Odds Over Evens

Guest Writer: Shahi Ahmad
Editor: Abdallah Sobhi

Why can’t it be written in the list of our greatest achievements how we got over moving from our old school, how we didn’t cry when we had our first injection, how we acted fine when our best friends moved out of town without saying goodbye, how we’ve stopped grieving over loved ones who’ve gone into a long, long sleep. How we’ve seen our soulmates turn into strangers and didn’t fall apart. How we’ve been rejected from our dream jobs and shifted career so fast so we don’t have time for self-flagellation. How we’ve been both a mother and a father to our younger siblings while our parents were away. How we’ve been an unconditional river of love and support while we were in need of both ourselves .

Maybe we only count achievements as the times we’ve beaten the world; we don’t count the times we’ve beaten our own mind-sets, the times we’ve been brave through it all, the times we’ve gotten over simple yet challenging  barriers our minds put between us and our happiness. Maybe we’ve learnt how to count even-numbered achievements only, while we should’ve counted the unique odds all the way from the start.