Growing up, I often felt lost, endlessly searching for unfathomable answers and some kind of purpose. The question of “who am I?” would ring loudly in my head and sometimes, it still does. In my attempts to understand my own being, I would find myself stuck in cycles of denial and hesitancy, struggling to come to terms with my seemingly …
A Life Well Lived
What does living a meaningful life mean? As humans, we tend to seek experiences that help determine whether we are living full and meaningful lives or not. For some, meaning can be found through professional success; for others, meaning parallels hard to define concepts such as happiness. I am in a period of my life where I am unravelling my …
Am I South Indian or Christian?
The academic racial quota was a routine proceeding during my fundamental years at my all-girls high school in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. When our teacher asked students of each ethnic group to raise their hands, we obliged without a second thought. The majority of students in each class were Malays, followed by Chinese and Indians. According to public school protocol, Eurasians …
Soul Revisited
The pandemic exhausted me mentally, physically and emotionally. There were and, in many ways, continue to be no breaks from trauma on personal, societal and ecological levels. I’d never in my life looked for peace and comfort as much as I did and continue to. At a critical moment in life, when there was so much loss and unknown, all …
Hope through time can make a great a story
Nelson Mandela’s book Conversations With Myself has been my version of a frayed blanket that travels through life with me. Like a gift endowed at birth, this book met my fresh hope at 10 years old to teach me an abundance of lessons. I remember how my heart felt on that day after school; the book displayed on the news, …
All That’s Left Behind
For my entire life, I have felt like an outsider looking in. Growing up, there were a lot of ways I knew I was different that would crop up at different ages. Obscure and obsessive interests, and touch aversion immediately come to mind, but some of my earliest and most distinct memories surround my preoccupation with patterns. I see them …
Tuesdays are for the Ocean.
Tuesdays are for the Ocean. Sundays are for the universe. Mondays are for peace. Wednesdays are for the spider. Thursdays are for the earth. Fridays are for fertility. Saturdays are for God. When we look to Ghanaian naming traditions, a name marks a person’s place and signifies belonging to a spirit, to a history, to a circumstance. You may find …
What Ghana’s anti-gay bill means for PanAfricanism and the African Return Movement
Ghana made headlines at the end of July when the draft of an anti-gay legislation bill was submitted to its Parliament, proposing up to 10 years in jail for anyone identifying as gay or even advocating for LGBTQ rights. This bill seeks to legalize conversion therapy and force intersex people to undergo “gender realignment” surgery and emerges after a year …
Featured Artist: Amani Omar
Amani Omar is a 19 year old artist, writer, and spoken word poet based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Her work is rooted in black and Muslim representation, social issues, self love and Somali culture. Her goal is to create and inspire young creatives to explore their voices and bring about more diversity in the media through her artistic content. The …
