Thoughts — self awareness

Over the years, I realised I have had a lot of talents.  I can roll my tongue, impersonate a pigeon (my head tut is phenomenal), fly a kite without any help, and most importantly, lie my way through a resume even when I am asleep. It’s a lot for one person. But faking a baritone is clearly not one of them. I realised my voice was softer (read: more girly, for the masses and the misinformed) at a very early age. Being all of eight, I wasn’t great at pretending to be someone else (at least back then), and booming...

Alia always considered herself to be a self-aware person. She prided herself on being able to introspect and recognise her thoughts, emotions and behaviour, and had a keen sense of her strengths and weaknesses. But lately, her self-awareness has gotten muddled with something more sinister. This made every mistake she made, every misstep she took, seem like a confirmation of her worst fears about herself. She would ruminate for hours, replaying conversations and interactions, searching for evidence to support her negative self-talk. Her once-confident exterior was eroding, and she found herself retreating from situations that used to excite her. Her...