiful lights which really look very pretty when you walk around. I would recommend going there in the winter and when it is a bit darker to see the colours of the lights but stay safe though! 

A bonus: I also really liked going to other cities and areas in London and admiring the views there!

Top 5 Nasheeds of 2022

I have listened to many nasheeds and it was hard for me to shorten it to 5 of my top nasheeds. All of these songs below are vocals only to the best of my knowledge, so enjoy these nasheeds in 2023!

Love Nwantiti Ckay by Rhamzan  

This was one of my favourite nasheeds and according to YouTube, I listened to it over 43 times. It is pure talent that Rhamzan is showing through his vocal only beats to make it sound like music while also keeping the lyrics Halal! I enjoyed listening to this Nasheed and God bless Rhamzan!

Grateful by Muad and Siedd 

Another song that makes me feel positive and full of energy is ‘Grateful’. It incorporates the remembrance of Allah as well as having some light vocals only beats. I would highly recommend anyone giving this a listen and enjoying the tunes like I did. Masha Allah Allahumma Barik to these two talented singers.

Good Day by Maher Zain 

If you want to wake up to some upbeat music in the morning, I have the song for you! I enjoyed listening to this song especially in the start of 2022. It is absolutely amazing Alhamdulillah! Maher Zain radiates talent through his songs and according to YouTube, I am one of his top 0.5% of listeners. 

Eidun Saeed by Mesut Kurtis feat. Maher Zain 

I remember mostly listening to this song in Ramadan time, reminding me of the joys of Eid. This was very joyous and also had a great combination of two great songs Mesut Kurtis and Maher Zain. As Ramadan is approaching, remind yourself of the great rewards of Ramadan by listening to this song In Sha Allah! 

Heartbeat by Muad 

This song is for mothers and I would love to sing this to my mother. This song is emotional, so sweet and beautifully composed.

Top 5 Moments of 2022

I am blessed to have had many great memories and moments this year Alhamdulillah. But here I have listed a few of them: 

Endless Trips With My Sister  

From Mi Chaii to Chai Ki to Charista to Cinnamon Bazaar, my sister and I are incredibly privileged and grateful to have been able to try new foods from different cuisines (I promise we tried other cuisines except Indian lol!) All these conversations, food and places will be forever treasured!

My Sister’s Wedding 

This year was a big year for my sister. She graduated and she got married Allahumma Barik. My sister’s wedding was fabulous Alhamdulillah, as I got my makeup, henna and photos done professionally, got to spend time with my sister and also talk to my family and close relatives. 

Going out of London and other areas in London such as Southall

For the past few years, I have always travelled within London (which just shows you can never run out of places to travel within London!) and this year, we ventured out to other areas of London such as Southall and two other cities outside of London. 

Chandraat and Eid 

This year’s Eid ul Adha has to be the best Eid in my life! From going to Chandraat to going to Eid prayers to eating at a restaurant, it was a fun-packed day. 

Going To Islamic Events 

Alhamdulillah, I have grown even closer to my religion this year, and I have also been able to attend events. I got to see more Muslims and I got to meet people such as Hamza Tzortzis, Aatif Nawaz and Ali Official.

Top 5 Lessons of 2022

Some/all of these lessons were lessons I had known before but they were re-emphasised and reiterated this year to me. 

Trust your gut

If you have to make any decision in life, always trust your gut. It will always give you the right response and the right answer. I have always made the right decision by following my gut.

Diversify your identity

Make sure you have other things going on in your life outside of academia. For me, some examples are my blog and my podcast. This allows me to channel my creativity towards something else, help others and build my brand. Do something that you are passionate about and will make you happy long term.

Go at your own pace.

This goes hand in hand with trusting your gut. But make sure you follow your gut and do things when they feel right to you and don’t be pressured by anyone. 

Company is key.

Throughout my years, I have always been quite selective with who I befriend and this year, I am blessed to have found some friends who are good. You are the average of the 5 people you stay with, so choose your group wisely.

Allah plays a huge role in success

I have seen many stories on YouTube where people get rejected from their dream university/job even though they have all the perfect grades, perfect qualifications and the perfect profile. This just goes to show that luck, or for me, Allah’s will and choice plays a huge role in success.

This was my long article on my top things in 2022. I could not list everything and of course, I am incredibly grateful Alhamdulillah for all of these blessings. Comment down below your best highlights of this year!  And Happy New Year!

Check out my latest posts:

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

In this article, I will be sharing some tips that I have learned over the years on how to improve every aspect of your life for the new year. The new year is a great opportunity to reflect on your life, remind yourself of your goals and grow yourself. But remember, you can also do that every day, and you don’t require a specific day to get started – just get started!

These tips will hopefully be a bit different and also it’s all about reflection so reflect on how you are doing in that particular aspect right now, and what your dream self would be doing.

I will be focusing on 5 different aspects of life – health, relationships, religion, school and social media.

Health 

Now health consists of 2 main categories – physical health and mental health.

For physical health, I would suggest investing time and even money if needed to work on your body. Schedule times in your weekly routine where you will focus on your physical health, whether it is the time to meal prep, the times where you will exercise or even when you will do your skincare routine.

For mental health, I would highly recommend being more mindful. This could be done by regularly checking up with yourself on how you are feeling by either meditating, journaling or even talking to a loved one.

Relationships

Our family and friends are really important. Hopefully, you have spent some time with your loved ones to enjoy the beginning of this new, wonderful year, but if not, now is the chance. Reconnect with your loved ones and give time to them. And one thing that I think everyone needs to improve on with our relationships is listening more. Everyone loves to talk about themselves but remember to listen more and make the other person feel heard. In no way does this mean that you can’t talk about what you are interested in but try to listen more attentively, as it will help you to build closer, long-lasting relationships with others.

Religion

I could not post this article without talking about my beautiful religion Islam. Islam is the ultimate source of peace and happiness and if you have a religion or you are a Muslim reading this, my advice would be to reflect. Of course, reflection is key for everything, but specifically for religion, I do believe that it is your own personal and close relationship with God and only you know how you feel about God, what you believe in and what you commit to doing. As a Muslim, you can ask yourself: when was the last time I prayed? When was the last time I read a few verses of the Quran? Be honest with yourself, and remember to be kind to yourself. If you feel embarrassed or guilty, do not fret, Allah is there with open arms to forgive His slaves so seek forgiveness sincerely and you are already one step closer. Through reflection and research, you can then start to guide your own path to becoming closer to God.

School

As an A-Level student myself, I could not forget school and studies. School can be quite stressful at times, especially around this time when you may be having exams. My tips would be to definitely take a pause and start to look at what revision techniques you are using for each subject and your daily routine for school. Is there any way you can improve it? Work on your weaknesses and don’t be afraid to also change a few things around if needed and if they are not working for you. Get advice from people who have gone through the same school year you are in right now, and then choose what you want to follow and what you don’t want to follow.

Social Media

The last one that I wanted to mention which is easy to forget yet so many people indulge in every day is social media. Social media is such a huge part of your lives. And therefore, this is the time when you want to look at your social media profile. Who are you currently following? Who do you look at? Are they having a positive impact on your life? After reflecting on this and making necessary changes, you can then schedule times where you won’t look at social media. This is not a social media detox where you don’t look at your social media for 1 month and then instantly start using it for 5 hours a day again. This is scheduling times in the day where you won’t look at social media during the day e.g. right when you wake up in the morning, 

Those were my 5 aspects that I wanted to focus on. Again, instead of giving ideas of goals you can have (which I am sure you already know), I wanted to instead help you build a closer relationship with yourself, look at the flaws and weaknesses, and work on them. This year is the year of healing and growing, and if you agree with that, then please make sure to stay tuned in this blog for more articles, related to self-development, food, travel and positivity.

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

Thank you so much for reading, and have a lovely day!