to muse is to love

by kailani

There is no right way for me to describe my favorite pastime, except to muse. To contemplate, deliberate –for me, it is to be in love with my thoughts, with the present, and the potential for what could be. To analyze my role in this dynamic, cataclysmic world, and seek out the things that turn each battle into a ballad.

It's only fitting that 'muse' serves a double-meaning, it's too perfect of a word, a person. A particularly creative, god-like being that provides inspiration to laypeople. Muses, musings – they are unparalleled, and undeniably the best things in existence.

The lovely individuals captured in these photos are just a handful of the muses I've encountered as of late. Musing in the mundane, they find solace in the dissonant parts of their identities, and they bring an air of depth to living that I'm honored to immortalize.

Thank you all for this amazing experience <3

maisha kalam

For most of my life, it was hard to reconcile my Bangladeshi heritage with my American experiences.

I would speak Bangla at home and English outside of it, fearful of wrong pronunciations. I hated my ethnic name and the constant embarrassment that came with hearing it mispronounced. I didn't want to make mistakes while speaking, and thought the safestwaytodothatwouldbetojustnottalk atall.

I found solace in reading and writing. It was an outlet for my overflowing emotions. Stories were an important part of my culture growing up. Hearing my mom talk about her large family or my dad talk about the war, I felt my roots pull at me. The abundance of novels in America gave me access to new stories that signaled a shared humanity despite aboundingdifferences.

My parents didn’t have the opportunity to receiveaformaleducation,andtheyverywell did not have the privilege to read for pleasure. When I look at an overflowing bookshelf and words on a page, I am reminded of them. I am reminded of the roots that ground me and the stories that have shapedme.