Category: Prose
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journalling in summer 2025; or, an assignment for a literature course
It’s the last day of the semester, and I’m staring down a black cat’s glare, the fur slick with rain. After a few more minutes of listening to the same song on repeat, I get up and pounce around the writhing worms that can’t seem to find their way on…
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Albatrosses and Crosses: Religious Guilt in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of Romantic and Victorian poetry. I mean, it is lovely and all, but I wouldn’t rank it in my top favourites. HOWEVER, there are some poems that made me think twice about that. And yes, the themes are dark—surprise. That includes “My Last…
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A Year of Exploration: Unpacking Gap Years for College Graduates
College is known to be a very difficult time for students to navigate through life as they approach their young adulthood while studying for their higher secondary education. This can have a lot of mental and financial strains on the students for which a new phenomenon called a ‘gap year’…
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The 2023 Year of Youth: Leading the Charge for Global Change
The 2023 Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition For Young WritersPakistanJune 25, 2023 Introduction Youth is an integral force of constant change in society. In recent years, the younger generation has brought great reforms, putting stepping stones for a more sustainable and inclusive future. Hence, 2023 marked a transformative period that reshaped…
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Red Swan
The sun was nearly gone now, but Helai had still not found the lamb yet. Darkness slithered in like snakes through every pebble and blade of grass that she stepped on. The last of the fading light outlined the mountain slopes bordering Afghanistan in a crimson streak that reminded her…
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All for Granted; or, A Twist on Silverstein’s The Giving Tree
A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He climbed to the tree-top, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time…
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A Conversation on Life; or, Reassuring a Close Friend
anna, i need to remind you that your life is not something to wait for. to wait for numbers. to wait for your dream to become true or not. to wait for luck to have its way. to wait for other people to accept you as you are. it is…
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A Conversation on Death; Or, Reassuring a Discord Friend
hi gamergirl. sorry i missed your message earlier. the fear of death can be very daunting, especially when you are at a young age and want to live, like me. it doesn’t matter what religion or belief you hold. you can be an atheist and you could have great optimism…
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The Languages Inspiring Barad-dur and Mordor
So, I have been researching on the names and etymology used in Middle Earth and I made two great discoveries: In Urdu, Barad-dur (The Dark Tower of Sauron) means ‘Bara’ as big or huge and ‘dur’ as faraway or distant. In Pashto, Mordor means to decay or die or waste…
malalai khan 