Aly Gulamhusein

Tag: Daily Writing 2026

  • April 17, 2026: The Risk

    Prompt: Write about a risk that feels both exciting and uncomfortable.

    Adjusting to my new school has come with some challenges. Namely, I don’t know that I get along with, or like, many of my colleagues. There’s no animosity, but neither is there a connection. The year has been an exceptional one, in that we had a baby, I got wicked sick in the winter, and then I broke a bone in my wrist on my way to work on the Monday after March Break. Pair all of these things together, and the year has been busy.

    Recently, a Position of Responsibility role was posted so I applied for it. The title implies a grander status than the job warrants. I’m still waiting to hear back after the interview. Even my administrators were surprised to see my application come through. Them trying to understand why I applied for the position to satisfy their curiosity become part of the interview itself.

    Is it exciting? Not really. Am I made uncomfortable by it? Not as such. Still, it feels like a small risk in an environment I’m not entirely well seated in. Perhaps some good will come of it and I’ll learn little bit more about myself.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 16, 2026: Letting Go of Outcomes

    Prompt: Write a letter to the part of you that clings to outcomes.

    I often seek approval or reassurance before doing anything. ChatGPT only feeds this compulsion. I even asked it why I do.

    I have this vision of this blog being a place where I just dump my thoughts, work through them, and let them rest. This feels unrealistic because things are no longer allowed to just exist. People are no longer able to discover themselves outwardly because of the persistence of our digital lives. We retreat into ourselves in search of the person we want to show the world and then emerge. Hard launch.

    There’s an underlying fear of something unknown that I can’t shake. I don’t feel prepared enough to take on whatever might come my way.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 15, 2026: The Weight of Should

    Prompt: Write a letter to the part of you that carries the weight of “should.”

    I am having a very difficult time with slowing down and doing less. I’m being forced to slow down because of my broken wrist and am struggling to accept the reality of it. There are always things that I want to do but I’m not unable to do many of them, and I won’t be able to for a while.

    I should slow down. I should be doing less. I should turn my focus to “slow living,” if I can figure out what it means to me. I should get things done. I should figure out what I can do and focus on doing them. I should take advantage of this time.

    Much like my fall, this injury came abruptly and has been incredibly disruptive.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 13, 2026: Wanting Certainty

    Prompt: Write a letter to the part of you that wants guarantees.

    I don’t have time to write a letter to myself. Indeed, I probably shouldn’t be writing with the state my wrist is in. In any case, I would love to get more comfortable with the “unknown.” Rather, I just need to learn how to be patient. Life is notoriously good at upsetting an otherwise rooted guarantee.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 12, 2026: Returning Questions

    Prompt: What questions keep returning to you?

    How can I earn a living outside of teaching?

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 11, 2026: When It Worked Out

    Prompt: Describe a time when uncertainty led to something good.

    I’m hoping that the surgery required to fix my broken wrist is going to lead to something good. In a moment, everything in my life was quickly reprioritized. All of a sudden, what I’m capable of had a limit set on it. Looking forward, I have no idea what I’ll be able to do and to what extent.

    (more…)

  • April 9, 2026: Unmade Decisions

    Prompt: Write about a decision you haven’t made yet.

    I can’t decide if I should take a parental leave, and, if so, when.

    Find daily writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 8, 2026: Feeling Uncertain

    Prompt: What does not knowing feel like in your body?

    A couple of years ago, I started getting wicked tension headaches. They would lay me out for an entire Saturday. At first, I had no idea what they were, seeming to originate from nowhere. Over time, as they continued to occur, a pattern emerged: stress. The stress, however, came from a sense of uncertainty, of not knowing how to solve a problem. Without a solution, I feel helpless. The helplessness is unsettling. My body must be trying to hold it together.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 7, 2026: Resistance

    Prompt: Where are you resisting change, even gently?

    It’s in the letting go of things. I’m not a hoarder but I hold on to things longer than I need to. I see some sort of potential in bits and bobs, envisioning future projects that they’ll be good for but I’ll never get to. 

    (more…)

  • April 6, 2026: Small Progress

    Prompt: Write about something small that felt like progress.

    Most recently, I finally created a product listing on my Shopify store and Etsy for an eco-resin pen rest that I’ve been working on for a while now. That journey started at the end of last year and has been making slow progress since.

    The notion of “slow living” has been on my mind for quite a while but I’ve done little to enact it in my life. I don’t know what it means because I haven’t taken the time to create my own definition for it. AI would be a good tool to use to get started, but AI feels like a quick, thereby counterproductive, solution to the problem.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 5, 2026: Gentle Protection

    Prompt: What feels fragile but worth protecting right now?

    I’ve been very aware of my phone and social media usage lately. It’s too much.

    When I’m putting Emi to bed, while she’s sleeping in my arms, I’m scrolling through my TikTok feed. If I pick up my phone to check the weather, I’ll lose another ten minutes to Instagram. I check my email at least four hundred times a day but will go days before responding to any email.

    (more…)

  • April 4, 2026: Taking Form

    Prompt: Describe a version of yourself that is just starting to take form.

    Phew.

    Perhaps it isn’t so much about a version of myself that is starting to take form more than it is about me coalescing, finalizing, or securing the seemingly disparate parts of who I am. If anything, the “more complete” version of myself may be starting to take form.

    (more…)