Learn Arabic as it is really spoken. Listen to and read Egyptian Colloquial Arabic.

As Yomna reaches a milestone, she reflects on her life. What has she learned from the past, and what does she want to do in the future?

اهلاً بيكم. يوم ١٤ / ١١ ده كان يوم ميلادى. بابايا و جوزى و ابنى فاجئونى بتورتايه حلوه اوى. كتبولى عليها كل سنه و انتى طيبه. و جابوا حلويات كتير. كان يوم حلو بمعنى الكلمه. هقولكو بصراحه، انا تميت السنه دى ٣٥ سنه مبحبش بقى موضوع انى اخبى سنى و افضل طول عمرى عندى ٢٢ سنه و الكلام ده. و عشان الخمسه و تلاتين بالذات انا بعتبرها نقطه فاصله، او هى منتصف العمر فعلياً. فا قعدت مع نفسى شويه افكر انا اتعلمت ايه من اللى فات و عايزه اعمل ايه فى اللى جاى. اول حاجه انا لازم اشكر ربنا على كل الناس اللى حطهم فى طريقى طول حياتى لان كلهم هدايا حقيقيه. و بدعى ربنا انه يقدرنى اسعدهم كلهم و اللى بعد منهم اقدر احافظ على التواصل معاه. تانى حاجه المواظبه. اتاكدت فعلاً انه الواحد يقدر يعمل معجزات لو واظب على حاجه و لو بقدر بسيط يومياً. و بالنسبه لى ده بيحل مشاكل كتير زى عدم توافر الوقت او الظروف المناسبه عشان اعمل حاجه بحبها. لكن لو خصصت لها وقت بسيط كل يوم هنجز فيها كتير. زى ما بيقول نبينا: أحب الأعمال إلى الله ادومها وإن قل. تالت حاجه انه مفيش حاجه بتيجى متاخر. هى بتيجى لما الواحد بيكون مستعد و ده زودلى حماستى انى ابدأ فى الحاجه اللى انا بحبها، مكسلش و مقولش اتاخرت. بالعكس انا اقدر اتعلم اى حاجه و اتقنها واستفيد منها و افيد الناس كمان حتى لو عندى ٧٠ سنه. مش برضه كولونيل ساندرز قدر يأسس كنتاكى و عمره ٦٥ سنه؟ يبقى انا كمان هقدر و انتو كمان هتقدروا. كل سنه و انتو طيبين.

Hello! November 14th was my birthday. My dad, my husband, and my son surprised me with a very beautiful cake. They wrote Happy Birthday on it for me. They brought lots of sweets. It was a sweet day literally. I will tell you frankly, this year I turned 35. I don’t like hiding my age and staying 22 all my life. And because I consider 35 a special turning point, or it’s actually the middle point of life, so I sat by myself thinking of what I’ve learned before and what I want to do in the future. First of all, I must thank God for all the people he has put in my path all my life because they are all real gifts. And I pray to God to empower me to make them all happy and to stay in touch with those who are away. Second, persistence. I’m sure that one can perform miracles if they persist in doing something, even in small amounts, on a daily basis. For me, this fixes lots of problems, such as not finding quality time or the right circumstances to do something I love. But if I specify a small period of time every day, I’ll accomplish a lot. As our prophet says, “The deeds dearest to God are those done regularly, even if a little.” Third, nothing comes late. It comes when one is prepared. And that increased my enthusiasm to start [doing] what I love, not to be lazy or to say “I’m late.” On the contrary, I can learn anything, excel in it, benefit from it and also benefit people, even if I ‘m 70. Didn’t colonel Sanders establish KFC when he was 65? So, I can too. And so can you. Happy year to you!

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