Blogs

  • Blogs

    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.…

  • Blogs

    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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  • Blogs

    #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…

  • Blogs

    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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  • Blogs

    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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  • Blogs

    #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…

  • Blogs

    on the things we forget…

    Crossing Red Lights book cover first draft circa 2013 Do you ever suddenly remember how much you used to love something that is barely a part of your life now? Somehow or another I completely forgot there was a time when I couldn’t stop myself from creating. I would paint, color, draw whatever I could. I would sew together impractical pieces of clothes for myself from old clothes. I’d make my own jewelry, spend day after day practicing Mehndi on myself, my sisters, and anyone with an hour and a clean hand. Art was a way of living. Creating and expressing through art was a means of being for me.…

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  • Blogs,  Pinned,  Portfolio

    Room 503

    Dimly lit, tucked far into the corner of the 5th floor of the Hunter College North Building, Room 503: Journalism Lab fights against sleep to pursue conversations of literary craftsmanship. The dark shadows of the night creep shyly through the cracks in the plastic black shades, as if reminding the students once again they could be in bed. Yet, they proceed as if the night has not yet arrived. Trying hard to forget the two hours that remain still for the class. Sixteen or so students type away on their laptops with the background of eighteen desktops on grey desks circling the room. All but two, display screensavers of a…

  • Colin Miller by Bryant Park
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    Bryant Park: A Metropolitan Park in the City of Lights

    In the heart of Midtown where work meets leisure, hundreds saunter into Bryant Park. Naked trees loom ahead with branches entangled into one another, fencing the park and the memories within it. In a place in the city where elaborate buildings made of glass, bricks, stone, and metal scrape through the sky and fill every avenue, nature makes its own fashion statement of classic, fabulous, light brown simplicity, nestling itself comfortably within the muted color palette of the city. New Yorkers and tourists alike come alone, in pairs, and groups. Some are dressed in professional attire with a pretzel in one hand, a briefcase in the other, and a friend…

  • Blogs

    #sadafayazwrites On Perfection

    October 09, 2018 I’m someone who is subconsciously wired with an obsession with perfection whether it is internal or external and there are times when I beat myself over for slipping up. This mentality, at my highest of moments, forces me to perform my absolute best and, at my worst, paralyzes me. Cutting off my laughter for fear of laughing too loud. Keeping my mouth shut for expressing my thoughts in case it doesn’t come out right or I say something wrong or offensive or unheard of. Be quiet don’t make a suggestion. It forces me to hold back on the skip that’s yearning to come out of my toes.…