With an open mind, we can usually find the silver lining to major life-changing circumstances. At the very least, an almost two year long global pandemic has pushed us to start prioritizing our mental health and wellness.

Fortunately, feminism and women’s issues have been at the forefront of most social change movements as of late. When we talk about feminism, it’s much more complex than equal pay and better maternity leave policies. As an Arab-American woman facing the realities of inequality in different ways,

As most honest and raw female friendships go, I recently had a very informative conversation with a dear friend about our struggles with our feminine health, specifically our hormonal health. My friend has battled with hormone imbalances, severe acne, and a multitude of other side effects due to her PCOS for years.

I recently discovered a concept that is so incredibly freeing it propelled my “growth” a lot faster than I expected. It’s called radical acceptance. An idea that can be defined as completely accepting ourselves and a situation that is beyond our control as is without judgment.

In my young(er) adult life I remember many instances where I couldn’t wrap my mind around how two people can have polar opposite reactions and perceptions of the same experience.

It feels like the world has been in quarantine for an unmeasurable amount of time now. Every day is a blur and committing to any long-term plans is pointless.

Whoever said 2019 needed to go, can you please bring it back? Because 2020 rang in the new year with some serious vengeance, and it seems like we are light-years away from the normalcy we once knew (or will we ever really get back to that?).

Over the last decade, as I’ve immersed myself in and embraced a world that was somewhat unfamiliar to me, I discovered that many of the preconceived ideas I had about where we stand as women of Middle Eastern/Arab/Muslim descent, in terms of progression, independence, equality, respect, and acceptance were relatively inaccurate.

One of the easiest ways to deal with an unwarranted, unexpected life hiatus is to repeatedly tell yourself it will eventually come to an end and the next chapter will begin any day now…

Sometimes, it takes removing yourself entirely from everything you know, everything that is familiar, and everything that you love, to see the world from an entirely different perspective.

With my close friends and family, I’m an open book. Notoriously known for reporting every detail of my day-to-day activities, achievements, grievances, and random anecdotes.

In the last few years, I can fairly and objectively conclude that debate around this subject is widespread, familiar, and, unfortunately, can be somewhat discouraging.

“Some of the most meaningful, effective, and fulfilling relationships I have are with a few individuals who seem to be my complete opposites from an objective point of view.”

Lately, a common and recurring theme that seems to be debilitating young adults are their views on permanency and commitment, in any form.

It still surprises me how infrequently it is we openly discuss and assess very commonly shared and significant issues facing our community.

For a very long time, I resented being labeled by society because one chapter in my life did not end at all the way I expected or wanted.

I’m aware this particular topic may be an exhausted one…but because I take pride in emphasizing the importance of independence, strength, individuality, and free will and also encourage not conforming to the cookie-cutter ideologies that traditional culture sometimes delivers, this message can and should be reiterated as needed.

As children, we normally don’t discriminate when it comes to forming relationships and we’re generally not super selective about the “type” of person we allow into our lives.