“I am a competitive person that is driven by overachievement,” says 20-year-old Adwa Al-Dakheel, an undergraduate studying business management, entrepreneurship, and psychology (three majors) in Boston, United States. She is not joking. Al-Dakheel is also a stock analyst, a professional guitarist, a poet, and a squash champion, who will soon publish her first book.
When did you first discover your love for music and how?
I was raised in a house that greatly appreciates music and art in general. We had a piano so I would experiment with it (and I have to be fair and tell you, it was far from beautiful). I had a piano teacher when I was about 7, but the instrument and I did not click. I diverted my attention to guitars, and that was when my true passion for music grew. In a music industry dominated by Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, I would listen to instrumental music and try to play along.
I started writing at about eight, the same age I started playing guitar. Five years into it, I serendipitously submitted one of my poems to the International Society of Poets. A few weeks later, I received an invitation to go to Washington DC to recite my poem in front of thousands of scholars and world-renowned poets, and I did. I won great prizes and was thereafter invited to attend the next year’s competition in Las Vegas — I also went, and I won a trophy for “An Outstanding Achievement in Poetry” and a medal.
Tell more about your journey with poetry and music.
I compose something to mostly everything I write whereas I synchronize the melody I am playing to match the feel of the poem in mind. Both music and poetry served me as the best outlet for all that is around me. Understanding how to verbalize your feelings in a poem or a musical piece can save you from verbalizing it to an untrustworthy friend or from depression. I have been writing and playing music for 12 years now, and I honestly cannot remember a day where I did not play or write.
What was the first instrument you ever played? Do you still play it?
The first instrument I’ve played was the piano. I wish I could play both the piano and the guitar but I couldn’t click with the piano. The guitar’s mobility and easiness in tune was my match.
Does anyone in your family have an interest in music and poetry like you?
Both my mother and father have an interest in music and poetry, but none actually play or write. As I mentioned earlier, being raised in a household that is very much intrigued by art in general proved beneficial for my music career.
You also love to play squash. What about your accomplishments in the sports field?
Needing another activity outside of music and poetry, I decided to take up sports. I started by learning how to play tennis and I did pretty well. I fell in love with squash as soon as I held a squash racket and overlooked tennis completely thereafter. Being competitive by nature, I made winning the women championship in Saudi Arabia my goal by the end of the year. Looking back on it now, it was a near-impossible goal, because my competitors at the time were professionals. So I used to practice obsessively for four or six consecutive hours a day until by the end of the year I won the Saudi Women Championship. Unfortunately I had to stop playing for a while due to a knee injury but I remain extremely passionate in that sport and I play squash in Boston now.
What kind of instruments do you play at the moment besides the guitar?
I play the baglama (stringed instrument) and the buzuk (long-necked fretted lute) — both Turkish instruments. I also took courses in the violin, but I need much improvement before I can say I play it.
You collaborated with Libra Productions to create a YouTube video?
Libra Production currently manages my albums and their sound engineer, Diya Azzony, is an incredibly talented guitarist. The idea of playing something in collaboration with him was an honor. My album was recorded and produced by Libra Production, and along with the videos that are to be released very soon.
What did you personally gain from your passions?
From music, poetry, and sports, I gained a strong, unwavering belief in the fact that nothing is out of reach. This substantially strengthened my self-esteem along with my social relationships.
Do you think you would be working in the music industry in the future?
It is a sure thing that music has and will have a permanent imprint on my life and lifestyle. Composing is never a choice to composers; it just happens and exudes as soon as I hold a guitar. So yes, I definitely think I will be working in the music industry, whether it is professionally or as a hobby.
What inspires you when you write a new piece of music or a poem?
Whatever is happening around me can serve as an inspiration. The simplest events can prove to be the biggest creative inputs. One of the tracks on my first album is called “Taxi Driver” — the inspiration to that track is a cab ride in New York City. The taxi driver was telling me about his life, his children and wife that he had left to financially provide for them in New York.
Who do you admire and why?
Due to my different interests, it’s hard to determine only one person to look up to. From a businessperson’s perspective, I respect Sir Richard Branson and Warren Buffet. From a poet’s perspective, I think highly of Gibran Khalil Gibran and Nizar Qabani. From a sports person’s perspective, I appreciate Roger Federer and Ramy Ashour. From a musician’s perspective, I look up to Diya Azzony, Jesse Cook, John Mayer, and Armik.
If you had the chance to play your instrument with anyone dead or alive, who would it be and why?
I would love to play with pianists Omar Khairat and Yanni. However, it will always be a dream of mine to attend a concert of Om Kalthoum, God bless her soul.
What are the obstacles you faced in your music and sport?
In music, they all revolved around the misconceptions that our society has regarding women that play instruments, or perform in events. Since that is not common in our society, I can understand where all of these obstacles are coming from. At the end of the day, there are people that will defy you, no matter what you do.
In my writing, the obstacles were very much similar since a lot of my poems revolve around romance, which is considered a taboo-subject. The only sport obstacle I faced was my knee injury which forced me to put my sports hobbies on hold for the meantime.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?
I see myself in a skyscraper that carries my name — owning and operating a successful hedge fund.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am publishing my first book, basically a summary of 300 business and psychology books, all in one 90-page book. Whenever I am in Jeddah, I am working on my second album that will also contain guitar compositions in collaboration with countless different instruments, including the flute, piano, oud, qanun, buzuk, baglama and violin.
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