Acknowledgments

Leen. My heart, my soul, my everything. This project—every letter, every code, every character typed, every story, every breath, every heartbeat—is dedicated to you. Your presence changed the shape of my life forever, and you’re forever going to be that beautiful decorated soul for me.

Your impact is something words will never be able to fully carry. You were, and will always be, the most beautiful soul I have ever known—inside and out. Your passing left a silence that time could never completely fill. Yet somehow, you remain everywhere. In every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, and every month that passes, there is a thought of you. I see you in everything beautiful, and find everything beautiful because of you. Your name finds its way into conversations, into memories, and into prayers. You live on through the people who loved you, through the things you inspired, into things that now remind me of you. The ocean, colorful and patterned garments, the color purple, poems, people, and more elegant and pious elements, and through every piece of this project that carries a part of my heart. I love you. Allah yrhamek, habeebit albi. May Allah grant you the highest place in Jannah and surround you with endless mercy and peace my angel.

Sara, sister of Leen, for her tenderness,

Ibrahim, brother of Leen, for aspiring and dreaming.

Inas, mother of Leen, for the art and legacy she left behind.

Farah, sister of Leen. For being the sister of my favourite lost soul, my guardian angel, and one of the greatest influences on my world of art, fashion, and music. You aspire and motivate me everyday. Your words are ethereal and your presence is halcyon. Your support has meant more than I could ever put into words. So much of what exists here would never have found its way into the world without you. I love you, and I promise to continue making you proud of me.

My great uncle Ahmad, my great uncle Harb & my uncle Zain. Allah yrhamkom.

Alexia Ntakos. For every moral, every lesson, and every piece of wisdom you taught me. Without you being there for me and pushing me throughout all these years, I don’t know if any of this would have ever come out of me if it wasn’t for you being there. I love you with my entire soul. You’ll never understand the capacity of love and I have for you.

Layla Comeau. A huge part of this exists because you refused to let me stop. You’re the reason all of this is happening, you’re the reason the light didn’t shed. You’re an amazing writer and a beautiful mind.

Mohamed Salama. For taking me under your wing when I was still finding my way. None of this would have started, happened, or manifested without your love, courage, and belief in me. You helped plant the seed long before I knew what it could become.

Ibrahim Skaik. For teaching me, challenging me, and disciplining me throughout life. For the wisdom you taugh me. Every lesson, every correction, and every moment of guidance became another brick in the foundation of who I am. I owe a part of this to you.

Toren Berios. For the creative mind, and the humour we share. That studio in Mississauga back in 2022 became the birthplace of something I never could have imagined. Without those nights, those conversations, those ideas, and that space, none of this would have elevated and became what it is today. You’re the reason all this is what it is today. Thank you.

Bianca Morelli. For being one of my biggest inspirations. I love you. You’re great and utterly divine. For reminding me that beauty exists both within a person and in the way they make others feel. Your influence will always live within me and mean the world to me.

Nabulsi. Azooz. Persian Boy. Idris. Kenshi & Rocky. Waleed Musa. Sabir Hirsi. Baby Draco. Omar Aljokhadar.

Influenced by the works and artistry of: Madonna Ciccone, Christopher Breaux, Aubrey Graham, Rakim Mayers, Solána Imani Rowe, Bill Kapri. Sami Hamed, Jacques Webber II, Jahron Brathwaite, Rakim Allen, Josiah Ramel, Calvin Scruby, Toren Berios, Killaxbeats, Mohamed Salama, Ibrahim Skaik, Abel Tesfaye, Nayvadius Cash, Tyler-Justin Sharpe, Laith Hasan, Miles McCollum, Razi Derrick, and Tione Merritt.

For Palestine, and for my palestinian people, this is for everything and everyone we’ve lost, everything we’ve loved and everyone we loved, everything we’ve learned and are still learning, and everything still waiting to be created. I pray for our resilience, strength, patience, and endurance.