{"id":135432,"date":"2022-02-01T12:20:11","date_gmt":"2022-02-01T11:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=135432"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:06","slug":"hazem-hasnt-yet-totally-mastered-the-art-of-not-giving-a-fuck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/02\/01\/hazem-hasnt-yet-totally-mastered-the-art-of-not-giving-a-fuck\/","title":{"rendered":"Hazem hasn\u2019t yet totally mastered the art of not giving a fuck"},"content":{"rendered":"

Music matters to Hazem. During the pandemic, the second-year student learned to play guitar and piano. Without a teacher, but with the help of YouTube, sore fingers and above all a lot of focus. Music helps him through difficult days and makes good days even better.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Hazem leans casually against the doorpost. The outfit is carefully chosen, as it goes well with his favourite guitar.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Hazem Omran (21) leans his left shoulder against the doorpost. Behind him, his compact, quite tidy room. The door opens onto the paved garden where there\u2019s a bar table with a couple of empty bottles of prosecco. In the left corner, for some unknown reason there\u2019s a dome tent. For the photo, Hazem has carefully chosen his black trousers and white shirt, because they look good with his beloved guitar.<\/p>\n

Plays guitar every day<\/h2>

As soon as the discussion moves to music, Hazem smiles. It makes him happy. He plays guitar every day. In fact, just the thought of being able to play every day makes him happy. \u201cThis is what I always wanted\u201d, he says. \u201cWeird that two years ago, I couldn\u2019t play at all. And that I wanted to give up because my fingers were so sore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until he was fifteen, Hazem wanted to be a doctor. When he moved to the Netherlands from Egypt, he discovered more of his creative side. He started acting, singing and chose the International Bachelor Communication and Media. At the start of the pandemic, he bought an electric keyboard, and not long afterwards his first guitar. Now it\u2019s a matter of practising.<\/p>\n

Hazem plays whenever he can. Before an online lecture, in the breaks and sometimes during a lecture. \u201cBut so that the guitar is \u2013 hopefully \u2013 out of shot.\u201d He plays other people\u2019s songs, like Dancing with our hands tied<\/em> by Taylor Swift, but he also writes his own music.<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t