Some days cursive, some days not

I’ve been reading things I wrote in my notebook over the past few months. What surprised me wasn’t the improvement in my writing, but the difference in my handwriting on each page. Sometimes it’s neat, sometimes ugly. Sometimes slanted, sometimes straight. Some days cursive, some days not. Consistency and stability are not things I can … Read more

Writing anywhere

I’m writing this sitting in the middle of my university cafeteria, in the middle of the day. The place is loud and chaotic. People are having lunch, talking, and moving around. Shoes scrape the floor. Chairs drag. Plates hit tables. Cutlery clinks. Phones ring. Laughter interrupts conversations. The outer walls are made of glass, so … Read more

Clothes weren’t always this fragile

Some of the clothes from my childhood are still in good condition. They weren’t expensive, but they were well-made. They didn’t loosen, fade, or tear easily. They were made to last. I can’t say the same about the clothes I buy today. These days, buying clothes feels frustrating. After a few washes, they’re no longer … Read more

Seedless fruit is a downgrade

Seedless fruits are taking over – and it needs to stop. They feel unfinished, dull and a little soulless. Walk through any supermarket, and you’ll see it: seedless grapes, seedless watermelons, seedless everything. Meanwhile, the real fruits — the ones with seeds, texture, and character — are slowly disappearing. Convenience is winning, but the compromise … Read more

Looking closely at failure

We should pause and examine why we fail. If we don’t, we risk repeating the same mistakes. Worse, we begin telling ourselves the wrong stories — blaming ourselves for things we couldn’t control, or blaming luck for things we simply didn’t try hard enough to do. I’ve had times when I worked intensely on something … Read more

Good food comes from taking risks

Cooking, to me, is more art than engineering. It leaves room for expression, experimentation, and a bit of risk-taking. A dish won’t fall apart if you add a little more of something, a little less of something else, or swap an ingredient entirely. In fact, that’s often how better dishes are born. And I believe … Read more

No cousins, only brothers and sisters

During a conversation about family with a European friend, he asked me how many cousins I have. I paused for a moment before answering — and that’s when I realised something beautiful about the culture I grew up in. Where I come from, there are no cousins.There are only brothers and sisters. We don’t use … Read more

Read the ingredients

For years, I thought peanut butter contained butter – like chocolate milk or milk chocolate, both of which have milk and cocoa. It took me years to realise that peanut butter doesn’t mean peanuts and butter, but peanuts turned into something like butter. Like coconut milk. Coconut milk is made from coconuts themselves, but chocolate … Read more