Starting a new project should feel enjoyable, even exhilarating, but is often not. Not because the idea feels too ambitious or beyond our current abilities, ...| tala's blog
Summer 2025 was an intermission, a momentary lull to the ceaseless drive that defined me for years. I allowed myself to really slow down, though it proved as...| tala's blog
I always wonder if depression ever truly goes away. I don't mean learning how to "manage symptoms" (or whatever clinical phrasing psychiatrists use), but rea...| tala's blog
Perfectionism often wears the mask of , , It parades itself as virtue, a propriety. In reality, it is rarely about the pursuit of excellence but the terror ...| tala's blog
Welcome to my blog! I am a recent chemical engineering graduate and an all-round creative. I’ve been on Bear for a year, sharing personal essays, intr...| tala's blog
One of my favorite book excerpts of all time is from Lauren Oliver's Delirium: I would rather die my way than live yours. That single line stayed with me for years, ricocheting in moments I felt myself dissolving into the weight of other people's expectations.| tala's blog
I discovered my love for drawing in kindergarten — sketching with unsharpened HB’s, coloring with the classic Faber Castell pencils (the 36-set that came in a red box). Almost twenty years later, I am still certain my love for creating blossomed back then, at the tender age of six.| tala's blog
I am visiting my family, which, as usual, springs a maelstrom of indecipherable emotions. There's something about returning to your childhood home after a wh...| tala's blog
I spend an inordinate amount of time merely contemplating time. I don’t inhabit the present as fully as I want to. Too often, I’m only partially here, while ...| tala's blog
I am pondering a life-changing decision of leaving the city I spent the past six years in. It was my first time living abroad, away from a complicated home d...| tala's blog
I am job hunting for an entry-level position as a process engineer. During last year's internship, I built meaningful connections with important people withi...| tala's blog
In my recovery from depression, the most profound, painfully sobering epiphanies I had is that I am responsible for myself. Not the chirpy "I got this!" No, ...| tala's blog
I always think of the "Jack of all trades, master of none." Its earliest appearance in print dates from 1785. (Akin to popular adages, the phrase has been m...| tala's blog
I recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. It's been a month, but I am struggling with navigating my creative life post-graduatio...| tala's blog
(This post has been loitering in my drafts for the past week. I recurringly circled around it, reworking sentences until they lost meaning. I even considered...| tala's blog
I enjoy senselessly rambling about my creative pursuits - be it writing, sketching, or whatever ideas/books/songs currently piquing my interest. I find these...| tala's blog
I have a penchant for overthinking. And overplanning. My mind is always buzzing, humming, ruminating with grandiose ideas, ones that I believe will change th...| tala's blog
When I started blogging, writing was a struggle (though it was a pursuit I loved) - more specifically, finding to write about. I would ceaselessly scroll on...| tala's blog
I thought it was absurd, generic advice, when my psychiatrist urged me to leave the house. he would chide me. I wanted to oppose - I would nod politely ins...| tala's blog
When I am grappling with writer's block, I pursue the simplest of all ideas: miscellaneous thoughts, introspections, and snippets of my days. Somehow, these ...| tala's blog
Two years ago, I used to meet with a professional counsellor every week. I had pushed myself into the classic academic overachiever burnout, from years of re...| tala's blog