by Maha Rauf Self-discipline is the defining struggle of my life. It is the root, the struggle at the heart of all my struggles. When I look back at the last few years, I can see so clearly a trail of abandoned healthy meal/exercise plans, half-baked study schedules I never …
Read More »On Body Image and the Perils of PCOS
by Maha Rauf Content Warning: PCOS, eating disorders, stigma. “You will never truly feel at home in a body you view as temporary.” If I had to describe how I felt about my body for most of my adolescent life in one word, ‘temporary’ is probably most apt. At age …
Read More »My Academic Journey: Exams, Stress, and Failure
By Maha Rauf I’ve always been (moderately) academically inclined. I’ve always wanted to do well in school, and have always framed my actions towards that end. I’ve always derived satisfaction from doing well academically. This being so, it’s probably unsurprising that I’m terrified of failure. In my final year of …
Read More »Romanticising The Future
By Maha Rauf “You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.” Looking for Alaska, …
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