G*Nice: A teenage rebel grows up!

So the magazine has hit the ripe old age of 15! According to parents, that can be a difficult age for their little baby - bursting with a belly full of rebellion and a head full of dreams stuck between childhood and adulthood. On one hand, this could be seen as quite an apt description of where our favourite magazine finds itself, but on the other, I think I just described myself at 15.

If I have to make comparisons between me and the magazine at the age of 15 it's an interesting challenge. There are some immediate similarities. Both of us are full of colour. Inside the mag, the full rainbow explodes within the stunning visuals and page layouts, across a spectrum of subjects. With the teenage me, the colour came from the different shades that I used to dye my hair - everything from red to black! Don't ask, but it's probably the best explanation as to why I have a shiny, bald head now.

The other similarity is how we are both full of opinions and tidbits of information about a million things. It's just the right variety to guarantee that we are great company, great to pass some time and shoot the breeze with!

From this point on, the ultra-modern Friday leaves the teenage me standing in its dust. The magazine is so confident and sure of itself that it has no problem presenting different faces on a weekly basis and venturing into different subject matters with ease.

When I was 15, I recognised my comfort zone and I stayed firmly within it! I had my opinions and they were fixed like statues in the ground. I liked the music, people and lifestyle that I liked and that was that. I wasn't open to new ideas or any contrary viewpoints. This meant that I was able to operate and be relatively successful within a small group of like-minded individuals, but struggled outside of that very narrow circle.

Friday is the complete opposite. It falls onto the doorsteps of homes across the UAE from palaces to workshops and it presents itself the same way to all - happily discussing its interests of the day from the position of a well-informed observer rather than a preachy expert.

Friday's biggest achievement is that even with the explosion of the internet and social networking, this magazine still has its place and is a welcomed visitor in people's homes at the end of every week.

Now… Blow out your candles!

Happy-birthday-ingly yours