Ode to My Tainted Dreams

There are some moments in life that seem so far away, you doubt that they will ever arrive. As a young child in primary school, I can remember watching the older kids all going to various upper schools across town and thinking that I would never ever be that old, and would never ever leave my school behind. But life has a habit of creeping up on you; in what seems in retrospect to be a very short few years, I’ve completely finished school and am now looking into different universities. I mention this because the amazing meeting of last week, when I finally met the amazing Nussaïbah, was one of those events that initially seemed so far away that the notion of it actually happening became something of a fantastical concept.

Many, many moons ago, I was in the middle of tearing my hair out before a major geography exam. Despite desperately seeking to gain the best grade possible, I was spending way too much time online; on that night, anything could distract me away from conservation strategies in the Galapagos Islands, which despite being a fascinating subject, loses its appeal very quickly when you have to write about it under exam conditions. One of the messages posted on the Internet that night was a wish of good luck from a friend to a classmate and me ahead of the test the next day; a message that would lead to a new friendship being built with someone from across the globe.

After several hours of writing my heart out in a series of unending essays, I was feeling over the Moon, enjoying that feeling of raw happiness one gets after finishing a complex piece of work. Checking back over the Internet that evening, I was charmed to discover that someone else had also joined my friend on the topic of wishing us well, and upon investigating this person’s profile, was amazed to discover that they were from Mauritius, just over six thousand miles away. The sheer scale and size of the Internet is revealed through such moments, and I can remember taking a few minutes just to visualise that extent of that distance. Continue reading →

It’s finally time to say goodbye, I didn’t think it would be so soon. Yet, yesterday I wasn’t feeling anything. I was still as happy and as excited t be going, but it finally sank in as the first of my cousins, as close as a brother to me said goodbye. It was then that I realised he wouldn’t be texting me anymore to say he was coming over in 5 minutes, leaving me barely the time to wear something decent.

Or that I wouldn’t be tutoring my little cousin anymore, I wouldn’t be yelling at the older ones because they left everything for the last minute (as I usually did) and we’d have to stay up late to complete everything. I wouldn’t have my aunt check on me when I would be alone at home, or I wouldn’t have my mother call me on my cellphone because I couldn’t hear her from downstairs. Continue reading →

It’s hard to find something to write about when your life has been in limbo for months now, not that I‘ve been confined to four walls, without anything happening around me. On the contrary, the headlines are practically screaming at me to choose one of their many topics: health, education, politics, culture, but I’m simply out of the loop. As much as I try to write, there’s no feeling into that and it’s just not me.

I’m moving to London in less than three weeks and I can’t say I’m not thrilled. I really can’t wait for August to be over and for September to bring it full on. But somehow, there’s this part of me who wants to turn back the clock where there was this familiar but boring routine that kept me going. I wished I could turn back the clock so that I could spend some more time with my family and friends. (I really should go get that nuclear-powered DeLorean xD) Continue reading →

Back to reality, Sayuka and I should probably go to, but the past two days were so dream-like that one feels that real life is in fact dull sometimes.”Let’s have a sleep over,” we decided back in February when we received our results. Among all the things we wanted to do, this had been top on our lists for some one or two years now, without ever receiving permission for it. Thing’s weren’t that easy, with our overprotective mothers who weren’t not that willing to let their girls go somewhere else to spend the night, not that we haven’t done it before… But I think going to someone’s home rather than a bungalow near the beach or a seminar organized by the school is way different.

Knowing that a full-proof plan was needed, for, of course, we were going to be bombarded with questions about the why and stuff. The best strategy needed to be adapted to get past the barriers our supermoms created, and after dropping clever hints for months and crafting the perfect reasons, we decided to present our cases to our mothers. We almost jumped in joy when we heard the oh-so-awaited “yes” uttered by our mothers! We had wanted this for a long time, but somehow everything was rushed. The previous week, I told the girls that they could come whenever they want, and suddenly, Wednesday arrived, with me hurrying to go meet them. Continue reading →

1. Have friends over.
2. Gossip.
3. Play card games.
4. Truth or Dare.
5. Lie around lazily.

Continue reading →