00:00:00:00 - 00:00:06:22
Unknown
right. Hi, everyone. I am here with my friend Ola, and she is going to share a story with us today too.

00:00:06:22 - 00:00:09:09
Unknown
Hi, guys. I know, thank you for having me.

00:00:09:09 - 00:00:13:14
Unknown
I grew up in a culture where, like, I have to be an engineer or a doctor

00:00:13:14 - 00:00:16:22
Unknown
these are the careers that, provide you with,

00:00:16:22 - 00:00:20:16
Unknown
financial stability and stable life.

00:00:20:16 - 00:00:26:08
Unknown
I appreciate the culture and the, our parents that pushes us to our limits and to,

00:00:26:08 - 00:00:28:07
Unknown
get to this position

00:00:28:07 - 00:00:38:11
Unknown
However, was I completely happy and satisfied with that? No. And I'm just telling this story because I know that there's many, many people and girls,

00:00:38:11 - 00:00:40:18
Unknown
out there like me who,

00:00:40:18 - 00:00:53:02
Unknown
became doctors, engineers, scientist, nurse, and they probably like something else and passionate about something else. And because also these careers are very demanding,

00:00:53:02 - 00:01:01:11
Unknown
they might not find the time to discover what they actually meant to be doing in this universe, which is very sad.

00:01:01:13 - 00:01:07:04
Unknown
And I'm sharing this experience because I finally found what I'm good at and,

00:01:07:04 - 00:01:18:06
Unknown
what I'm good at. It's something that came to me and found me as well. And this is why I'm sure that this is my thing. Because we found each other. It's not something that my parents helped me,

00:01:18:06 - 00:01:23:07
Unknown
figure out or because, like, I looked at the domains outside in the market and so, like,

00:01:23:07 - 00:01:27:15
Unknown
this thing will probably sell and will probably make me,

00:01:27:15 - 00:01:31:05
Unknown
make a lot of money and, like, buy the best car and all of that.

00:01:31:07 - 00:01:33:11
Unknown
So I finally,

00:01:33:11 - 00:01:37:14
Unknown
was capable of finding the thing that will make work, not work,

00:01:37:14 - 00:01:40:14
Unknown
and make it more of a lifestyle. And I wish,

00:01:40:14 - 00:01:51:20
Unknown
I wish if everyone in the whole world can find that. Because, like, imagine if every single person is doing what they're passionate about only. And to stop this,

00:01:51:20 - 00:01:55:21
Unknown
obsession of being bankers, engineers and doctors

00:01:55:21 - 00:01:57:03
Unknown
that would be amazing.

00:01:57:03 - 00:02:08:19
Unknown
I would love to live in a word like that. Yeah. So how did you find that thing? I guess you always knew you were passionate about it, but you said it came back and it found you. So tell us about that.

00:02:08:19 - 00:02:11:03
Unknown
I always knew deep down that,

00:02:11:03 - 00:02:15:00
Unknown
I'm more than someone who will stay in a lab.

00:02:15:06 - 00:02:16:14
Unknown
I'm more outgoing.

00:02:16:14 - 00:02:22:08
Unknown
I like talking and interacting with people. I like organizing and planning and led doing,

00:02:22:08 - 00:02:25:21
Unknown
fun stuff and creative things. So I always knew that,

00:02:25:21 - 00:02:31:07
Unknown
with the. And I did that with my friends. Not as work like, not as a carrier.

00:02:31:07 - 00:02:39:06
Unknown
I reached, my limit with the education system, and I can't give it anymore because my parents were pushing me to do my DNA.

00:02:39:06 - 00:02:41:09
Unknown
Could because they pushed so hard,

00:02:41:09 - 00:02:42:19
Unknown
I might. I mean,

00:02:42:19 - 00:02:43:01
Unknown
but

00:02:43:01 - 00:02:45:04
Unknown
I got my masters and I started working in,

00:02:45:04 - 00:02:50:20
Unknown
in a lab. You will get to know that, being a scientist is very depressing because,

00:02:50:20 - 00:03:01:17
Unknown
90% of the things that we do, they fail. And it's like a dead end, especially with the specialization that I had, which is stem cells and cancer.

00:03:01:17 - 00:03:07:13
Unknown
we cannot play gods like, we cannot be gods and create his work in a lab.

00:03:07:13 - 00:03:18:02
Unknown
We can try, but most of the time we fail. So it was very, like, not aligned with my personality in that way. I was good at it. Yes.

00:03:18:02 - 00:03:24:10
Unknown
But it wasn't aligned with who I am as a fun person, right?

00:03:24:10 - 00:03:29:02
Unknown
what is it that you are passionate about? What is this art that you're creating?

00:03:29:02 - 00:03:32:19
Unknown
a background story I grew up in Kuwait and I was in,

00:03:32:19 - 00:03:34:02
Unknown
all the time. I was like in,

00:03:34:02 - 00:03:43:02
Unknown
private school for girls. So I was always surrounded by girls. I, I know, I know women, and I understand women, and I know how,

00:03:43:02 - 00:03:46:01
Unknown
to have a conversation with them and hold space with them.

00:03:46:05 - 00:03:49:13
Unknown
That was, like, very easy for me. And then,

00:03:49:13 - 00:03:50:17
Unknown
I was the planner

00:03:50:17 - 00:03:58:00
Unknown
in my group of friends, like, when we travel, I'm the one who booked the tickets. Find the hotel,

00:03:58:00 - 00:03:59:06
Unknown
build the itinerary.

00:03:59:06 - 00:04:05:05
Unknown
which time I realized that this is something that is annoying to other people, which I didn't know, because to me, it's not annoying.

00:04:05:11 - 00:04:17:05
Unknown
So I did not know that this is a chore for someone else. But later on, I realized that, okay, it's actually a talent that I have and the passion that I have that it's easy for me.

00:04:17:05 - 00:04:17:18
Unknown
So,

00:04:17:18 - 00:04:22:08
Unknown
with time, I started like, communicating with, with girls, and,

00:04:22:08 - 00:04:25:09
Unknown
we talk and I, I organized a retreat,

00:04:25:09 - 00:04:27:19
Unknown
and that retreat was very successful, and.

00:04:27:19 - 00:04:39:17
Unknown
Everyone was in the retreat was telling me that you should do this. And from there and I brought my business idea and it was about holding spaces for women and,

00:04:39:17 - 00:04:47:19
Unknown
doing retreats, whether it's it's inside Windsor or even like outside Canada, beyond Canada. And I'm excited to do that. This is,

00:04:47:19 - 00:04:55:03
Unknown
I'm just starting and I'm glad that I have this platform to talk about my new business, my new baby,

00:04:55:03 - 00:04:56:12
Unknown
which is going to be about,

00:04:56:12 - 00:04:58:11
Unknown
holding spaces for women.

00:04:58:13 - 00:05:03:01
Unknown
So we're looking at mostly in-person retreats.

00:05:03:01 - 00:05:04:10
Unknown
Not necessarily.

00:05:04:10 - 00:05:10:01
Unknown
So if it's in-person retreat, it's much easier, obviously, because you have a connection with these people.

00:05:10:01 - 00:05:10:12
Unknown
But,

00:05:10:12 - 00:05:18:22
Unknown
I'm good at making and not at networking. So it doesn't need to, like, be a deep connection with me for me to be able to build a retreat for you, for example, like,

00:05:18:22 - 00:05:20:18
Unknown
taking a leadership,

00:05:20:18 - 00:05:27:20
Unknown
workshop, because I always want myself to, like, improve as an entrepreneur and, like, educating myself.

00:05:28:01 - 00:05:31:00
Unknown
So currently I'm taking a leadership,

00:05:31:00 - 00:05:32:05
Unknown
online webinar

00:05:32:05 - 00:05:39:15
Unknown
right away it was like, I want to bring them down to Windsor, and I want other women to benefit from them and to see this, like,

00:05:39:15 - 00:05:45:03
Unknown
kind of education that is very helpful for anyone who's starting a business or even not starting a business in general.

00:05:45:03 - 00:05:58:15
Unknown
How to be a good leadership and manage that. So right away I was like, okay, let me talk to them about building like a a day retreat or two days retreat where like, we can collaborate with a yoga instructor, for example,

00:05:58:15 - 00:06:07:07
Unknown
You know what I mean? Like these ideas, it's easy for me, and I just, like, see it in my head and just put it on a paper and start talking to people.

00:06:07:07 - 00:06:12:12
Unknown
People will get excited and then like, boom, whatever we're talking about becomes a reality. You

00:06:12:12 - 00:06:24:04
Unknown
What are the suggestions that you have for other people if they're struggling with finding their creativity and their art? I guess that's something that I struggled with for a long time, too, is,

00:06:24:04 - 00:06:32:03
Unknown
the self-expression. How do you suggest that people experiment and find that thing that they're passionate about?

00:06:32:05 - 00:06:46:17
Unknown
I think you said it in experiments like, keep just trying. You have only one life. Just keep trying everything. You never know this thing that you feel that, oh, it's not me. It might be you. And also, like, the second one is,

00:06:46:17 - 00:06:52:00
Unknown
listen, listen to the people around you. What they're saying, I usually listen what people told me.

00:06:52:02 - 00:06:53:23
Unknown
Even if it's like,

00:06:53:23 - 00:07:06:07
Unknown
constructive criticism, any any comment, I usually listen to it. Most of the time I will be like, oh, it's probably their projection. But I still listen like, I, I go home, I reflect,

00:07:06:07 - 00:07:11:22
Unknown
and most of the time I will be like, oh, it's your own projection. It's your own problem, not mine.

00:07:12:00 - 00:07:13:23
Unknown
But good and bad. I listen to,

00:07:13:23 - 00:07:23:20
Unknown
what I receive from comments and I have received tons of, like, comments. And in terms of holding spaces for women, teach them how to dance and move and,

00:07:23:20 - 00:07:24:15
Unknown
come up with,

00:07:24:15 - 00:07:28:01
Unknown
creative ideas for them to go out and do something fun because

00:07:28:01 - 00:07:34:16
Unknown
it's not easy for them to, do that, but they want it, right?

00:07:34:16 - 00:07:39:08
Unknown
They want to have fun. They want to go out. They want to interact with other women as well.

00:07:39:08 - 00:07:41:05
Unknown
But they don't have the tools

00:07:41:05 - 00:07:43:17
Unknown
maybe to find this true.

00:07:43:17 - 00:07:57:07
Unknown
So I can do that for them. And I know because you've taught me to. Yeah. And you are very good at it because the person that you just described I think is me, I relate to that very strongly.

00:07:57:07 - 00:07:59:01
Unknown
Okay. Yes. Yeah. And

00:07:59:01 - 00:08:02:02
Unknown
watching you lead as that example,

00:08:02:02 - 00:08:11:23
Unknown
it's just very eye opening that someone can be so confident and strong and smart. Thank you. I think we're all confident in,

00:08:11:23 - 00:08:22:02
Unknown
And smart in our own way. It's just like, you know, you need sometimes to poke that person, and then, boom. Like, when when we were, like, at the retreat, you're like the business woman.

00:08:22:02 - 00:08:27:08
Unknown
Like the confident one with so many calls and teaching us, like, how to not over,

00:08:27:08 - 00:08:36:00
Unknown
think something as silly as, like nutrition. And it was very inspiring and it was very like also fun to listen to. So yeah, it's,

00:08:36:00 - 00:08:46:15
Unknown
it's again finding what you're special that like, what is your strength? And then like, no one's going to be able to compete with that or replicate that because this is you and only you.

00:08:46:17 - 00:09:12:01
Unknown
Yeah. Thank you. And I think what I mean this is new for me. So my events that I've been holding. Yeah I think that is another strength of mine is also holding space and bringing people together. So I've been leaning into that and playing with that. And this podcast has been about giving people the space to write, to express themselves.

00:09:12:03 - 00:09:13:17
Unknown
Yeah. After your,

00:09:13:17 - 00:09:22:02
Unknown
what do you call it, an, an invite, a workshop, what do you call it? Because it's different. Influencer. My event. You're like you what do you call this kind of event?

00:09:22:02 - 00:09:25:14
Unknown
So what it really is, is open mic. Open, open mic night.

00:09:25:14 - 00:09:27:17
Unknown
Yeah, but it's storytelling.

00:09:27:19 - 00:09:34:06
Unknown
I've been here three years only, and, so surprisingly, it's. It's a long time. Okay. I should settle in.

00:09:34:06 - 00:09:36:04
Unknown
But surprisingly, I still get,

00:09:36:04 - 00:09:39:22
Unknown
a lot of culture shocks. Which one of them was after your,

00:09:39:22 - 00:09:44:12
Unknown
event is that I would never see such a thing in,

00:09:44:12 - 00:09:59:04
Unknown
Middle East, and I've connected so much to it, like I was so happy from beginning to end, listening to people interacting with them, the support that we gave each other after, like so many people came to me, which my my story was the funny story, right?

00:09:59:06 - 00:10:20:14
Unknown
And they came to me and they were like, oh, we love your story. And it was like telling them that by and giving hugs and like support. And these faces will be familiar with time. Like if I saw them in the street. I feel like you're building a community that know each other, like, not just like, sharing an activity and then like, once we done with this activity, we go home.

00:10:20:19 - 00:10:26:05
Unknown
You're actually making them on the squad. The activity by itself is bonding together. And,

00:10:26:05 - 00:10:33:10
Unknown
I love that. And I when I went back home to reflect and I was like, we don't have that back home because we do this in a regular basis, like,

00:10:33:10 - 00:10:33:17
Unknown
the.

00:10:33:17 - 00:10:56:14
Unknown
Neighbors get together and talk to each other, and, Like, if if my mom used to hold, like, a big party, all the neighbors will come and obviously they're going to talk, and they will have they will have an idea of my problem. I will know all their big or small deals and we will just, like, communicate in a deeper level, and we are just going to help each other.

00:10:56:19 - 00:11:10:18
Unknown
So what you did is that you provide me a piece of like my culture and how like and it resonates so much with me because I don't think that we can do it alone. You know what I mean? Like, we need the support of,

00:11:10:18 - 00:11:14:00
Unknown
the community all the time, even if we just want to talk and vent.

00:11:14:01 - 00:11:16:12
Unknown
It's important. So I'm all like,

00:11:16:12 - 00:11:19:07
Unknown
I'm grateful that you're offering that, to be honest.

00:11:19:07 - 00:11:38:18
Unknown
I really agree, I think we need each other and we need the talking. Like we can't just hold it in and not express ourselves. I think especially as women. But I think men also need to express themselves. But especially as women I think we thrive on that connection.

00:11:38:18 - 00:11:47:13
Unknown
And if it's not there then we just aren't blooming, I guess. Yeah, the way that we should be because we're going to suppress it. Yeah. And this is

00:11:47:13 - 00:11:58:23
Unknown
how important it is to like, keep moving. And movement is very important because like, you release this energy and that's another space that I'm holding for women where, like, I teach them a cultural Egyptian dance.

00:11:59:00 - 00:12:00:19
Unknown
It's called oriental dance. And,

00:12:00:19 - 00:12:02:23
Unknown
it's been very successful. And,

00:12:02:23 - 00:12:03:14
Unknown
I think,

00:12:03:14 - 00:12:11:14
Unknown
that's a new thing to Windsor. It's more popular in Detroit and Toronto, but I am really hoping to see, like this,

00:12:11:14 - 00:12:12:07
Unknown
dance,

00:12:12:07 - 00:12:18:11
Unknown
reach all women in Windsor if it's possible, and for them to explore it and experience that, because it's,

00:12:18:11 - 00:12:28:18
Unknown
so much about connecting with your body and knowing you, it's like you're meeting your body for the first time when you come to an oriental dance because you will be like, okay, do we move like that?

00:12:28:18 - 00:12:39:12
Unknown
Do we actually, like, can do this? And then like with practice and you, you from experience try to know, yeah, you can and it's just very healthy and very spiritual and,

00:12:39:12 - 00:12:42:12
Unknown
I'm, I'm glad that I can. I do have this,

00:12:42:12 - 00:12:49:23
Unknown
tool to give to the, to other women because I believe it's very important. Like everyone, women deserve to do it.

00:12:49:23 - 00:12:55:07
Unknown
within my business because it's holding spaces for women.

00:12:55:07 - 00:12:56:05
Unknown
There's the,

00:12:56:05 - 00:13:03:15
Unknown
one element is the retreats and events, and the other element is the dancing space that I'm holding. And I'm just gonna start,

00:13:03:15 - 00:13:06:00
Unknown
soon, actually, in July,

00:13:06:00 - 00:13:08:00
Unknown
resume back to teaching, and,

00:13:08:00 - 00:13:09:21
Unknown
we have three classes.

00:13:09:21 - 00:13:11:12
Unknown
Two classes for ladies.

00:13:11:12 - 00:13:13:00
Unknown
One in Belle River.

00:13:13:00 - 00:13:16:18
Unknown
With vertical pool studio and one in Windsor with,

00:13:16:18 - 00:13:20:18
Unknown
Shanti Studio. It's a yoga studio. And,

00:13:20:18 - 00:13:23:20
Unknown
the surprise is that finally I'm opening,

00:13:23:20 - 00:13:31:05
Unknown
class for the teenagers, actually, from 9 to 16 years old. And that class will be,

00:13:31:05 - 00:13:36:23
Unknown
with a pay as you can. So just to not frustrate the parents more and to,

00:13:36:23 - 00:13:46:01
Unknown
encourage them more to bring their, their the girls to the class so they can learn foundation movements that will help them later.

00:13:46:01 - 00:14:03:19
Unknown
Because, like, if you learn this earlier, it's much easier. And you tried this dance and you saw how difficult it is. Yeah. So if you learned earlier, that will be like much, much easier. And it will be structured not like, oh, we're playing music and we're dancing and all of that like I do for the ladies. It will be more structured that it's foundational.

00:14:03:21 - 00:14:11:19
Unknown
And I'm very excited about this one. Meeting the little ones and helping them, knowing their bodies more. And,

00:14:11:19 - 00:14:25:21
Unknown
move better and be healthier and be just proud of themselves and, you know, like, yeah, just their grace and all of that. And this is why I insisted on, like, making it pay as you can, because I do not want,

00:14:25:21 - 00:14:32:01
Unknown
the parent to struggle with like, or whether they want to put this investment or not.

00:14:32:03 - 00:14:55:00
Unknown
Yeah. And obviously the more people, the more girls that come in the better. Right. You want it to be accessible. Yeah. And I really think that's incredible of you to do. Yeah. And the Oriental dance is actually really, really I think maybe something about the way that you teach it or just who you are as a teacher, but it really does help with confidence a lot.

00:14:55:02 - 00:14:57:15
Unknown
I think maybe seeing yourself,

00:14:57:15 - 00:15:20:05
Unknown
or like, just pretending to be a confident dancer, because that's how oriental dancers are. So once you pretend, you kind of get used to it, you're like, yo, I am confident your lifestyle becomes a character. One of your characters. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I never thought that I would perform in a bra in front of people, but I did, and I liked it.

00:15:20:08 - 00:15:22:09
Unknown
And you were wonderful. Like,

00:15:22:09 - 00:15:25:16
Unknown
the videos and the photos tells, tells us that. Yeah,

00:15:25:16 - 00:15:28:09
Unknown
it was fun. So I highly recommend,

00:15:28:09 - 00:15:32:10
Unknown
teenagers, adults, everyone. Yeah, try. They are excited that we are going to start

00:15:32:10 - 00:15:39:14
Unknown
And do people sign up for the whole session or can they just drop in a drop and they can sign up for a monthly you, they can,

00:15:39:14 - 00:15:44:04
Unknown
sign up for two months. So these are the three options.

00:15:44:04 - 00:15:46:09
Unknown
We're trying to do our best to,

00:15:46:09 - 00:15:48:16
Unknown
make it accessible and help women,

00:15:48:16 - 00:15:53:17
Unknown
come and explore that so you can do installment, like, you don't have to pay it,

00:15:53:17 - 00:15:54:05
Unknown
monthly.

00:15:54:05 - 00:15:55:21
Unknown
You can pay it. Pay,

00:15:55:21 - 00:16:02:14
Unknown
per bi weekly. Whatever. It's easier. Okay. Awesome. I'm excited. Yeah, I'm excited to.

00:16:02:14 - 00:16:03:23
Unknown
You learn about those classes?

00:16:03:23 - 00:16:05:23
Unknown
Is there anything else that you feel,

00:16:05:23 - 00:16:08:18
Unknown
called to share that we might have not have touched on today?

00:16:08:18 - 00:16:11:06
Unknown
I think I think that's,

00:16:11:06 - 00:16:24:20
Unknown
like, I don't want to, like, over see things. I mean, you guys got it. You know, deep down, what you're good at and just. You need a little bit of courage to just do it and take the risk and just do it.

00:16:24:20 - 00:16:44:05
Unknown
And it's okay if if you failed the first time, just pivot and find another thing. If it's okay if people were like against it. Because, yeah, you will see a lot of people telling you like, oh, you, you were you were a scientist and you're letting that go on you, you became this it's okay. People likes to talk.

00:16:44:05 - 00:16:56:01
Unknown
Let them talk. It's fine. Just you live once, do whatever you want with your life. That's so true. I mean even me myself I've done so many pivots.

00:16:56:01 - 00:16:59:11
Unknown
Yeah. And I love so many I love that I remember

00:16:59:11 - 00:17:04:01
Unknown
this conversation and actually talked to my brother about it. And I was like I was with Tina and

00:17:04:01 - 00:17:05:22
Unknown
do you more do more.

00:17:06:00 - 00:17:10:22
Unknown
I was like, I was the I was talking with Tina. I was like, why are you doing the podcast? And she was like,

00:17:10:22 - 00:17:27:11
Unknown
just because I want myself, I want to get to like, express myself how beautiful it's it's very nice, like you using your your career for your inner growth, like in your personal growth. Right. What did you say last time?

00:17:27:11 - 00:17:44:17
Unknown
Like I turned my weakness into a career. Yes. You're turning your weakness into a career. And that's amazing because you you live for yourself, right? Yeah. I mean, like, we're not going to hurt other people, but we have to be kind to ourselves and look out for ourselves and do the things that we, we love the most.

00:17:44:18 - 00:17:46:06
Unknown
Right. Yeah.

00:17:46:06 - 00:17:58:16
Unknown
Yeah I think that's my journey is to like go through the struggle, learn for myself how to move past it. And then I share. That's what I pretty much do. So yeah. And it's wonderful. Yeah. Thank you.

00:17:58:16 - 00:18:00:19
Unknown
one last thing. Where can people find you?

00:18:00:21 - 00:18:01:10
Unknown
Okay,

00:18:01:10 - 00:18:07:22
Unknown
that you can follow me in and we write. So it's and we write together and then underscore,

00:18:07:22 - 00:18:14:11
Unknown
there is a Facebook account. There's an Instagram account. Okay. Yeah. Do you have a website? Coming soon.

00:18:14:12 - 00:18:35:02
Unknown
Hi everyone. Thank you so much for making it to the end of the episode. If you live in Windsor, Essex County area in Ontario, Canada, then you should know that I host an open mic live storytelling event the last Saturday of every month at Alo Lounge on Erie Street in Little Italy from 5 to 7 p.m..

00:18:35:04 - 00:18:41:10
Unknown
If you don't know what open mic storytelling is, while I encourage anyone to come up and share their story,

00:18:41:10 - 00:18:50:00
Unknown
have different themes. Every month. The event celebrates connection, our humanness, our emotions, our rawness.

00:18:50:01 - 00:18:57:07
Unknown
It gives us space to really express ourselves and to have people listen. Because I feels like

00:18:57:07 - 00:19:00:01
Unknown
we don't really get too much of this

00:19:00:01 - 00:19:01:00
Unknown
anymore.

00:19:01:03 - 00:19:15:02
Unknown
It is essentially a gathering of the souls and sharing a little part of ourselves with each other, whether it be a funny story, a sad story, a happy story, a romantic story, any story that is yours

00:19:15:03 - 00:19:16:03
Unknown
you can share

00:19:16:03 - 00:19:19:08
Unknown
and I'm loving the community that is coming from this event. So

00:19:19:08 - 00:19:26:16
Unknown
come to the event. I hope to see you there. You can purchase tickets at tales of the town aka.