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2021: new beginnings
of the tinted glasses i wear through life, my perception of a new beginning is perhaps my most favorite i am fascinated by the start of something new a reset button. a clean page a new year, a new month, a new week, a new day, a new night, a new morning, a new hour, a new minute on the multiple of five, a new chocolate (hehe), a new breath—they’re all very sacred to me they all provide an opportunity to shake and shrug and dust off the acquired turbulences of this journey and to step forward through a new door wearing cleaner, clearer glasses a blank canvas that awaits…
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on sacred memories…
fiery sunset from a few days ago… when i think of looking back at my life, i imagine wanting to be able to close my eyes and experiencing my past with the same depth as i do my present. i want all my senses to come alive and bring those moments back to life. i want to feel the joy and sadness and bravery and fear with the same intensity in those moments of reflection as i did when they first flowed through me like the day i witnessed the first downpour of rain on an empty road i remember stopping in my tracks on that 4 PM spring afternoon.…
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carbon footprints of me
…dandelion seeds in mid-flight, butterfly hugs, ghostly kisses, beautiful vulnerability 5 am in Tokyo i’ve been thinking about tastes and what it means when we share something we think is special with someone. music, movies, quotes, social media posts, books, videos, radio shows, food, recipes, and so much more—all tiny little love letters that have touched our soul i think i’ve become quite protective of the things i love. i don’t like sharing them easily, why should someone experience something so close to my heart if i don’t know if they can value it. it’s definitely a struggle i face in my personal life and online and especially as a…
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#worldbookday
There are few experiences comparable to running your fingers along book spines on a shelf, picking up the one thats written in your destiny, cracking it open, and allowing it to permanently imprint your soul. Although I’ve mostly shifted to practical audiobooks these days, I miss the feeling of burning daylight by the window, eyes glued on the pages, body and mind moving in sync to the words and emotions of characters who felt like best friends. Most of all, I miss that fundamental shift in perspective. Like one layer of filtered lenses were removed. That moment of clarity when you realize that you and the character are one and…
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Why Your Altruism Is Fake and How We Can Create a World Where It Is Real
By Sadaf Ayaz When I asked Neha Aamir, a mental health therapist at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, why people volunteer, she turned the tables on me. “When you engage in altruistic behavior, why do you?” It took me an hour to come to an answer. I thought back to some of my recent “acts of altruism” and asked why? But really, why? I told her I did it because I learned to be altruistic from my parents who often go out of their way to help others. Aamir shut this explanation down quick, she said that’s an example of social responsibility—my parents are altruistic because it’s the responsible or…
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linguistic determinism
i learned a new phrase the other day: linguistic determinism. the idea that our language can limit/determine our knowledge and ability to process the world. the thought bewilders me. that there could be a whole world out there that exists that i know nothing about simply because its vocabulary is nowhere near my reach. that there are ways that i’ll never get to think of looking at the world—filtered glasses i’ll never get to try on, and the filtered lenses that will never pry off. that I may never grace the words that hold exactly what i may need to explore hidden parts of me mind 👏🏼 blowing 👏🏼
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Solo Flights of Freedom
By Sadaf Ayaz Fatima Shafi pulls on her tailored black blazer adorned with golden wings and stripes. She places her polished black pilot’s hat over her dark hair, which is pulled into a tight bun in the back. In a few hours she’ll be flying a commercial jet from New York to Los Angeles. At 35, Fatima is one of the youngest female captains in the Delta Airlines fleet. A decade ago, she was the first woman in history of the Pakistani Air Force to fly an F16 fighter jet. Today, Fatima lives on the 23rd floor of a modern highrise on the Upper East Side. Her view is just…
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Slowly withering away…
You ever wake up one day, sit up from sleep, and then fall back in bed in defeat? You know you’re far too young to be feeling this way, but every cell in your body feels like its slowly withering away. There used to be a stream of electricity that flowed through your blood. Pushed and pulled through your veins and capillaries with the fuel of passion. The dreams you saw at night, your body knew for certain were meant to be your reality in the morning. But then that one day comes when you fall back in your bed and you feel like your RBCs are lagging through the…
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#Ayazsisters: Meet My Sisters!
Several people already know this, but if you don’t you’re in for a surprise. It’s an honor to introduce you to the true talented stars of my family: Huda Ayaz and Maliha Ayaz. These two girls never fail to inspire me and have always been my truest support systems in every way. More than that though, Huda and Maliha are incredibly talented and intelligent young ladies. At only 15 and 16, between the two of them, they have published 8 books. Together, the three of us have published 10 books. Even before I believed in possibly publishing a book, Huda and Maliha had already gotten to work writing their books…
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REV 21 Media: What it looks like to run a small media company in today’s data and algorithm-driven structure.
Sadaf Ayaz Media 332 Final Paper ACCOMPANIED PRESENTATION: REV 21 Media is a platform made especially by minority youth to share their opinions on the cultures, religions, and identities that define them. It was made to build bridges between different people with different ideas through positive conversations and enticing engagement of audiences which were unlikely to search for the content with a trendy and fun appearance. Built as a business, REV 21 was made to provide a seat at the table for all those who felt voiceless. One of the reasons why I thought this was something I could do was because of my own background in writing. I had…
