Category Archives: Life

steeped by samia no.39 | 06.16.25 There’s nowhere to go but simultaneously forward and upside-down. My day doesn’t start until I’ve taken Zayn outside. With summer heat creeping in by mid-morning, we’ve formed a new routine of sitting in a patch of shade, nestled between the backyard gate and the frontyard hedge. It feels severalContinue reading “To try and try, and do it all over again”

STEEPED BY SAMIA #35 | Fall 2024 Recap There are other C words I can add to this title, but this is good enough. Much like last year, I ended up taking a haitus from writing and posting Steeped in the fall. Only this time, I started a new freelance anchor project with a delightfulContinue reading “A season of cats, construction, and clarity”

STEEPED BY SAMIA #30 | 04.30.24 Scooping water into the ocean with a plastic shovel and pail. Feeling a ~ 11:59PM before the assignment is due ~ kind of vibe with this Steeped post I’m starting at 7PM on the last day of April, lol. But here we are; I hope you’re lounging somewhere cozyContinue reading “April showers and such”

STEEPED BY SAMIA #28 | 02.20.24 Lovesick Alley, the joy of escapism, & falling in love (with life). During Christmas weekend, I spent many hours at the Stanford infusion center while my dad was getting a medicinal IV infusion. The lobby was usually filled with people but because of the holidays, it was pretty empty.Continue reading “My mid-20’s renaissance with Shoujo manga”

STEEPED BY SAMIA #25 | 12.02.23 … And other thoughts & happenings from the past few months. It’s been a while since my last post. I took an unintentional hiatus from Steeped by Samia. I had writer’s block these past few months, but not the kind of writer’s block that made me frustrated or disappointed,Continue reading “On getting my driver’s license at age 25”

STEEPED BY SAMIA #24 | 08.31.23 Shakespeare in the Park, what Anne learns, & getting sh*t done. One Saturday in August at a local park, I awaited a midsummer night’s dream. Okay, not really, but it was still nice! My brother and I were watching Shakespeare in the Park: a performance of Cymbeline. I hadn’tContinue reading “All in a midsummer’s evening”

STEEPED BY SAMIA #22 | 06.30.23 The world of Ghibli, a small town, and an elusive cat. A cat has been hanging around my neighborhood for the past few weeks. I call them Toddler Cat. I’m not sure if they’re a stray or lost, or just a very adventurous outdoor cat. They seem young, maybeContinue reading “Chasing a cat through town”

STEEPED BY SAMIA #21 | 05.31.23 A life catch-up: May, movement, and musings. This is probably the first month, since starting Steeped, that I’ve waited till the last 3 days of the month to write and post something. Sure, it’d be fine if I skipped a month, but it would be kind of disappointing toContinue reading “Find me among the star jasmine vines”

STEEPED BY SAMIA #17 | 02.23.23 “What if we joined our wildernesses together?” Recently, I rewatched Fruits Basket (2019 ver.), and I was blown away by the heart-wrenching coming-of-age tidbits. In Fruits Basket, there are thirteen characters inhabited by the spirits of Chinese Zodiac animals and a god-like character at the center of them all,Continue reading “An ode to the little worlds we inhabit”

STEEPED BY SAMIA #13 | 12.26.22 On the growing pain of being perceived & when ‘idle conversation’ is not just idle. I’m getting the hint that our 20’s are filled with moments that teach us how to protect our peace. A subconscious guide, a thickening of the skin, that develops from all those uncomfortable andContinue reading “They don’t really know what to talk about”

STEEPED BY SAMIA #4 | 08.23.22 CW Note: This post mentions some heavy experiences of having a parent with a life-threatening illness/cancer and visiting them at the hospital. In April, my Abu was in the hospital for a month, receiving treatment for AML Leukemia. Due to his immunocompromised state, he couldn’t really go outside; butContinue reading “A hospital is not an art museum, but it can be”

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”