I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I want to do next with my life. There are things that have been going better. I’m almost finished with grad school, and I finally have a career. I still feel like I’ve been betraying my calling by stopping my writing. If…

How many times have we heard phrases like, “Oh, you’ve changed on me” or “You’re not the person I met”? Well, the truth of the matter is, it’s completely normal and reasonable for people to change. The hope is that people will grow into better versions of themselves. …

This may be controversial because we often hear that good friendships can withstand political differences and ideological divergence. However, people want to be around those they can trust. Part of trusting someone is knowing where they stand on important issues and understanding those stances. If two people have significantly different…

One of the key signs of a codependent person is that their behavior is largely organized around another person. A codependent person is not at the center of their world. Another person is. When you bring unaddressed codependency into your relationship, be it a friendship or a romantic connection, you…

During my upbringing, my sensibilities were doused with the importance of politeness. This partly helped me. Learning manners and being taught to think of others, to put myself in others’ shoes, kept me from becoming an inconsiderate jerk. But lessons in female politeness were a tremendous setback. The problem was that the pressure to exhibit extreme politeness cost me…

The start of a relationship is a telling predictor of how the rest of the relationship will go. A lot of behavior patterns tend to get cemented early on. If you allow a person to get more out of you than you get out of them, this will likely continue…

I nervously sat across from the interviewer, trying to maintain a professional demeanor. I had prepared for this moment for weeks, perfecting my resume and rehearsing my answers to common interview questions. …

Millions of Pakistani women fear losing their rights and means of subsistence due to a gender-based violence crisis. Pakistan places 167th out of 170 nations in the Women, Peace, and Security Index for the health and well-being of women. …

A story caught my eye one day while scrolling through my social media feed. It was about a young girl who stood up against sexism in Pakistan. It was a powerful and inspiring tale that I had to share with my followers. I quickly typed out a caption for the…