Lubna Mrie

And it was very different than Damascus.

Like in Jebel, there is this like card sellers everywhere and everything.

And the houses were so close to each other and you would see neighbors like inviting each other over for coffee, you know, by just like shouting to each other from the balconies across the street.

And it was so beautiful.

Like I remember how much I loved the sea.

But then as I got older, I started to realize this is also where women walk and this is where women meet their friends.

Like future husbands, because you go, you walk on the corniche, you're dressed as best as possible, your hair reeking of hairspray because the humidity is insane.

And you're just walking back and forth and then all these beautiful cars.

Especially when I first started school, you know, when I was being kind of put like towards the end.

But then the teacher asked me, what's your full name?

And I told her Lubna Marai.

And then she asked me, are you related to my father?

And when she knew I was Jowdat's daughter, she put me in the front seat.

And there was all these like signs and hints that my family was special, that I had this power by having this last name.

You know, this is when my mother started to kind of push back against this because she truly did not want me and my sister to use this power like my cousins were doing.

And she always told us that your power comes from God.

your education and having a future for yourself, it will never come just from your last name or from your dad's money and your dad's inheritance.

And that was the main conflict often between my mom and dad.

So the thing is that I was really bad in school.

So in ninth grade, I had very bad scores and my mom was horrified with me because the year before, my sister's score was one of the top three scores in the country.