Story Time – Habiba Tahir

Avengers: Endgame was perfectly balanced, as all comic movies should be

Warning: This review contains massive spoilers!

Another warning in case you missed the first one.

And another!

Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?

My journey to Avengers: Endgame was an interesting one.

I was hyped for the movie, the characters, the ending, the memes, and the potential heartbreaks. Last time I was this excited was when I was opening the first page of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.

Soon after I had booked my ticket, I won an invitation to Endgame’s premiere at VOX Cinemas on April 23rd. Since some of the scenes were leaked a week before the movie’s release, I bid a temporary farewell to my social media accounts to save myself from spoilers.

It turned out that only my non-MCU friend was available to accompany me to the premiere. So, what do we say to the God of I-don’t-know-anything-about-MCU? Not today.

I spent three days and the morning of the premiere, along with another friend, explaining the characters to her — Green for Gamora and Blue for Nebula — and then made her watch a 30 minute video which explained all of the MCU movies. And then summarized Infinity War for her. And then explained what was to be expected from Endgame.

It was the ultimate test: how much did I value these characters? Luckily, I passed with flying colors because said friend is now a big fan of the MCU.

So, now let’s go back to the night of the premiere.

It was an amazing experience; I found 4 rings and a bracelet that I turned into an infinity gauntlet. But they were nothing compared to the costumes some of the other fans were wearing.

I know, I know, the stones are all mixed up.

We saw the movie, we cried, we laughed, and we got giveaways. I loved the credits they made for the OG Avengers. You could also hear Tony striking metal to make his suit from Iron Man 1 towards the end. The Russo brothers explained that it was a nod to his character.

Sigh, I need some cheeseburgers.

I was relieved that I was now safe from spoilers and could enjoy my life. Well, as much as I could now that Tony and Natasha were dead.

These books placed in the foyer were very creative!

Obviously, I was wrong.

I had to wait and wait and wait for my friends and family to watch the movie. I kept thinking about the ‘I love you 3,000’ line. It was horrible — sure I could roam around the internet like nothing could ever hurt me. But I had to wait for everyone to watch the movie before I could talk about Tony, or ‘Hail Hydra’, or Black Widow dying, or Thor joining the Guardians of the Galaxy, or Cap lifting the hammer, or the portals opening right after Sam says ‘on your left’.

There were so many things going on in the movie — I loved how Ant-Man was finally given the spotlight he deserved. The brothers also did a great job with Thor’s character. Who wouldn’t like to see him as we did in the previous movies, but it’s important to remember that he suffered through a lot. It would have been illogical to see him back as ‘smoldering fire’ within a few days. Also, Thor strolling into the Avengers compound wearing sunglasses was absolutely hilarious. Another satisfying moment was seeing Wanda fighting Thanos singlehandedly.

I have, so far, seen the movie twice. Because Endgame is the kind of movie you need to watch more than once. At the first screening, you will be delighted to notice all the wonderful Easter eggs and the team-up sequences. And then at the second screening, you will find more details that you missed the first time (I found Howard the Duck finally).

What Marvel does best is embrace the fact that their characters are based on comic books. I can’t wait to see how they will deal with the impact of the snap in Spider-Man: Far From Home and the next phase.

Until then, I have to say: I loved the movie 3,000.

My First Shutterstock Picture Ended Up On Top Of a Forbes Article!

Story Time, Uncategorized

I love taking pictures.

I love capturing moments in a photograph so that I can look at them in the future.

When my family bought a DSLR camera, I went through the awkward phase of zooming in on plants and thinking that the pictures were breathtaking.

However, later I turned my focus towards humans, and covered bridal showers, engagements and a family wedding. I remember dressing up and trying to take pictures of the bride and groom from different angles.

That day I thought to myself: I could become a professional photographer.

Unfortunately, engineering took over my life. It was only a year after graduation that I came across Shutterstock. I knew you could submit pictures on the website, however, I personally thought I would never get approved.

But I had told myself that I would try everything that I liked. So, I created an account as a contributor and spent the next six months forgetting that I did.

I wasted a great deal of time thinking about the various things I could add to my portfolio. However, one look at the top-rated Shutterstock pictures made me re-consider all my options.

Taking pictures of flowers, landscapes and rocks meant nothing. The website had plenty of such beautiful pictures. I knew I had to find a category that was still in its infancy.

Now, I was already writing articles and news pieces on blockchain and cryptocurrency. I always found it difficult to find exact images for these topics. After all, the concept exists on the internet and has no physical form.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head.

Cryptocurrency!

I had finally found my main subject.

Then, I ordered three cryptocurrency collectibles: two Bitcoins and one Ether. Unfortunately, the process took more than two months, and I lost my motivation during that time.

I was as tired of myself as you are after reading my continuous failure to follow my plan.

After a horrible case of writer’s block, I sat down and had a talk with myself.

It was now or never.

The pep talk surprisingly worked and I wrote a list of areas I needed to visit in order to take pictures. I went to my local cafe and the beach at night. I also created a mini photo studio for the rest of the pictures.

After a week of working hard on my ideas, I sat down and uploaded the best pictures on Shutterstock.

The road to acceptance was going to be difficult, they said.

And it was.

I got rejected the first time because I accidentally put the pictures in the wrong category. All ten of my pictures were rejected within two days!

Thankfully, my second attempt bore fruit and I could finally sit back and earn.

Wrong, again.

Two months later, I realized that absolutely no one was going to buy my pictures.

However, it would have been nice to see that someone thought my pictures deserved a home on their website.

After a long month of looking at $0, I stopped checking my contributor account. I put my collectibles and my mini studio in a cupboard.

Until now!

On July 17, I opened my account because Shutterstock had sent an automatic email regarding the tax form. And there I saw that the number had changed from $0 to $1.15!

The figure was infinitely small but at least someone had bought my picture!

I could hear the exclamation marks in my head!

I, then, rolled up my sleeves and went online to find out the article which had used the picture.

I was slightly disappointed by the money, but then I saw Forbes and I saw an article with the picture on top of it.

I couldn’t believe it.

My first ever picture was uploaded on Forbes! I kept staring at it for a while and bookmarked it as my first successful attempt at Shutterstock-ing.

So, what now?

This is the question I keep asking myself. I didn’t find it difficult to take pictures. But I also don’t think I’d be one of those Shutterstock photographers who earn $500 every week.

The reason why I took up the challenge was to see what would happen if I gave photography my best shot.

In the time that I wrote this article, another one of my picture was sold. So, my answer to my own question would be to push myself a bit harder.

How was your experience with Shutterstock? Where did your first picture end up? Let me know in the comments section below.

Welcome To My Blog – A Warning In Disguise

Story Time

It took me 23 years to create my own blog.

23 years.

You see, I do write blog posts. I write them for my clients. I have always wanted to create my own website, but I was waiting for the right time.

Spoiler alert: there is no right time.

I thought that since my work was already on the internet, I could wait a really long time before starting my own blog.

I was wrong, of course.

Let me give you a little background here: I have loved reading books ever since I was a child. I started writing when I was around 7 years old.

Sometime around 8th grade, I discovered that I was a poet as well.

I pride myself on my poetry skills. However, poetry is a truly magical place for me. I say that because poems literally dawn on me once in 2-5 years.

But that is a story for another day.

In 2007, I joined online writing communities like Wattpad and Figment. And since I was a teenager, I chose an extremely embarrassing pen-name: BoltFromTheBlue.

Yes, you read it right. I used to think the name made me look super cool.

Anyhow, I kept writing and deleting, and then writing again. I even became a finalist in a writing contest on Figment.

But all of it came to a stop when I started university.

University took four years of my precious life, turned me into someone who was constantly moody/lazy/annoyed, and finally gave me an Electrical Engineering degree.

I graduated in 2016 and four months later, I realized I couldn’t just sit and wait for a job in an engineering company. I had to do something before I got stuck in this practical life they speak of.

I have been unsuccessfully unemployed since then. But let’s not talk about this cruel subject.

Moving forward, I decided to start working as a professional writer. I began using websites like Upwork to find freelance work and soon enough, I was happily employed by many clients.

Which brings me back to why I started this blog.

Waiting for the right time made me realize that my clients usually have to browse through other client’s websites to look at my work. And even though, it works perfectly well, I still write under certain restrictions provide by said clients.

So, by starting this blog, I will not only enjoy writing posts, but it will also serve as a portfolio of my personal writing style. It will be a space where I will have no restrictions.

So, there you have my simple yet very, very long answer to the question.

Once again, welcome to my blog! My unhealthy habits include procrastinating, eating, sleeping, and binge-watching TV shows and movies.

Fair warning: All of this will be reflected in my future blog posts.

Happy Reading!