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…
Some Ramadan Personal Reflections for Resilience
“Persist and Resist.” – Epictetus Featured Photo: Sabr. Patience. A small pair of paintings with evil eye amulet, and the Arabic word for Patience, completed the day after the Night of Power, 2024. Dear Fellow Warrior, Ramadan has flown by…and now we are in the final two days. I just had some rough thoughts for the…
Honoring Women’s History Month
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” — Dr. Maya Angelou {Featured photo: “Prelude to Revolution” completed during Women’s History Month & Ramadan, 2024) Dear Fellow Warrior: It has been a while again, and for that I am sorry. I meant to write…
HNY: Another Year for Intentional Community Building
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” — Milton Berle Dear Fellow Warrior, Happy New Year! And Happy Black History Month! I will have a separate post on Black History Month another time. I seem to say this every year, but it usually takes me after MLK day and into the first week of February…
I am not a Great Writer…But…
“An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.” – Edwin Land Dear Fellow Warrior, May I take a moment to reintroduce myself to you? It may not be my only “reintroduction” this year. But certainly the first in 2024. Well, my name is Elsa. Sometimes I call myself by the title I earned a…
In 2023 I Paid Attention… In 2024, I’ll Pay Attention to …
“You become what you give your attention to….” – Epictetus Dear Fellow Warrior, Sometimes what you pay attention to defines your life at that moment, takes time away, and at the expense of things you should be paying attention to, that could be adding peace, happiness, and positive impact and value in your life. This…
In the effort to be transparent…
Dear Fellow Warrior, I’d like to make some changes going forward on this blog. It has been nearly 8 years on this blog now, and I have decided I am going to be incorporating some monetization strategies, starting with affiliate marketing. I did attempt to learn about affiliate marketing when I first started the blog…
My “13 Reasons Why” …
Dear Fellow Warrior, The other day, I wrote down the Reasons. My own “13 Reasons Why.” As I was looking at the list, I realized, my God, I had such good premonition 14 years ago when I predicted my life expectancy could be before age 40. That I wouldn’t be able to make it past…
Your Silence Speaks…
Featured Photo: “Can You Hear Us” painted on Christmas Day, December 25, 2023, inspired by the Tunisian Artist Omar Esstar’s “Scream from Gaza.” Dear Fellow Warrior, This poem addresses the deafening silence towards the genocide of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, which we have witnessed in the past nearly three months. It was cathartic to…