Letting go.
February ‘24

Letting go. Beautiful words. Words with many meanings, layers. But can we ever truly do it? Is letting go a fictional phenomenon that we are all too eager to convince ourselves of in order to feel better? Do you need to believe in letting go in order to actually do it?
I have no idea. Maybe I’ll never know. I don’t think we let go of people because we want to. Or because we try so hard. It’s not a step-by-step process that you follow and then get the result you’ve been longing for. I think letting go just happens. It’s the people you thought you could never live without. The moments you thought you would never forget. And before you know it, five years have passed. You think back to that night when your heart was shattered to pieces. How it was torn apart. How you sat on the floor, crying, begging for relief. And how you thought you could never lose the pain.
Letting go isn’t forgetting how it once felt. It’s being able to feel how it used to be without losing yourself. It’s standing still in the pain. The pain you remember like it was yesterday, without drowning in it.

The Insta Complex
March ‘23

Today’s world is brimming with technological advancements that once seemed like science fiction. But have we been embraced at the cost of our mental well-being?
Social media, originally designed to connect us, has become an endless competition for the perfect post. As we scroll, we trade satisfaction for loneliness, constantly compare ourselves to unrealistic beauty standards, and watch our self-image deteriorate.

On social media, we create an alternate reality filled with highlights and edited images, showcasing lives that often have little to do with the truth. At the same time, we continue to conform to the standards we collectively uphold. Natural imperfections—a pimple, a messy hairline, or an unmade-up face—are carefully hidden online. Who we truly are fades into the shadow of who we want to appear to be.

Social media offers benefits, such as access to information and connection, but its darker side lies in the pressure to be perfect and to constantly prove our worth. This behavior is unsustainable. As long as we keep striving for the unattainable, it paralyzes us.

The question is: how can we create a counter-movement? Perhaps it starts with something simple: reflection. Think before you post. Ask yourself whether you’re sharing to impress others or to truly contribute something meaningful. Because if your selfie doesn’t reflect your reality, who are you really showing?

Growing old.
September ‘24

Man, I'm so afraid of growing old. Afraid of having regrets. Afraid of forgetting the dreams I once had. Of getting swept away by the current of normality. Older people often say, "Oh, if I were your age again, I’d do this or that. Enjoy being young while it lasts." Those phrases make me anxious. They put so much pressure on being young. Like we’re all on a timer that’s running out. As if we have to do everything we want before time’s up, because afterward, it’s too late.

What if I’m forty-five, and I want to do something different with my life? Do I have to resign myself to the idea that my best years are behind me? Why have we even put a limit on that? Shouldn’t we keep encouraging each other to pursue our dreams, to take risks, to believe that even after a certain age, life is still wide open?

So, to everyone desperately trying to hold onto being young: don’t waste your time. Being afraid of getting older stops you from living in the present, from realizing what you have, from appreciating what you can enjoy right now. The world is open to you. And if anyone says otherwise, you now have my personal permission to flip them off. Because anyone who tries to dictate how your life should look or what’s considered “normal” isn’t worth listening to.