Do we need another blog for mental health?

Salam Alaykum to my brothers and sisters,

This is my first post for a blog, so I am asking for everyone’s patience as I learn to be more of an expert on writing blogs. And so, today’s blog will be mainly an introduction to why I am starting this blog and what I hope to do with it.  

I have been thinking of a project like this for some time, and it was just a matter of time to decide on the platform and setup of the blog. I decided to use a blog format over social media as there are so many social media options, and by using a blog format, I would have more freedom for future posts. And hopefully, over time, the platform will transform into a place where we can interact as a community.   

Anyhow, here is a little introduction to myself…

 My name is Zainab Sari, and I am 29 years old and still figuring out life. And I will always be on the path of figuring out life. As you know, the familiar adage of the journey is more meaningful than the end goal. And you know, the older I grow, the more I realize we are always figuring it out. As humans, we are given the gift of free will and a world that is constantly changing, which, in the end, the advice and tools we use today may not work tomorrow.   However, I think assembling a set of tools will be helpful to lean on when there is so much uncertainty.  My experience during junior high and high school was more focused on theoretical knowledge and less on practical knowledge needed when we reach adulthood. Going into my undergraduate years was a struggle as I didn’t know how to organize my time or balance my life between school and my personal life.  Only when I reached medical school, I realized that it is no longer feasible to work based on looming deadlines and not take time to enjoy the free time, even if it is little time.  Seeing the difference it makes when you balance personal life and work life, I wish there was more focus on that in junior high and high school.  And I know maybe during our school years, we may not take tips, but at least the knowledge will be in the back of our minds to fall back on it when we are ready to use the tips.  Hopefully, equipped with knowledge about how our brain works, psychology, emotion, and other lifestyle stuff, we learn to live with the chaos surrounding us.   

I named our blog Surmounting the Chaos 100: AJY edition because we must acknowledge that we live in an increasingly complicated world, but hopefully, over time, we learn not just to survive the chaos but to become our best selves. And when I say best selves, I don’t mean perfection because that is not a reasonable expectation. 

InshaAllah, I will post as regularly as possible in this post, and hopefully, we will make it a platform that we can interact with in the future so it is not in a one-way format.  

And I hope to share my thoughts with you in the coming weeks, my dear brothers and sisters.