January 1st: A New Year with so many changes in my life. I am so grateful for the amazing year I had, and am excited for a great 2014 with Challenge Detroit!

Made “snowmen” out of ice cream for the New Year

January 5th: My engagement party and religious wedding* was scheduled for this day … unfortunately a polar vortex forced us to reschedule.

Mid January (I forgot the date): While getting my yearly physical at the doctors office I ran into a couple that had been waiting for their ride home for four hours. Both of them were blind and could no longer drive. I decided to give them a ride home and was introduced to two of the most kind people I have ever met. The man worked for the city for many years, and spoke to me about how important it is for everyone to just help out their neighbors and work toward improving the lives of our fellow humans. This reinforced what I already knew; Detroiters are what make Detroit one of the best cities in the world.

January 17th: We stared our 3rd challenge on homelessness with COTS. We did a homeless simulation that really helped us visualize the struggle of the homeless and impoverished people in the city. I am very excited to work on this challenge and help COTS with their amazing work.

January 19th: My engagement party and religious wedding* was this day. This was one of the happiest days of my life 🙂

January 31st: I saw “American Idiot,” a musical being performed at the Detroit Opera House. This was my first visit to the Detroit Opera House  and it was amazing. The building was beautiful, and I also really enjoyed the show.

I hope to continue to explore and discover the city this year. I am very excited for the rest of the year with Challenge Detroit!

*Many Muslim couples have an engagement party where they get religiously married. Also, many of these couples do not move in together until they have a wedding party (usually a few months or even a few years after the engagement party and religious wedding).