Aurelia Magazine

identity

identity

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Writers, Emerge

How I learned to let my authentic self come out of the shadows and live in the light

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Returning to my motherland after half a decade taught me a lot about what it means to belong

“I think we all had to pretend to know a lot les

“I think we all had to pretend to know a lot less about each other than we did.”

Caroline Banerjee writes about mapping out her life so far in coffee shops — break ups, new beginnings, working with friends, spending time with family, forming bonds with baristas and writing alone.

“Even though my mental map of the city has become rather extensive since then… I still look back at the café as the beginning, it’s glowing centre.”

This piece is published as part of Writers, Emerge!, supported by @ilikenetworking. Edited by @ameliaroseellis.

Online now 🪑

“Thats the thing about finding your community — it makes you brave.”

Keemia Azvine writes about growing up with her best friend both in years and within themselves, navigating mainly white spaces and their respective cultures. In the end, they’d gained strength, solidarity and confidence simply by having each other.

Farsi and Bengali are inherently linked, dating back to the thirteenth century. “Maybe we understood each other before we had even met.”

This piece is published as part of Writers, Emerge!, supported by @ilikenetworking. Edited and selected by our fantastic @shahedezaydi.

Online now ✨

We partnered with @ilikenetworking to present WRIT

We partnered with @ilikenetworking to present WRITERS, EMERGE! — an initiative that asked writers trying to get their foot in the door to respond to the theme of growth.

The three pieces were selected by Aurelia's editors out of an incredible 135 pitches, all of which were considered, thoughtful and genuinely interesting.

The chosen pieces will be published throughout this week. The strength of submissions proves that writers don't need to have been published widely - or at all - to be talented writers.

All submitters had been previously published 0-5 times in their lives, whether online or in print. We hope this will encourage editors going forward to take a chance on 'newer' voices!

After much deliberation, Aurelia are delighted to announce that Maira Raina, Caroline Banerjee and Keemia Azvine were selected.

You can expect essays that cover identity, love, community and much more on www.aureliamagazine.com this week.

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