In this edition of Dear Diary, Sofia A writes about surviving war, losing love, losing work, and the strange guilt of wanting to be happy while the world keeps falling apart.

After years of postponing her life for a “better time,” it took a hairdryer, a trip to Kite Beach, and a box of forgotten oil pastels to make her realize: maybe there will never be a right time.

And maybe that’s exactly why we should stop waiting.

In this Dear Diary entry, our narrator wakes up at 4:30 in the morning and decides to see the world at dawn, without her phone, without a plan, and perhaps without realizing that she is really trying to escape her own thoughts.

In this Dear Diary entry, Aisha Esmaeilzadeh reflects on an ordinary evening by the water in the UAE, and why it became a memory she would eventually understand the importance of.

No celebration. No milestone. Nothing worth remembering, or so it seemed.

But years later, she finds herself thinking about the fading sunlight, the skyline in the distance, the silence between people she loves, and all the ordinary moments we never realize we are going to miss.

Maybe the moments that matter most are the ones we almost forget to photograph.

Contributor Shania Cavalida takes us on a quiet walk through Al Jaddaf before sunrise. Through the unnoticed sounds of birds beneath the Garhoud Bridge, empty buses, creek waters, and the slow arrival of dawn, this story asks us: How is stillness found in a city that is constantly in a rush?