Hi! Thank you for visiting my blog. I would like to take this moment to introduce myself. I am Elsa. By day, I am a nerdy PhD student, aiming to become a scholar and practitioner of international development policy. By night, I am Elsa, the Warrior KQueen. I have created this space in part for…
On World Suicide Prevention Day
“We held on to hope that better days were coming. And when we did, we were right.” – The Mountain Goats Dear Fellow Warrior, Today is World Suicide Prevention Day (initiated by the International Association for Suicide Prevention and endorsed by the WHO) and September is National Suicide Prevention Month. One in 100 deaths is…
PS: I Shouldn’t Be Alive Right Now…
“The bravest thing I ever did was continuing my life when I wanted to die.”— Juliette Lewis Dear Fellow Warrior, I have been struggling a bit, with signficant mental, emotional, and physical pain. But hanging in there. How about you? You okay? It’s September now. Summer is gone. I feel like I lost my summer, even…
Is it just you and me? …
“If light is in your heart, you will find your way home.” – Rumi Dear Fellow Warrior, How was your summer? I did “a lot” of mountain driving… well, a lot more than I am used to, as I share in my new medium article HERE, entitled “Driving through ‘Dangerous Mountains’.” The anxiety was amplified,…
Nobody Cared and Nobody Cares…
Dear Fellow Warrior, Over the past few years, I have found myself in the same position over and over again. You could call it the “definition of insanity.” I don’t mind. Sounds more fancy and smart to quote Albert Einstein. But maybe you can relate. Time and time again, I hold onto a piece of…
Say My Name… Say My f***ing Name…
“Names are the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” – Dale Carnegie Dear Fellow Warrior, Do you have any pet peeves? We all do, am I right? I don’t talk or write about my pet peeves too often. But this one pet peeve I had for a long time now is something that has been bothering me…
Another Year to Advance the Mission…
{Featured photos from Georgetown Waterfront, July 9, 2023} “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain Dear…
Happy Juneteenth! Towards a New Freedom and Writing Adventure…
Featured Photo: Juneteenth Painting. June 19th 2023 Dear Fellow Warrior, Happy Belated Juneteenth! I wanted to share this in this space, because I do feel it belongs here too. This is a piece I wrote on Medium (my third article there) which I had written in honor of Juneteenth this past Monday. I just intended…
Gratitude
“‘Enough’ is a Feast.” – Buddhist Proverb Dear Fellow Warrior, I’ve always had a problem with gratitude. People saying: “be grateful”, “you are lucky”, “you are blessed.” Something about it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I know the benefits of having gratitude and counting your blessings, focusing on what you have, versus what…