STEEPED BY SAMIA #1 | 6.13.22 Exploring the difficult & illuminating process of rebuilding a relationship with your life’s passion. Sometimes you feel lost, you know? I wasn’t sure how to describe this period of my writer’s journey. But one day in April, the words came to me: I’m retracing my steps with writing. Sometimes,Continue reading “I’m retracing my steps with writing”
Author Archives: samiaabbasi
I am a reader, writer, and tea-enthusiast based in the Bay Area, CA.
Tea recipes for all your moods this fall
During my first year of postgrad, I can definitively tell you that I’ve been drinking a lot of good tea and mastered how I like to make it. So, you’re going to get all those fun details of what teas I like and how I prepare it. I definitely want to (spoiler alert: it’s notContinue reading “Tea recipes for all your moods this fall”
Reflections from an ongoing creative slump
How do you get out of a creative slump during a pandemic that seems like it’s never going to end? I don’t have answers—just reflections. On Eid a week or two ago, there were 3 different family members who asked me, “Hey, you’re writing a novel, right? How’s that going?” *Cue cold sweats and nervousContinue reading “Reflections from an ongoing creative slump”
Reluctance to Love: How our Indian-American family adopted two cats
By Samia & Ferheen Abbasi We’ve been wanting to write this piece for a while. It was primarily sparked by how our parents have generally felt about pets (read: reluctant) and how their reactions share similarities to other immigrant parents. There are TikToks of dads carrying around their cats or dogs, singing to them, andContinue reading “Reluctance to Love: How our Indian-American family adopted two cats”
Dreams In-Progress: Briana B. Franklin on turning experience into innovation
Flashback to summer 2019: I would wake up, get ready for the day, and hop on all the job-searching websites to participate in the trial & error known as the job market. Those days were blurry; sending at least 1 cover letter + resume out into the world felt like enough progress for the day.Continue reading “Dreams In-Progress: Briana B. Franklin on turning experience into innovation”
Dreams In-Progress: Zunaira Iftikhar on investing 100% in your dreams
Communication shapes who we are. It’s a lens for how we see the world and how we navigate people in all areas of our lives. Our upbringing molds our communication style—not hearing “sorry” being said or emotions being discussed candidly can impact us. For a Pakistani-Muslim woman like Zunaira Iftikhar, active communication can stretch theContinue reading “Dreams In-Progress: Zunaira Iftikhar on investing 100% in your dreams”
Dreams In-Progress: Irena Huang on creating a pathway you love
I took a fairly long hiatus from Dreams In-Progress. All the while, I’ve been thinking about why it’s something I’m so drawn to and what kind of content people will connect with most right now. I’m noticing that it’s all about the conversations I’ve been having. I want to hear how Gen. Z-ers & MillennialsContinue reading “Dreams In-Progress: Irena Huang on creating a pathway you love”
Reflections from a year of therapy
Because I was in Malaysia and COVID-19 spiked in the U.S. when I came back, I haven’t seen my therapist in about 6 weeks. And because my healthcare provider & my mental health insurance aren’t covering phone appointments and for related reasons, I basically won’t be seeing my therapist until COVID-19 calms down or theContinue reading “Reflections from a year of therapy”
Review: The Royal Abduls by Ramiza Shamoun Koya
Some time during the first week of February, I saw a headline from Publishers Weekly that caught my eye: PNBA Rallies for Ill Debut Author. Ramiza Shamoun Koya’s story followed me for the rest of the day, and all I could wonder was: How can I help? When I got the opportunity to read TheContinue reading “Review: The Royal Abduls by Ramiza Shamoun Koya”
3 South Asian protagonists with transformative journeys
January is a rejuvanating time where we create goals in hopes of getting closer to a better version of ourselves. I wanted to highlight 3 books with South-Asian protagonists who go through transformative changes as they learn about themselves and the world. Connecting with South-Asian books throughout my life has allowed me to explore theContinue reading “3 South Asian protagonists with transformative journeys”
Is publishing the right career for me?
Lee & Low Books recently came out with their 2019 Diversity in Publishing Baseline Survey Results. The statistics were disappointing–but not surprising. At the same time, they affirm why I feel like I’m at a crossroads with my potential career path in publishing. I was especially struck by the statistics of higher diversity in internsContinue reading “Is publishing the right career for me?”
Dreams In-Progress: Apollo Rydzik on finding your rhythm as a first gen. student
It’s been so great to interview college seniors for Dreams In-Progress blog interview series to get to know how they’re processing their college experiences and envisioning their post-graduate plans. There are so many post-grad decisions to make that unfold with time and perspective: When do you start looking for jobs? Do you take some timeContinue reading “Dreams In-Progress: Apollo Rydzik on finding your rhythm as a first gen. student”
Dreams In-Progress: A-bel Gong on championing diversity in science
The new year brings the excitement of possibilities. We don’t know what’s in store for us in 2020, and I think that makes this interview series that much more exciting. I seek to wonder how people are getting from Point A to Point B in their lives and that can change so much within aContinue reading “Dreams In-Progress: A-bel Gong on championing diversity in science”
Dreams In-Progress: Safa Arshadullah on keeping your doors open
The first guest for Dreams In-Progress is Safa Arshadullah! This blog interview series looks at how Millennials + Gen Z-ers are taking steps toward their aspirations and the resources that have helped them along their pathways. [PROFILE]Name: Safa ArshadullahPronouns: she/herFrom: Bay Area, CA & Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia Institution: Scripps College, winter ’19Area of Study:Continue reading “Dreams In-Progress: Safa Arshadullah on keeping your doors open”
Introduction to Dreams In-Progress
Welcome to Dreams In-Progress: a blog interview series that focuses on where Gen. Z-ers & Millennials are at in life as they pursue their dreams. I wanted to thank everyone for the support and excitement you’ve shown me. Some of my favorite responses have been people who are interested in being interviewed or telling meContinue reading “Introduction to Dreams In-Progress”
Post-Grad Month 6: Content creation
Life feels a little different when we’re pivoting into a new year. I’ve been seeing posts about what people have accomplished in the past decade and realized that I basically finished middle school, high school, and college from 2009-2019. FUN TIMES! Part of why life feels different right now is because my internship is overContinue reading “Post-Grad Month 6: Content creation”
Getting back into dream journaling
I once dream journaled for a stretch of time in 2013, and I recently read some of the journal entries again. They were so bizarre, but also made me curious to see what my dreams are like right now. Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge and Howard Rheingold has helped me getContinue reading “Getting back into dream journaling”
Post-Grad Month 4 & 5: Leaning into inexperience
Settling into a new routine can be disorienting, but I’m also slowing down in a way that’s necessary for me. I recently finished my internship with the 1947 Partition Archive, and I love interning at Avalon Travel so far. Taking my own advice on fluid routines, I’ve been figuring out what’s best for me, especiallyContinue reading “Post-Grad Month 4 & 5: Leaning into inexperience”
9 Wondrous books by South Asian writers
I was inspired by my wonderful cousin Arifa to curate a list of books by South Asian writers. Reading books like The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni in middle school and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri in high school had such a profound impact on who I am as a person and writer. To my excitement, I’m seeing more South Asian writersContinue reading “9 Wondrous books by South Asian writers”
Ways to conceptualize your English major
People tend to look at humanities degrees in a simplified or stereotyped lens. Common perceptions about people with humanities backgrounds are that they’re studying topics that are becoming increasingly irrelevant in our digital age or are going to struggle making money in the job market. This may or may not be true and is contextualContinue reading “Ways to conceptualize your English major”
Steeped by Samia 