The first time I wore thanaka on my cheeks was when I went to kindergarten. It was actually one of my earliest memories. Back then, I didn’t care if I looked good or bad. I just let my mother do whatever she wanted with my appearance on my first day of school.
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What The Pandemic Was Really Like For An Introvert Like Me
For introverts, you’d think that the pandemic would be fun. Or at least something they’d be used to. It all sounds pretty normal: staying inside, watching something on a streaming service, and spending too much money on a food delivery app. You’d be mostly right if you were talking to this introvert. But this introvert also struggled. And this introvert even missed talking to people.
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Adventure Hostess: Making My Home a Global Community
Several people passed by my house this year. Many of them just passed by temporarily, but other people stopped by and stayed as long-term friends. For me, being an adventure hostess meant that everyone who needed a place to stay for some days, weeks, or months could come to my house. Welcoming people at home for over a year was my “specialty.”
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I’m Becoming My Mother, But That’s Not a Bad Thing!
When I was a child, my mother told me I’d grow up to be just like her. She said it to me in a tone that let me know I’d dread what I experienced once the change happened. Now, I’m “grown up,” and, as she predicted, I am exhibiting more and more characteristics that initially belonged to my mom alone. As I get older, not only do I look more and more like her, but I act like her, too.
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Heartbreak Journal
I can’t even explain how much my heart ached from the pain I felt during those years. I was a teenager. I was naive. I was just too nice. Others mocked me. I should have known better. What did I do wrong? Nobody warned me he would break my heart. There were no signs of it. He played the part well and he had me playing his game. I never grieved so much in my life. The unbearable strain my heart felt was a load on my shoulder. Actually, a part of me was missing him. It made me wonder, “how could I fall for someone who gave his heart…
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Hey Mum and Dad, We Need You There
There are so many parenting guides out there, and it is challenging raising wonderful little humans. Here's something about the parent-child bond. It's pivotal as a child grows, and building a lasting bond is something that takes tons of effort. What makes the family so important is that it stands as the child's first experience in building a relationship.
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How to be Alone: Mastering the Art of Self-Reliance
Throughout my life, I have always been scared of being alone. I would avoid lone bus journeys. I couldn’t sit still, constantly needing the company of others to occupy my anxious mind. I got addicted to socializing. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it became a problem when I was doing it to escape myself.
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Finding Beauty and Ourselves in the ‘Devil’s Footprints’
Those who don't know Italy well should know that there is no country or village–however small–that doesn’t feature a church, monument, scenic landscape or other remarkable attraction that deserves to be visited. I would like to tell you the story of how I discovered the extraordinary Ciampate del Diavolo, or “Devil’s Footprints,” palaeontological site, an area with fossils of great scientific value. It is tucked away in a little village, Tora e Piccilli, in the southern Italian area of the Roccamonfina extinct volcano. It preserves the oldest known footprints of Homo Heidelbergensis, one of the earliest extinct species of human beings who lived around 350,000 years ago.
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How Toxic Relationships Happen, Queer Ones Too
Nobody wants a toxic relationship, but they just happen sometimes. Most people go through one at least once in their lives, and it has probably happened to you. Well, at least it has happened to me.
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Lebanon Staycation: Ten Days, Eight Trips
Ten days, eight trips around Lebanon. And at last, on June 3, 2022 at 4 p.m., our vacation started.
