I’m 30. By now, I thought I’d have a stable career. A supportive partner. A peaceful home.

But life had other plans.

Every time I thought I was getting somewhere, something knocked me back. Burnout. Betrayal. Heartbreak. Setbacks. I’ve started over more times than I can count.

And honestly? It’s exhausting.

There are moments I stop dreaming because I fear disappointment. I explore new things, but I don’t expect much. I just want to stand on my own feet and not depend on anyone. Quietly. Respectfully.

If that’s where you are , I see you.

It might feel like you’re behind, but you’re not. You’ve been gathering strength, wisdom, and resilience.

Starting over isn’t weakness. It’s proof you haven’t given up.

And someday, you’ll look back and realize: you weren’t failing — you were becoming.

#Life Transitions, #Resilience,# Starting Over,# Self-Worth,# Personal Growth

Been through a reset lately? Leave a comment or share how you're picking up the pieces.

🖋About me : Just someone trying to build a softer, stronger life after everything fell apart. Writing through the pain, healing in public so others feel less alone.

When You’re Forced to Start Over Again (and Again) was originally published in Readfy on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

For a long time now, I have been struggling with questions that won’t leave me alone. Today, I woke up with a heavy heart, like the questions grew overnight and sat on my chest, daring me to breathe.
It’s like a mountain of books stacked on top of each other without any glue. Pull one out from the middle and the rest come tumbling down like Humpty Dumpty. That’s my head, fragile towers of thoughts collapsing whenever I touch the wrong one.
What’s the point of anything?
Spirituality, religion, education, love, hope. Why do we cling to them if everything ends in death anyway?
It almost feels like our intelligence is our undoing. Maybe if we were less aware, less desperate to find meaning in everything, we’d suffer less. But we want meaning so badly that we start creating it, even when we don’t fully believe it. Religion, purpose, ambition, they sometimes feel like stories we tell ourselves to keep the silence away.
And oh, the silence. The silence of the universe is the loudest part of it all. No answers, no instructions. Just echoes of my own voice bouncing back at me, asking the same questions over and over.
People say we should leave our mark behind, leave footprints, be remembered but even those who are remembered are remembered by the living, until the living also die. Then what? The cycle swallows even memory whole.
I sit here, torn between wanting to believe there’s a point and seeing nothing but endless repetition. We live, we strive, we hurt, we love, and then we vanish. And the universe carries on, indifferent.
I don’t have any answers, only questions.

Only Questions was originally published in Readfy on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Last month, I had a light-hearted conversation with a male friend which quickly took an interesting turn.

In the middle of our banter, he threw a playful question at me:

Don’t your gender prefer dark-skinned men over lighter ones?

I laughed and responded,

Times have changed. Now, we also look out for men with good character who genuinely fear God. We do not necessarily place preference on skin color.

My response seemed to surprise him. With a curious look, he said,

That’s what men look for in women, not the other way round.

That response stayed with me.

It became obvious to me what the elephant in the room truly is.

I questioned,

Why then should good character be seen as a gendered quality? Why do we applaud them in women but see them as optional or even unnecessary for men?

The truth is this good character is not gendered. Responsibility, kindness, humility, respect, and integrity should not be male or female traits. They should be human traits.

It’s time we stop measuring women by standards we don’t hold men accountable to.

Because at the end of the day, a healthy society needs men who embody good character just as much as it needs women who do.

Men should have good character too. was originally published in Readfy on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I am a part of the 92% of black women who voted for Kamala

Black women. We are the gentle warriors of the Democratic Party. So they say. We vote because we weren’t allowed to until the 1960s. We fought for women’s suffrage when no one fought for ours. Do we feel an obligation to protest to protect our democracy on June 14?

“We are sick and tired of being sick and tired.”- Frannie Lou Hamer

She said it then, and it’s still relevant on YouTube now.

As Black Women:

• We are tired of being dumped on for being less intelligent, although we are the most educated people in the world.
• We are tired of carrying the burdens of others while everything is burning around us.
• We are tired of our own men not thinking about how strong we are when we get the credit for holding up the Democratic Party.
• We are tired of taking the blame when the Democratic Party falters.
• We are tired of being looked at as “welfare queens” when the biggest welfare queen in the world is the richest, Elon Musk.

Yes, we are tired.

• We are tired of being the objects of exploitation throughout history and are still being exploited for our hard work, minds, and intellect.
• And we are tired of being thought of as lacking business sense when we are the largest group of entrepreneurs in the world.

Yes, we are sick and tired.

Of holding our own.

Of holding the peace.

Of holding up the law.

Of holding other’s hands.

If some of us chose to protest, is it okay?

But if some of us choose not to protest, it’s because we are sick and tired of being sick and tired of the way people think of us.

I won’t protest.

I won’t protest because I saw this coming. Trump’s first term was a colossal failure in my eyes. Some of us never saw his worth as president.

I saw black COVID.

I felt the genocide of black men in our communities who died of COVID in such alarming rates.

I saw the hurt in the eyes of our children as COVID hit our communities harder than it ever should have.

We suffered, but we didn’t chose this.

Some other communities did choose to destroy themselves by not believing in the science, shunning the shots and masks, and by not taking precautions against the disease. Many in MAGA America did just that.

But we didn’t.

In the end, it was they who ended up with the highest death rate from Covid.

Yes, we are sick and tied.

Many of us will sit this one out.

It’s a white fight now. So, blacks, step back.

At least, that’s how I feel about it.

DEI is a lie.

The way we fare. Trump just doesn’t care.

Reverse discrimination is now the order of this nation.

Yes, Black Women’s lives do matter.

I chose to protest in silence.

I chose to walk in my heart.

I’ve always walked these mean streets.

I know where my strength lies.

Inside me.

Literally and metaphorically.

“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”-Fannie Lou Hamer

Thank you for reading.

Why I Won’t Protest on June 14th 2025 was originally published in Readfy on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I’ve always loved collecting little memories from my travels — ticket stubs, maps, and especially travel postcards. There’s something timeless and charming about them, especially when they capture a place perfectly.

A few weeks ago, I decided to refresh my travel postcard collection. I wanted something more than just generic souvenirs — I wanted personalized travel postcards that felt like my own. That’s when I discovered TriplyCards.com.

As always, let me share my slogan before starting the story 😐:

Welcome to Imad’s world! where tea, fun and reading!

Step 1: Browsing Stunning Designs

TriplyCards offers a beautiful range of travel postcard designs, from vintage travel postcards to modern, artsy layouts. I could easily create travel postcards that fit my style, whether I was reminiscing about Tokyo or dreaming of Tuscany.

Step 2: Personalizing with My Photos

The best part? I uploaded my own photos to make custom travel postcards. I added city names, quick notes, and even picked themes. Whether I wanted unique travel postcards of Paris in autumn or a sunny Greek island, I could design them in minutes.

Step 3: Download and Print at Home

Instead of waiting for delivery, I chose the digital travel postcards option. I simply downloaded my designs and printed them using my home printer. The results were stunning — professional-looking and perfect for scrapbooking or sending.

Step 4: Sending and Sharing

You can even send travel postcards online or print multiple copies to mail out. I shared mine with friends and added a few to my wall. If you’re looking for travel postcard ideas, this is the easiest, most affordable way to go.

Buying printable travel postcards has completely changed how I collect travel memories. Whether you want to buy travel postcards, design them yourself, or explore travel postcards from around the world, TriplyCards is a hidden gem.

Try it for yourself — create travel postcards that tell your story.

If you found this helpful, clap, highlight, follow, and share your thoughts in the comments!

Learn More :

What I Wish I Knew Before Starting My First Job

Your support means the world to me! If you’d like to encourage my work, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/imadelj. Thank you so much! ☕✨

How I Got the Most Beautiful Travel Postcards Easily was originally published in Readfy on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.