You Never Forget How To Ride A Bike

So there I was, lying on the street, clutching my left knee in pain on a busy intersection on one of Maastricht’s main bridges, trying not to feel flustered or helpless. But that was easier said than done. My hair was an utter mess. Sweat had begun to make its way down my back. We…

The Netherlands Will Always Feel Like Home

For the second time this year, I found myself crying on an airplane- something I really should stop doing. This time, it wasn’t because a sense of relief had finally washed over me after what seemed like one obstacle after the other. No, this time it was because the airplane had begun its descent to…

Writing About Ahmad

Writing can be hard. And writing about relationships can be even harder, as I’ve learned in the past few days when I attempted a piece only to stop mid-sentence and shut off my laptop completely. Or maybe I was too focused on whatever we had on Netflix to continue my train of thoughts. You see,…

Afternoons With Teta

She reaches into the cabinet behind her and pulls out two wafer bars, one for me and one for my sister. “There you go,” she says with a smile. “Thank you teta,” we reply in unison. “But teta, you know I’m trying to watch my snacking,” I add. “Never mind, keep it. You’ll have something…

Everybody’s Changing- And I’m Still The Same

On the eve of my 20th birthday, I jokingly told a friend who had messaged me with good wishes that this was going to be the “no pressure but you have to hit all the milestones decade.” By my 30th birthday, I went on, and according to the prevalent standards and expectations of what I…

Hello Again

I never know where to start when I’m getting back to the blog after a long and unexplained hiatus. Should I begin by telling you why I pulled off yet another disappearing act when just the last time I promised it wouldn’t happen again? Should I explain how every time I thought about logging in,…

2016 Resolutions Revisited

As 2015 was coming to a close, I wrote down a list of resolutions that I hoped to fulfill in the upcoming year- one which seemed so bright and full of endless possibilities. But now that 2016 is a few weeks shy from its long-awaited ending, I thought it would be a good idea to…

Year One, Honestly

I’ve been trying to write this retrospective post for about two weeks now. This is, in fact, the 26th attempt according to WordPress. Which amazes me as I’ve never had any trouble writing any post for this blog, even the heavier topics that I’ve tackled. So I decided to take a deep breath and just let the…

20 Blogging Confessions From Beyond

This morning, Joe’s Box posted an interesting list of his “bloggers’ confessions” and invited others to follow suit. After spending the whole day brainstorming and reading Farrah’s take on it, here are several of mine. Writing is the only activity I have been doing for as long as I remember. When the internet gave people…

I Finally Asked for Help

I’ve known for a while that I’ve gained weight- and in the process lost some of my confidence, undid the hard work I put in at the gym for the past three years, and the ability to wear some of the items in my closet. I even wrote a full post about it when the realization…