a poorly made guide for individual student accommodation — Colleges are reopening, interns are back at the office running around to get coffee, and metro stations are full of teenagers dressed in oversized t-shirts and matching sneakers. Amid all the excitement, students are struggling to find suitable accommodation for themselves. Some have taken the brave decision to travel and…

A friend once told me, ”The smarter you are, the more things scare you.” — Poets are inherently scared of most things in life. Be it love, failure, dreams, people, their own self, the list goes on. Still, we need them. We need them because nobody else would be willing to be that scared, that torn apart by their own inhibitions and still decide to…

I am in a rut. A slump. A depressive episode. Whatever you may want to call it. I woke up today knowing I wouldn’t get anything done. Most days, you have to check in with your brain if it’s willing to co-operate. Today, I didn’t have to ask. …

Trying to get into podcasts? Here are five recommendations — Is 2022 the year you finally start listening to podcasts? Or maybe you already do and are just looking to dive into the deeper end of the pool. Either way, I am here to help. Podcasts, like most audio broadcasts, are a passive medium. You only listen to them while…

Duck’s Relationship Filtering Model and how it works — Our relationships are what make us who we are — romantic or otherwise. Duck’s Filtering Theory helps us identify how we interact with people in our lives and what motivates us to make their association. The theory is credited to Steve Duck, British social psychologist turned communication scholar. Even our…

A minor takeaway from my favourite essay — Joan Didion has been a lot of things for me, a mentor, an inspiration, a fashion icon, a friend, a kind stranger lending me their words. At times, I have envied her for her ability to choose her words so carefully, with such glaring intent that it hits you right…

I completed 78 weeks of therapy this week. — After being in therapy constantly for a year and a half, I still don’t know what to make of my experience. And, more importantly, how to talk about it. Still, let me try. I started therapy (with my current therapist) in the middle of 2020, when I was sure I’d…

For Rafflesia, the illusion of death brings life — What comes to mind when you think of the word flower? Roses, a first date, the freshness of the morning, a fragrance to remember someone by? It might be a sadder memory: last kisses, a funeral, going away present for your best friend. Flowers can be stories on their own…

How crying helps me regulate my emotions in a better way — I have always been a big crier. I was the child who would tear up the second someone raised their voice, bulky teardrops building up at the corner of my eye, cheeks turning red, prepared to wail at the top of my voice. Life feels so overwhelming when you’re born…