I love fairytales, ask anyone. As a child I was lucky enough to be fascinated by stories from all round the world thanks to a combination of my Mum’s travelling and her love of books. As cliched as it may seem, I’ve always hoped that one day a prince would come riding in, sweep me off my feet, and take me to live in an amazing castle, full of gnomes and fairies and “beasts of the forest” and such.

Unfortunately for me, life is no fairytale, and that has been particularly true of late. I’m very lucky, because I have a wonderful family, an amazing boyfriend, a nice house, a good job, the opportunity to pursue my academic interests at a great university, and on top of that a big circle of friends with whom I have a lot of fun joining in with all the opportunities I could hope for. But I think there are very few people who can honestly say that their life is a breeze, even if (like me), they have everything they need and want.

For reasons which aren’t really mine to discuss, the last few weeks have been hard, and the next few weeks and months could be even harder. Since life is not a fairytale there isn’t a magical cure, and it’s not going to be acceptable for me to just sleep it off (which is basically a great fairytale tradition of princesses). However, I’m very hopeful for the future, and I can see my own unique happy ending in sight, which is something I’ve very thankful for. To everyone who has helped me on my journey of late, thank you, and a thank you in advance to everyone who I know will help through anything to come.

” لا شيء يدوم ” – This too shall pass