I Stopped Trying to Look “Normal” At some point, I realised that looking okay and actually being okay are two very different things. For years, I thought success meant hiding the messy parts. If I could attend class, go for events, smile in photos, post on social media, carry responsibilities, reply people, show up at temple, contribute to projects, and still look “fine”, then maybe that meant I was fine. But life was not always clean and aesthetic. Some seasons were confusing. Some were...

When’s the last time things were “normal”? Honestly, if you ask me? I can’t remember the last time I had a normal day. Maybe it was 17th March 2020, a day before MCO. Maybe it was 24th November 2021, a day before the iatrogenic medications. Maybe it was the first day without medications, on 11th January 2026. Maybe there wasn’t a specific day, and life slowly changed and evolved. And I can’t help but wonder if it’s because I think a lot of people assume a stable personality is one that...

For most of my life, I was told that I was born in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.That is what appears on my Malaysian birth certificate, and that is the version of events that has followed me in official records. Over time, however, parts of that story stopped making sense. There were inconsistencies in early medical records, gaps in what I had been told, and details that did not align with what would typically be expected for someone born and processed locally from day one. Later on, personal...