April 22nd: I'm currently on a plane heading to Rome, where my friends, Gia and Valentine are. I know that they both care about me and my well-being means a lot to them. Valentine suggested that I visit him, saying, "It's been a while since you've been feeling down. Why don't you come here? I'm … Continue reading Finding Light in Darkness: My Depression Diary (part 2)
Finding Light in Darkness: My Depression Diary
April 12th: My tears wouldn't let me sleep. Everyone kept posting in the group chat, talking about the pubs they were going to one after another. Today was a pub crawl event. Almost all the students from Erasmus that I knew were there. I feel that they all have come to Germany to have fun. … Continue reading Finding Light in Darkness: My Depression Diary
Iranian Revolution Diary (part 4)
December 21st 2022 : I received a message from my Italian friend, who was checking on me and my family's well-being. It had been a while since we had spoken, and his concern for the situation in Iran touched my heart. In my response, I told him that I wasn't in the best state of … Continue reading Iranian Revolution Diary (part 4)
Iranian Revolution Diary (part 3)
December 14th 2022: It was around 9 pm when all of the worries and anxieties I had been running from in the past few months suddenly overwhelmed me. I broke down. Seeking refuge, I walked towards the bathroom. I sat down, my head buried in my hands, tears streamed down my cheeks like a waterfall. … Continue reading Iranian Revolution Diary (part 3)
Iranian Revolution Diary (part 2)
December 1st 2022: Yesterday, I joined the big protest of Iranian students from 150 foreign universities across the globe. The event at our university was organized by Mahsa, a thirty-year-old woman studying astrophysics. When I saw her message in the Iranian Brandenburg residents' group chat, I knew I had to be there to help. She … Continue reading Iranian Revolution Diary (part 2)
Iranian Revolution Diary (part 1)
November 20th 2022: Yousef participated in a big protest in Berlin. With his camera lens as his witness, he shared with me the videos he had taken. Through the snow, people shouted with a fierce passion. The cold didn't matter. Meanwhile, my sister sent me a song on Telegram. It was a cover of Shervin's … Continue reading Iranian Revolution Diary (part 1)
When you go abroad
Starting living on my own was a huge step. I didn’t just leave my parents’ house and move to another place, not another city, but another continent. I made a big step out of my comfort zone while I had never traveled alone or lived somewhere on my own. When I said goodbye to my … Continue reading When you go abroad
When it’s too hard to get out of your bed
I moved to Sweden to do an Erasmus exchange program for one semester in January 2022. I’m kind of sure that the 2019 version of me who was trying to apply for universities abroad never imagined that in less than two years, she had already studied in two different countries. Let alone one of which … Continue reading When it’s too hard to get out of your bed
Fear of leaving home
Two years ago, at this time, I was preparing myself to study abroad. I was going to have my IELTS exam on January 11th, 2020, while I was determined to learn art somewhere in Europe. 11 months later, after lots of ups and downs, I ended up beginning my master's in astrophysics and cosmology in … Continue reading Fear of leaving home
How does it feel like to leave home?
A year ago, I moved to Europe to study. In less than two months, I am going to Sweden for an Erasmus exchange mobility. This year two friends of mine from bachelor’s came here to study. One of them is a girl who has lived on her own for four years in Iran. She does … Continue reading How does it feel like to leave home?