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…
Just Another Ode to Pakistan… From an ABCD
Dear Fellow Warriors, I wrote this piece a few months ago, and I have been meaning to share it for a while now. Just mustering up the courage, because it may be slightly embarrassing and exposing perhaps, and imposter syndrome can always make it worse. But I am someone who remains an open book nonetheless,…
The “Wedding Crasher”
“You are only free when you realize you belong no place—you belong every place—no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.” – Dr. Maya Angelou I was the Wedding Crasher last night. Protesting the “institutionalization of love.” Just kidding, I was invited okay, relax… Aunties… A great excuse to see some…
Finding Your Voice …
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along’.” Eleanor Roosevelt The struggle to “find your voice” can be a lifelong battle…
Dance… and don’t mind who’s watching…
“When you dance, you can enjoy the luxury of being you.” – Paulo Coelho Last month, I attended the Comparative International Education Society (CIES) Annual Conference in Washington, DC. The conference coincidentally fell on the same week I attended the National Youth Leadership Forum of Defense, Intelligence and Diplomacy back in 2002, my final year…
My “Resilience Portfolio”
Dear Fellow Warrior, It has been difficult to break through the creative blocks I am facing at the moment, but I am trying. I feel sometimes I am moving in so many directions and when that happens, I am unable to move at all. But I feel one step at a time, I will just…
Happy New Year: Transcendence from Survival to Revival
“If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving.”-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. {Featured Photo: Painting entitled “Celebrating Milestones,” which symbolizes hope, celebration, and moving forward, while still trying to put the different puzzle pieces together. Part of the “Painting Heals…Pakistan” auction.} Dear…
“A Suicide Note” #1 – Spoken Word Poem
“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.”— Lucius Annaeus Seneca “A Suicide Note” #1 – Spoken Word Poem A much-delayed, “Trigger Warning.” ….. The sweetest sound can be your name. So “They” say. Sitting at a bar… Forbidden… For me?… So “They” say. Disguised as a ‘perfect stranger’ in an “anthropological experiment.” As…
One Smile Could Save A Life…
Dear Fellow Warrior, I wrote this below in a Facebook post last year today, and I thought to share this here, for the Chronicles… I have yet to share my 2022 Year End Reflections here and perhaps a separate post for the Prospects for 2023. But for now, I just want to share this. As…