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From me. To me. With love.
Dear Self I know what a hard time it’s been lately. I can hear your thoughts when it gets tough. I know how hard you try and how little progress you think you are making. It is okay. You are okay. The little outbursts of happiness are okay, being sad for a while is okay. Feeling very tired and needing to rest is okay. You are okay. Live every healthy moment to the fullest. Let kind people into your soul, dance in the rain, love fully and unapologetically, read all the books you often feel too sick to read, don't be scared to be in pain it will only make your heart kind, write all the time even...
The pageant queen advocating for menstrual hygiene and rural development
When doctors become detectives
RIGHT RUNNER: Rise up and be heard!
Health Literacy - Taking Health into our own hands
Young people on the move - a low hanging fruit?
Change for every child in Kazakhstan
To a lot of people, Kazakhstan is still a mystery. After I published my first article, a lot of readers messaged me to know about the situation of children in Kazakhstan. On World Children’s Day, with the release of the Situation Analysis from UNICEF Kazakhstan, I am sharing my two cents in this article to cherish the tremendous achievements and indicate the remaining challenges ahead for every child in Kazakhstan Children and adolescents in Kazakhstan constitute 31.4% of the total population, which means 1 out of 3 citizens is a child. The vast proportion of children in Kazakhstan requires...
As America Fights Opioid Abuse, Youth Are Overlooked
It’s nearly impossible to watch a newscast without some mention of the opioid crisis in the United States. But even though the use of harmful habit-forming drugs receives significant media coverage, a large group of the population is overlooked: young people. Due to factors such as peer pressure, curiosity and availability, drug use is an increasing problem among youth in America. Unfortunately, despite the growing need for assistance, young people are overlooked when it comes to receiving adequate treatment. Limited access to effective treatment means many young people die without the proper...
God forbid we have rights
Hey there girl with the mini skirt, don't go out looking like that. it's just too provocative. I mean God forbid women have legs, right? Oh, and girl with the pants and the dress that touches her ankles, and the women from 100 years ago who wore layers of clothes. you too. You were showing too much skin. God forbid women have thighs, and arms, and worst of all, dignity and respect. Hey there, going somewhere? Well, you should just stay inside that way nobody can get to you. That is unless you lock yourself in a closet because your dad, or your brother, or your uncle may like girls in pajamas...
The concept of love
My first word was love. Under the flickering lights of North Shore Hospital on March 10, 2002, I met the one person whose love for me is unconditional. As I tore my eyelids open and glanced the kind, raven-haired woman, I immediately noticed her smile, which stretched for miles past the horizon. I truly believe that one person molded me into the person I am today. As I grew up, I became afraid of my own reflection, until I realized that the only things I should see staring back at me are the doting eyes of my grandma. Many years later, I returned to the hospital. One week away from losing my...
We are our own salvation
Hands are raising towards the sky. A sea of single hands. Skin so fair, looking, searching for wrinkles ready to touch, help. None was found. The sea of open hands turns into pointing fingers. Full of attitude, angry at the empty sky. Angry at the emptiness once full of protection. Angry at the aid which fails to come. Angry at the loneliness. Anger becomes desperation. Desperation becomes hopelessness. Hopelessness takes the strenght from some arms. Fewer and fewer are the pointing fingers. Some just give up. But with a ray of light comes a realization, and fingers turn into open hands again...
Become more
I woke up this morning feeling so tired and reluctant to stand up from my bed. I managed to say my morning prayers asking God for strength for a new day. Still I felt like staying at home. Then slowly I heard that still small voice saying, Praises, remember today is Tuesday, that man is always early for class. Try and get up if you don't want to miss your class. Hmmmm, I sighed slowly as I managed to stand up from my bed to go and shower while singing out loud. Shortly after I hurriedly dressed up, packed my bag an off I went. Still on my way to school I was praying so badly to get a cab on...
Girls can achieve their dreams
I am unstoppable: So are you
Fear of the unknown
Somehow I feel there is a lot that I am not letting out. I feel like there is more energy inside of me that seems to not be coming out, but I am eager to bring forth that energy inside of me; yet, I don’t know how. I am scared I might fail and probably not do well. Maybe I am scared of what people will think about me. I don’t know if I am fluent or capable enough. I don’t know if I have the skills needed to carry out responsibilities and implement those set goals, not because I don’t want to, but I just don’t know how to go about it. Can I succeed? Is it possible to try? These are some of the...
Include girls with disabilities
Be who you are
In the spirit of the Day of the Girl: Let me remind you of your abilities as a woman. You were not created to shrink when trouble hits you. It's in our nature to contain it and come out of it. As a woman you are powerful. It doesn't matter how much life situations try to pull you down, because girl, you can pull through. You are more than what you see now. Fight for the change you want in your life. Think positive. Give no room for negativity. Work earnestly towards developing and challenging yourself to be a better person and it's gonna be a game changer for you. Feel free to pause and...
Carry on living and fighting
Polluted by vaping
Among today’s novelty-seeking youth, there is another rising fad – vaping. According to a 2017 National Institutes of Drug Abuse, more than one in four high school seniors reported vaping in the previous year. Searching online, you can also effortlessly find many cool-looking guys teaching how to blow out bizarre shapes of smoke rings to stunt your peers. Same as poppies, vaping looks charming and gorgeous, but addictive and toxic in essence. It is not an innocent healthier substitution to real cigarettes as it acclaims. Indeed, the nicotine it contains is no less lethal. What’s more, the most...