Blogs: by Tuba Khan

hi, wassup reader.
hope today is being kind to you, or at least giving you one small moment of peace a good sip of chai, a few minutes of silence, a song that hits exactly right.

october–november 2025

i wanted to write this because the last few weeks have been… unexpectedly rich. not dramatic, not life-changing, just filled with those subtle moments that make you pause and think, “okay, something is shifting in me.”

so here’s the story.

i was traveling alone for the first time in years. and honestly, airports always humble me. they remind me that adulthood is mostly pretending you know where you’re going while quietly hoping you don’t accidentally walk into a staff-only area. after doing this routine for so long, i stopped expecting anything new from it.

but life works strangely sometimes.

i didn’t web check in — of course — so when the airline staff said the flight was full, i braced myself for chaos. instead, they handed me a boarding pass and said, “you’ve been upgraded.”

a business class seat.
just like that.
no special reason. no explanation. just pure, random, quiet luck.

and the moment I stepped into that seat, something softened. the space, the calm, the tray of beautifully arranged food, the blanket that felt like it had been washed in kindness. and then the sunrise appeared outside the window — gentle, slow, golden — while my favourite movie played in front of me.

it felt like a moment i didn’t know i needed.
alhumdulillah for that tiny pocket of peace.

right in the middle of all this, during the past few weeks, i also found myself sketching a lot. nothing major — just little doodles here and there, lines on scrap pages, tiny shapes that made sense only to me. because honestly, therapy is expensive and sometimes putting pencil to paper is the closest thing to feeling grounded. it helps, even if the drawings look like confused emotions with limbs.

and maybe that’s connected to turning 21 too.

everyone makes 21 sound like a grand doorway into adulthood, but stepping into it felt more like stepping into a room that’s still being furnished. i didn’t suddenly transform or gain clarity. i still feel like the kid version of me — curious, overwhelmed, soft just living inside a slightly older body.

i’m starting to realize that expecting less from the world and expecting more from myself might be the balance i need. not in a harsh way, but in a patient, steady, “let’s grow slowly” kind of way. maybe being 21 isn’t about having everything figured out. maybe it’s about understanding yourself enough to know what you want to work on.

somewhere in between all of this, i started reading Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson. i’m 50 pages in slowly, because my days have been packed but the book has the exact kind of energy i love. twisty, dark, a little chaotic, perfect for late evenings when the world finally quiets down.

october and november have felt strangely meaningful.
a mix of unexpected kindness, tiny wins, adult-ish responsibilities, soft realizations, and these little creative moments where I can feel myself growing even if no one else can see it yet.

twenty-one is weird.
it’s messy.
it’s hopeful.
it’s uncomfortable in the right ways.
and every now and then, the universe throws you a business class seat to remind you that you’re allowed to feel lucky too lol

if you read till the very end, may you receive the kind of quiet luck that finds you exactly when you need it 🙂

also i just realized i started blogging on this page when i was 16. and now i’m 21 already. honestly, man, i don’t even know where all the time went. it’s wild how fast it passes, and how much of life can change in just a few years. feels like yesterday i was figuring out how to even start writing, and here i am, still writing, still reflecting, still growing.

thanks for reading,
written by Tuba ✨ 😉