In mere seconds, it’s all gone; the golden locks fall to the floor. Timidly, I gaze at the bald girl in the mirror, surrounded by thick chunks of my former hair. Scattered on the ground is an accumulation of dead cells, symbolic of a social structure that has long confined me. What I had once regarded as one of the greatest dimensions of my gender identity, my most prominent feminine trait, was no more than a slice through a...

Winter is coming, it drapes itself akin to a pall over Norway. Leaves descend over dead and decayed matter. Flocks of birds migrate south, squirrels bury hazelnuts in our garden, and the entire neighborhood installs snow tires. Fall signifies a preparation for the looming coldness that our elders have warned us of, the winter darkness we spare our candles for. Similar to how the common knowledge of winter is paramount to the functioning of my country, the knowledge covered in...

“Why is it like this here?” It begins with curiosity, by asking questions. In 2005, my family moved to Angola, a country trembling after a civil war where economic growth was scarce outside spheres of power. Similar patterns of disparities were evident in Dubai, where we relocated in 2007. Observing these economies lubricated by oil, yet in stark contrast to my Norwegian welfare state, sparked endless “whys” in me. Why are there regional gaps in power and technology? Why does history follow...