The 24th Project

A lot has happened since I last updated Beyond Beirut. Namely that I haven’t been anywhere beyond Beirut in the past three (wait, three already?) years, except for that one time I travelled to Malta for a friend’s wedding.

But a lot has been happening within Beirut that it has just taken me on an incredible whirlwind of emotions and experiences, too many too count.

Since I last posted in 2012, I finished my internship in environmental journalism and non-governmental organizations, and declined to take up a full time job there due to some serious conflicts.

Instead I spent three months at home, on what seemed like a perpetual job hunt, with interview after another until I finally got the job I had studied four years for.

And it’s been insane. A great job but it has been insane: some days I am both emotionally and mentally exhausted to the point that I cannot even do the things I used to do before.

Oh. Here’s the biggest development:

I’m getting married

While my fiancé is truly my best friend and soulmate and he truly does bring out the best of me, I cannot deny that in the two years we have been together, there have been moments where I have lost sight of myself and my goals.

They don’t tell you when you get out of higher education that life is fantastically different than what you thought it would be. Work demands are grossly different than study ones. And they suck the energy out of you.

They don’t tell you when you get engaged that it’s not just about the wedding, it’s about your whole lives. It’s no longer just you.

And that’s what’s been happening to me. Despite finding my stability, sometimes I don’t recognize who I have become or what my goals are or what truly makes me happy- even if I am doing things I love or adopting new hobbies or being with my dear ones.

So to celebrate the fact that I turned 24, I have this project in mind that allows me to post my thoughts and photographs on a daily basis. It allows me to write again and it allows me to ramble on, hoping I can find my relief somewhere while I take on this crazy journey.