Franz Kafka
It’s so satisfying reading the ruminations of someone who shares your most intense and incomprehensible emotions. Frank Kafka’s work resonated with me in college. He, like me, seemed to be mentally stuck in the unforgiving and perennial clench of authority. Although his experiences differ from mine, there’s a strong likeness to our stories. I’ve shared […]
The Importance of ‘ra7a’
A couple of years ago, I recorded a voice memo with my grandmother, in which I asked her to reflect on the most important attribute to have in life. Her response: راحة Comfort. That’s the most valuable ‘thing’ to have in life. Not the unproductive and lazy kind of comfort, but a […]
Seemingly Wasted Time
Sometimes I’m saddened by the thought of how much time I’ve ‘wasted’ these past four years. But, then again, I think back to the time I consider my most productive: 2012-2015. What made me so productive back then? It wasn’t like I was inventing products that would eventually change the course of humanity, or preparing […]
There Are Rasputin’s Everywhere
Nicholas II’s wife, Alexandra, inadvertently contributed to the end of Russian Tsardom. Her gullible and ignorant relationship with Rasputin is bewildering. Rasputin managed to hijack the Russian monarchy by utilizing the same slyness found in other *so-called* ‘holy men.’ In reality, they are nothing if not fake. Imposters. When the tsar left to oversee the Russian […]
It’s All Within Reach
Seldom do I perceive a want as unattainable. It’s hard to write this without coming off as arrogant- but it’s true. I’m fully aware of my positioning and capabilities. I’m certain I can achieve my goals, but need to learn how to mitigate the consequences of: -Nit-picking. I find fault with everything I produce. I […]
I’m Conflicted but Pick “Easy”
A couple of months ago, when I was still in Denver, my friend asked a question that seemed silly on the surface: “Zaid, if you were to rate your life so far based on these simple standards: Very Easy Easy Hard Very Hard What would you choose?” The question surprisingly took a lot of thought. […]
I’ll Never Conform
This is going to make me sound like the crazed anarchist popular culture so often depicts: I hate blind societal appeasement. It’s dangerous, soul-sucking, and just flat out depressing. I was not made to conform and follow the unchanging path paved by society throughout the many generations of human civilization. Never was. It’s not only […]
Need to Listen
I’ve been listening to a lot of my past voice memos with people, including my grandmother (from 2013 and 2014 especially), and they’re cringy. Why? Because I kept interrupting them, forcibly so. I was recording the voice memos to preserve their memories as colorful characters in my life. To learn about how the world looks […]
Swimming in the Persian Gulf
Had a pleasant day today. Here’s how it went: It started out unproductively. I didn’t feel like doing anything, wasn’t feeling good mentally. Spent a large portion of it passively consuming YouTube documentaries. But then, at around 2:00, I looked out the window and reflected on how serene it seemed. The sea was as calm […]
Making my “no” firm
I can’t tell you how many times my seemingly unfixed responses have got me in some sort of trouble. Don’t want to transfer the blame to others, but some people: -don’t have the emotional intelligence to tell when my answer is ‘no.’ -use whatever tactic is in their acquired arsenal to turn my ‘no’ into […]