I remember sitting in my introductory course to social science and being asked to raise my hand if I was a feminist? I honestly had no idea what the term really meant in great detail. I knew it referred to women rights. In my head I knew my answer was yes, but I saw as all my classmates kept their hands down.

There are many stories of young Somali girls being taken from their home at such a young age to get married. These horrific stories all share a common problem in Somalia: lack of women rights. Young girls are often forced or coerced to marry at very young ages, some as young as 9 years old.

Writing can be a challenge for some people especially writing a dissertation; while writing can come naturally for many people it takes much effort and time to perfect. Writing did not come naturally for me but I always had ideas and opinions, putting these ideas into sentences was the challenging part.

This poem is one of my favourite poems by Maya Angelou, an amazing poet and civil rights activists. It is one of Maya’s most popular poems along with “Still I Rise” another personal favourite of mine. I came across this poem for the first time in Middle School and I was taken back by the words.

In the winter of 2015 I took a graduate course in Black Feminism at my graduate department and it was one of the highlights of my educational experience. In this course I was introduced to many different Black feminist and the course really helped me understand my own life experiences.

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?

“No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.” Barbara de Angelis

“You can’t make up for lost time. You can only do better in the future” -Ashley Ormon

The brutal murder of George Floyd represents the true ugliness of the lived experiences of Black men; the mass criminalization, over-policing and violence Black men endure every day has now once again become a focal point in the media.

It has been three months of quarantine and most of us are already feeling cabin fever. It is nice to go for walks outside and enjoy the weather but if you are like me then you are probably taking advantage of this time to catch up on some reading.

The PhD application process can be very stressful and confusing for most applicants; it can be very daunting to figure out which program to apply for and what to write for your application. I put together some very important tips on putting together an excellent application that will help you gain access to your dream program.

Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
Become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely

Social distancing during this pandemic has been very difficult to adjust to; many of the things we took for granted are now out of our hands. While it can be hard to stay home, it is important for us to listen to our leaders and stay home, as it can very well can save lives.

If you have no dreams, then what do you really have? Never let others diminish your dreams and aspirations and hold on to them closely.

There is this common wide held belief that if you pursue a PhD you must go to a coveted career in Academia. This common idea is something many grad students especially in humanities and social sciences believe. If you fail in gaining a meaningful career in Academia through a tenured professor position, many people feel as though their degree was a waste of time.

This is my first blog post and I thought I should share why I decided to start blogging. I have always had a passion for writing. I grew up writing short fictional stories and poetry. As I got older I gravitated more to scholarly work. Right now is the best time to start blogging as I am in the process of writing a book that I will share more about, so stay tuned!

As I move closer to the last few months of my PhD journey, I can’t help but reflect on my overall experience as a graduate student. My journey has been filled with triumphs and of course some challenges; while this experience has been very rewarding, there are some minor things that I would have changed.