Tag: Personal Reflection
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What Led Me to Islam: Trauma, Solitude, and a Turning Point
I came to Islam during one of the lowest points in my life. During the COVID lockdown, everything slowed down. I didn’t realize how much I had been distracting myself until I couldn’t anymore. Having more time on your hands can make you think about your past more than you want to. All the trauma…
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Sisters, Growing Pains, and Finding Our Own Homes
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about sisterhood, and how strange it feels when the people you once shared every corner of your life with suddenly aren’t under the same roof anymore. Three sisters, all creatives, all with the same slightly dramatic, slightly introverted, deeply imaginative personalities. Growing up in a home where our relationship…
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The Warehouse Job That Looked Perfect From the Outside
What looked like a dream warehouse job, free concert tickets, generous perks, and a wealthy, seemingly kind owner, slowly revealed a hidden system of favoritism and unspoken social classes. From working the warehouse floor to managing returns, I witnessed firsthand how power, proximity, and privilege shaped who truly benefited.
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Why I Find Japan’s Mask Culture Really Beautiful
One thing I’ve always quietly admired about Japan is how normal wearing a mask is. Not because of fear.Not because of rules.Not because someone told them to. But because it’s considerate. If you have a cold, you wear a mask.If your allergies are acting up, you wear a mask.If you’re packed into a train with…
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The Hardest Truth Therapy Made Me Face Today
I just walked out of therapy and I feel very unsettled right now. The entire session came down to one thing I really didn’t want to accept. Some people will hurt you and they genuinely do not care. They don’t sit with it. They don’t feel the weight. They don’t lose sleep. They don’t replay the…
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Why I Can’t Connect With Christianity
I grew up technically Catholic. I was baptized, did communion, all of that, but my parents were pretty secular. We were Catholic by name, not really by practice. I mean I could how many times I’ve been to church using one hand. Around 25, I started dating a Christian guy I’d known for a very…
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Grieving a Friendship That Wasn’t Healthy
I’m writing this because I feel heartbroken. I just cut off one of my long-term best friends, and even though it had to be done, I still feel terrible about it. We met as kids at Norwood Elementary, right off 19th Street and 14th Court in Miami Gardens. From the beginning, there was this magnetic…
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Honestly, Vanessa 