Unable to return to bed...

Found myself awake with a sore throat this morning... Let's see.. It's 2:34am. I guess that's what I get for going to bed at 8pm. HAHAHA. My biorhythms are obviously telling me that six hours is enough.

I won't worry too much about not getting back to bed, since I'll have plenty of time to sleep when I'm on vacation starting Wednesday. I read a short story the other day called "My Body Is My Business" by Naheed Mustafa. I've been wanting to write about it for sometime now, perhaps now is a good time to do that...

In her story she uses the muslim women's hajib to describe her definition of freedom. For many of us, perhaps wearing the hajib or the thought of wearing it would cause most of us to think that those women do not have freedom, or that they're deprived of popular culture things that most of us enjoy such as cosmetics and jewelery. I mean, why wear it if nobody will see it anyway? What we don't know is that a lot of women chose to wear the hijab, and most of them who wear them don't feel deprived. Naheed Mustafa chose to wear the hijab, and she did that not only for religious purposes, but for the physicality and protection of the hijab. As society transcends into a ridiculous consumption mechanism which praises beauty or the lack of it; the notion of freedom is blurred. Are women who expose themselves physically to the judgement and opinionated society experiencing freedom, or are they simply lost in the definition of freedom? People have choices in what we choose to consume, but most of us do try to conform by trying to meet the standards that the media imposes on us. Here's what I find fascinating... because by wearing the hijab, Naheed Mustafa finds refuge in her journey to seek freedom. Because everything is hidden... suddenly nobody cares. So in essence - because you can't see, you don't care. It's a pity, really, but if I were to perform an experiment by covering myself in public; not only would people look at me differently, but they would also immediately look away. Simply because there is nothing interesting to see - I would immediately become unimporant. Shows how shallow we've all become doesn't it? Our bodies are supposed to be our own business, but since we're conditioned to believe in freedom of speech and democracy - it suddenly becomes everyone else's business. I now understand how freedom is found by concealing myself... I could see how unimportant, and how much freedom I could possibly possess by not allowing others to see me... how my privacy becomes respected. For me, freedom would be not wearing mascara, and not giving a damn about it instead of wearing it just to be judged upon.

Anyway, I'm not trying to play devil's advocate or preech certain beliefs. Just a little sumthin' sumthin' to keep everyone entertained ;) It's now 3:01am... - looks like I won't be falling asleep anytime soon. Ah heck. maybe I'll go make some food.