When will I get married? Why I became an Architect? - Questions & Answers

On a regular day, I used to be bombarded with questions like; “You are still studying? How long is this course?” Or a regular; “ What is Archkitecrtureedds…? Is it is about old things and junk?”. But now that I am finally an architect, the questions have changed too; “When are you getting married?” or ”Why did you become an architect ?”. In this post, I will answer one of these questions and I hope you will enjoy reading this post as much as you did for the other posts with lots and lots of clickbait titles.

If you know me well you would know that I am instantly attracted to things that are strictly off-limits or told a big ‘No’ to. When I decided that I wanted to be an architect ( Totally because my Dad’s boss’ son was an architect and a total badass and partially because I grew up in a country where construction and artificial islands are a routine ); I met with a lot of negative responses like it is a tough job and not for people who faint in the sun ( happened during school assemblies ) and not for girls because duh construction Industry is only for men and they won’t be able to concentrate if there is a pretty girl like me around. Well, all these just pushed me closer to the decision. 

When I was seeking admission for architecture, my relatives hunted down architecture students among their contacts who dropped out because they couldn’t handle it and was very hectic and not for the faint-hearted. They gave me detailed anecdotes about why I shouldn’t be even considering architecture. But that just made me more adamant and hell-bent on my decision. I can see that I had been adamant since a very young age. When I was a small kid, I used to eat only when ads came on TV (Now I hate ads and skip them by pressing a hundred times on that damn skip button!). My mom intended to show me movies and songs but you know now how I get attracted to the stuff you ain’t supposed to watch aka the ads. The deal was simple. I would eat anything and everything that is in my mouth when the ad is on and I would spit out whatever remains as soon as the ad goes off. Poor Amma, she would have been the only person who eagerly waited for ads on TV.

Those of you who have read my other posts would know that I was lucky enough to have spent some real quantity of time at airports and flying. This also means immigration officers, endless queues, and odd hour chocolate cravings. Most of these journeys have had a lot of similarities. For example the question by the immigration officers. A typical conversation goes like this;

Me: Hi Sir, Good Evening... oh it's almost morning, Good Morning Sir!

Officer: Hi, your passport and boarding pass, please. Where are you coming from and what is the purpose of your visit.

Me: I came from Bahrain. I was visiting my parents there.

Officer: What do you do here?

Me: Sir, I’m studying architecture here and had gone to Bahrain for my vacation.

Officer: Architecture? Isn’t that a course for boys? Do they allow girls to study architecture?

Me: Yes sir, My class has an almost equal number of girls and boys. 

Officer: Aah maybe they would study now just like a hobby and then later get married off.

Me:

In my mind; I would yell and scream at him but in reality, would just give an awkward smile so that he would let me into the country and wouldn’t send me to prison.

After every conversation like this, my passion and zeal to become an architect would multiply. That’s how managed to complete five years, peeps! I loved every up and down I had endured during these five years. 

Today I went to visit a sensational mall in Bahrain which was in everyone’s stories and posts for the past several months. I was waiting for the crowds to dwindle and the place to breathe. Well, Corona did play a number on the plans and finally, I visited this place. ( Hey, Grammarly didn't edit out Corona, it has finally been added to its data set.)

There is a backstory to this place, however. In 2018, during my third year of architecture, I joined as a trainee in a firm in Bahrain. This firm was dealing with a huge project at that time and I got the golden opportunity to study their drawings and processes. 

Now the Project; is none other than the Mall of Dilmunia located in the Diyar Islands in Bahrain. Yes I know right. It was amazing to see the plans come to life before my eyes that I instantly decided this would be a blog post. Every corner of the place felt familiar yet novel. It reminded me of the sheer magic and feel when you see something right out of paper. Memories rushed back to my mind and each part of the mall gave me a dopamine rush. It reminded me of why I wanted to be an architect. 

It wasn’t just because it was a forbidden fruit but also because it gives you the godly power to create. Weave a web that would be part of other’s lives. Isn’t it just good ol’ magic? Well, now you have my answer. And as for the second question. Even though I said I would answer only one question; I appreciate you reading over 900 words of this post. I and marriage would happen when the time is right and I have found the one. No forced timelines or plans. Just a decision awaiting destiny. Classic answer, ain’t it?

Also when I have finally become a successful, well settled, and established boss. The type every daughter is asked to marry and not be.

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