8 Comments
Jun 27, 2023·edited Jun 27, 2023Liked by Haaniyah Angus

It's kind of normal to feel this way. Many of us go through quarter-life-crises.

I guess a good way of moving past it is talking to and following older people, at least you will get over this idea of needing to be successful at 25. Who is successful at 25? No one, really.

In the same note, I think it's impossible to be a has-been at 24. That's just the beginning of a career.

And sorry to read about your illness and being dismissed by it. I also have pretty awful cramps and have never been diagnosed. It's been almost 20 years of telling doctors I'm in pain with not much avail. I think I have endometriosis, but who knows. There's no cure anyway.

Finally, I would say that blocks have a lot to do with wanting to be perfect. Try doing things that will not be published or that you feel like you can exercise your creativity without having a perfect product in the end to show to someone. Maybe drawing, knitting, colouring, whatever.

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so beautiful and heartbreaking. you’re an absolutely amazing writer and the way this essay articulated your experience so succinctly in emotion is admirable!! thank you for writing this <3

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Jun 27, 2023Liked by Haaniyah Angus

This is a beautiful piece and I felt every word. I'm currently going through the same thing, I've been in my writer’s block since late 2020 and I often tell myself that I should just give up and that writing is just another failed childhood hobby. Although it sucks it's nice to know I'm not alone.

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this paints such a familiar picture of anguish. i hope u find time for peace and rest soon <3

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loved this piece! i recently turned 20 and it's like my body decided i had been having it too easy after having pretty mild cycles since i was 12. i'm posted up in bed now for three days during the month trying to keep down some crackers to pop an advil. it's weird when your body suddenly feels very foreign to you, like you don't know what it's going to do next. rooting for you!

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Beautiful words as always Haaniyah! I’ve been struggling with writer’s block lately too, especially with my novel but also with my own freelancing. I think about quitting every day because I feel incredibly guilty that I am lucky enough to have all this time to work on my writing, both creative and freelancing, yet I sit and do nothing (aka worry and doom scroll). It’s nice to know that someone else out there is going through a similar thing but I wish you the breakthrough you deserve 💜 lately I’ve tried writing as if no one will see it and it’s been helping!

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Brilliant brilliant writing! It's my first time reading your work Haaniyah and it's uncannily relatable and unbelievably good.

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extremely familiar to the feelings i had at 24/25 and continue to have as i turn 30... grateful for the fact you've kept pushing 🙏🏾

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