20. Prompt of the Day – From Hate to Love: Embracing My Body’s Journey

Daily writing prompt
What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger?
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My body.

I grew up obese for most of my early life. The first time I lost weight drastically was due to severe depression in grade 11. I hated looking at mirrors while growing up, cried profusely in silence asking myself why I had such a heavy body while other girls got to enjoy their youth feeling confident and attractive.

I am 34 years old now. I do strength training 3-4x per week, started doing yoga, finished a half and a full marathon last year, and have run so many miles in the process. My body does not look anything like a ripped, fit, strong body, but it is mine and it helps me feel great. I now appreciate its strength and resilience, even though I have put it through so much negative self-talk, repeated harm, and outright ignorance. Not anymore.

I take care of it with all my heart, with grace and love, because this body is here till the end of my journey. And I want to feed it with so much love and gratefulness that I was unable to give it when it needed it the most.

The Anthropologists

Cover of 'The Anthropologists' by Ayşegül Savaş, featuring a hand reaching towards a glass of drink on a table, with a blurred background and a green design.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Savaş

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Print Length: 192 pages
Format: ebook
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre: Immigrant, Literary Fiction, Coming-of-age story, Cultural Heritage Fiction

This one came to me through a recommendation from my ex-manager. She knew I was reading different immigrant stories and pointed me toward The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Savaş. I went in without expectations. What I did not expect was a writing style I had genuinely never come across before.

Continue reading The Anthropologists

19. Prompt of the Day – Childhood Beliefs: Misconceptions We Outgrow as Adults

Daily writing prompt
What’s something you used to believe as a kid that seems ridiculous now?
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That people are either good or bad.

It took me years to understand that we change according to our circumstances. I was always trying to be morally right at every point in my early life, but it hurt me more than I could take. Only when a close friend helped me realise that we are complex human beings did things shift. We need to exercise our emotions, give an outlet to our thoughts, fears, and other feelings instead of continuously suppressing them. Always trying to be good only harmed me.

So I grew up emotionally stunted and still sometimes have difficulty getting attached or fully processing my emotions. Even though my body absorbs emotions and signals, my mind takes time processing the depth of my feelings.

Talking my emotions out, journalling, discussing, debating, and reflecting has made me realise how much harm I was doing to myself when I simply believed that being good would always be rewarding. It rarely was. But being authentically myself is healing.