everything will be okay

THINGS ARE HARD BUT I HAVE FAITH THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY

a mini zine about taking care of urself

desi girl mag is a space dedicated to all our desis out there. we a8empt to create a space for desis to discuss themselves, their experiences, their struggles, and their successes. we are dedicated to pu<ng desi voices out there and taking up as much space as possible while educa=ng others and sharing our stories. we would like to dedicate this mini zine especially to the muslim community. we are so sorry for your loss. our thoughts and prayers are with you, especially those of you who knew the vic:ms personally. may the vic:ms rest in peace and power. #Jus:ceForMuslims

edited and curated by Radhika G. cover photo does not belong to me. all content belongs to its righAul owners.

R E M I N D E R S SURROUND URSELF WITH GOOD PEOPLE LEARN HOW TO LET GO YOUR WELL BEING IS IMPORTANT -­‐ TAKE CARE OF URSELF POWER POSING IS ACTUALLY REALLY COOL JAM OUT 2 UR FAVE SONGS SMILE

I EXIST FOR MYSELF AND MYSELF ONLY.

power posing ‘fake it =ll ya make it’ isn’t actually a bad mo8o. i think it works for lots of situa=ons. heartbreak (fake being over them =ll u actually are), confidence (if u keep ac=ng confident u might wake up one day and realize its not actually an act), and probably just life in general. like just fake things and who knows? maybe one day itll be realis=c!! anyways, lets talk about power posing. you’ve probably seen power posing before -­‐ its like wonder woman’s iconic pose. its a great way to stand! it encourages ur cor=sol levels to drop and ur testosterone levels to rise (cor=sol is the hormone that induces stress, while testosterone keeps u calmer) which is good! so instead of slouching in that chair of urs, excuse urself and go somewhere a li8le private and just power pose for a couple minutes. i promise, it’ll make u feel be8er and more confident. u can do this in stressful situa=ons -­‐ maybe u have a speech to deliver, maybe a job interview, anything really. if ur interested in the science behind it, Amy Cuddy did a TED talk on it a while back.

dye ur hair!! or cut some off! or cut all of it off!! or get extensions!! just change it up a li8le -­‐ have some fun! even if its something as simple as changing ur shampoo! u’ll smell so nice and feel so fresh and new!

get a piercing or a ta8oo (if u feel like it). it doesn’t even have to be spontaneous, its fine if u’ve wanted it for months -­‐ maybe today will be the day u finally get it! (its also fine if u go and end up not wan=ng it anymore or if u get a lil shaky. maybe another day -­‐ or not. its up to u)

draw a mini ta8oo with eyeliner. u can spray it with hairspray to make it stay longer

CHANGE IS HEALTHY SOMETIMES. DO SMTH NEW AND ADVENTUROUS -­‐ IT COULD BE FUN paint ur nails a different color. even if its just ur lil pinky toe -­‐ no one has to see it but u’ll know its there. anyways -­‐ they have these really cool nail polishes. like i know this is old but that one that looks like cracks is s=ll so cool. and they have these metallic ones where u can put li8le pa8erns and stuff into ur nails. how cool is that?? and okay so they have all these nice colors too like all these blues and corals and reds and stuff. and honestly all the colors look so good with our beau=ful skin. whether its light or beau=ful and dark

take a bath or shower. its refreshing and some=mes feeling a li8le cleaner can calm u down or just be refreshing.

do ur eyeliner differently today or even just put some on if u dont normally. try out different lip colors -­‐ just have fun w it!! see how u look with different colors and styles

i was talking to my cousin the other day and just laughing at how stupid my taste in guys has been so far. and she was laughing too but then she asked me how many men we needed to be with before we realized we were smarter than all of them and ive just been thinking about that lately. so anyways -­‐ find good friendships. this is just my opinion but female friendships are truly a gi] and if u surround yourself with suppor=ve female friends i think u’ll feel a li8le be8er. i love u a lot and i wish u happiness. so much happiness.

this picture makes me so happy, just look how young they are and how happy they look

IMMIGRANT GIRL GANG ziddi dil -­‐ mary kom / patakha guddi -­‐ highway / mardaani anthem -­‐ mardaani / o womaniya -­‐ gangs of wasseypur / jugni -­‐ queen / brown rang -­‐ honey singh / hum to aise hain -­‐ lagaa chunari mein daag / hum toh bhai jaise hain -­‐ veer zaara / bad girls -­‐ m.i.a. / grown woman -­‐ beyonce / gulaabi -­‐ gulaab gang / monster (nickis verse) / sheila ki jawaani -­‐ tees maar khan / bandeya ho -­‐ khuda ke liye / by the way -­‐ aisha / mundian toh bach ke -­‐ panjabi mc / boom skit -­‐ m.i.a. / desi girl -­‐ dostana

orange slices & vanilla just combine them in some water. i typically use 1 orange, sliced and 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla extract or scraped vanilla bean for every 2 liters of water. u can def modify it tho!!

peach slices & cayenne pepper try fresh summer peaches with a dash of cayenne pepper -­‐ it’s supposed to help curb appe=te & promote calorie burn

lemon and cucumber is also a rlly fun combo. same with strawberry & basil and raspberry & mint! u can also try making ice cubes using fruit instead of water, its a fun & easy way to add flavor!

WATER IS SO GOOD FOR YOU SO HERE ARE FUN WAYS TO DRINK IT

for abt 1 liter of water use half a cucumber and one stalk of lemongrass. its super refreshing and fun! another good one is 1/2 pint of blackberries, 1 knob of ginger, & a small lemon!!

try mint leaves, blueberries (frozen or not), sliced lemons, and sliced peach or nectarine. u can vary the quan==es depending on the amt of water ur using.

some other popular combos are all citrus (lemon, orange, lime, whatever u want!!), raspberry lime, watermelon rosemary, blackberry sage, and pineapple mint

*some are personal favorites and others were taken/modified from various internet sources.

another good way to flavor water is w natural fruit & herb honey syrups!! some really good ideas/recipes can be found @

looking for more ideas??

www.theyummylife.com/ fruit_herb_honey_syrups

www.fullbellysisters.blogspot.com/ 2011/07/homemade-­‐flavored-­‐ waters-­‐chug-­‐lug.html

have a blast w those!!!

u can probably find more recipes -­‐ just google flavored water or smth like that!!

tea is also super good for u!!! heres a website w a nice breakdown for u h8p:// www.octaviatea.com/ pages/Tea-­‐Guide-­‐Page-­‐ Twelve.html

they have a really nice breakdown of different ideas and the benefits of each individual ingredient!

but anyways, stay healthy & stay hydrated please!!! its so good for u and u should want only the best for urself

personal thoughts and reminders i have actually been kind of sad lately. it feels like im just floa=ng through my life with no real sense of direc=on; im just dri]ing from place to place but it almost feels like i have nowhere to go. i wish i knew what was going on so i could at least try to fix it but i’ve been pre8y stumped. i have a couple theories tho. i think my biggest problem is that i dont relate to anyone here. i feel like no one really understands or even wants to understand me. and thats just a really shi8y feeling to have and it kinda makes me want to stop pu<ng so much effort into caring about the people around me. do u know how horrible that feels? it definitely doesnt feel great. and anyways, i feel like since no one’s going to make an effort, why set myself up for disappointment? i dont mean i just dont put in any effort with them at all bc obviously thats illogical. its just that now i censor myself in different ways for different people. im a different version of myself in almost every aspect of my life and its so exhaus=ng because none of these various versions of me are myself. the scary part is i feel like im just losing who i am already. im never really properly being myself and im just scared im going to fade away. thats so scary -­‐ to think you could disappear forever (in a sense) just because u didnt have the right people in ur life. anyways -­‐ this is supposed to be some kind of lesson or some upli]ing thing so i’ll try. my general advice would be to choose your friends wisely and drop them if you’re not ge<ng what you need out of the friendship. you dont have to hate them forever but if u aren’t being supported or understood -­‐ if u just feel brushed aside or as if these people don’t really care about u, ur thoughts, ur dreams, ur

issues, ur wellbeing, ur happiness, all of that -­‐ u have to cut them out. its not as horrible as it sounds and it should feel good being free of them. so i guess thats one step towards being happy..cu<ng bad people out of ur life. im also a fan of taking up hobbies or just learning something new whether its the guitar, or a language. maybe u’ll read a new book by a non-­‐white author. in all honesty, reading books by poc is just such a different and wonderful experience. it kinda helps u realize that ur not alone, these struggles aren’t only happening to u. maybe u dont have the greatest support system in ur every day life but u can rest assured that someone out there gets it. in fact -­‐ not just someone, several people. and hey, maybe u’ll meet them sooner than u think. this is a bit ramble-­‐y but u all deserve happiness and i guess i just want u to know that if it feels hard now, ur not alone. u are supported and loved. submi@ed by anamika (17 from california).

they say that the two las=ng bequests parents can give their children are roots & wings, but my roots haven’t grown, but my wings haven’t grown. i have been moved too many =mes for my roots to have grown, for them to sink into soil, to find a home. my wings have been clipped to o]en, they haven’t grown well, they haven’t found a des=na=on. all i want is to find a home i don’t know what it is too stay in one place i don’t know what it is to fly i want stay, run, stay, fly i don’t know what i want these roots don’t sink. these wings don’t fly. the soil is too hard. my roots are too young to pierce them. the wind is too strong. my wings are too weak to fly against it or with it. there is a hurricane coming. i can’t stay. i can’t fly away. i can’t stay young. i can’t grow up ( i dont want to) what can i do? these roots need a home. these wings need a future. “where can i find it” by Namitha P (lilwitch on tumblr)

YOUR DARKNESS IS MORE STUNNING THAN ANY STARLIGHT

some=mes i look at my brown skin, my dark lips and see a layer of dirt, a mask of dust, i feel so very unclean. some=mes i gaze at the sky and wish for hair like the sun, eyes blue as the distant galaxies, hoping that light will pour from the heavens envelope my body and make me anew. but try as i might, this darkness clings to my limbs so i learn to love it. you see, my hair is black, but so is the night sky and the stars that adorn it are but decora=on for such glorious infinity. no, i do not see the brown of my skin above me but i see it below in the trees, in the earth, in all this wondrous whirling life. perhaps i do not gli8er, or glow but i am achingly alive— i am so radiant and bright. sister, why do you weep when you cannot find yourself amongst the stars? you are more than they ever could be. that light you long for is already woven tenderly in your skin— these stars you seek have crumbled and from the dust of their fiery death such dazzling colors were created such beau=ful beings were born. stars have died and conspired to make you greater than them. do not let their sacrifice be in vain. do not let your beauty be overshadowed by the pain.

-­‐Amrita Chakraborty (ravenreyse on tumblr)

everything will be okay.