My mind is calm; my breathing is slow and persistent; and my hands aren’t shaking. I couldn’t have said that years ago, and I most certainly would not have gotten where I am without him. My partner, Roger, was the saving grace I never saw coming, but when I needed it the most. Roger and I met by chance, through a Meetup group (a site that allows people to join groups based on personal interests and hobbies). We only spoke a few words, and it was months later before we began l

I lost myself some time ago.  I searched in vain until I found her in my bedroom mirror. Nineteen years later.

Before Covid forced many of us into pyjamas and endless Zoom calls, I was already working remotely and had been since 2017. In fact, I ran a successful blog about it and felt confident telling people how to manage their freelance time and stay productive at home. The problem was, over time, my social skills were taking a nosedive. Back then I had no idea what working from home so often was doing to me, but slowly, it was chipping away at my confidence and my ability to be aro

Moving to a new city, country, or even continent is exhilarating—until one uncomfortable reality sets in: suddenly, your support network is a hundred miles away, and the comfort of familiar friendships around the corner is replaced by the daunting task of building new ones from scratch.

If you feel like dating is a Sisyphean task, you’re not alone. As a neurodivergent woman, I’m probably (definitely) considered an...

“What are your hobbies?” This is quite a common icebreaker when having a conversation. For quite a few years, when someone asked me that, I actually had to think about it, and didn’t quite have an answer. After all, scrolling endlessly on social media in the evenings isn’t really a hobby, is it?   As a part-time PhD student and a full-time researcher, finding new hobbies over the past 2 years has been a great way for me to unwind and find a suitable work-life balance.

When telling people that I was training for the London Marathon, most people would reply by telling me that they "could never do it". Even established runners, even people who had run half-marathons, would tell me that they could not do it, ever. And that, of course, is not true.

As Ramadan comes to an end, the scent of fresh henna (a temporary form of body art) on my hands brings back a flood of memories from...

Last weekend, I decided to watch Netflix’s new drama Adolescence. I had been apprehensive to watch it, assuming it would be another...