Mind The Baat with Mishal Durae

Welcoming my roommate to the podcast, I was truly grateful to hear her story. We began by sharing how we met and became roommates, reflecting on the value of living with people from similar backgrounds—how we all in a way automatically understand each other as we make some of the best college memories that we will remember for many years to come.

Merriam opened up about her hardships and how she overcame them, highlighting the skill...

Welcoming 2025 in basically March... but HAPPY NEW YEAR anyway as I haven't recorded since last year and wanted to share how I celebrated in Pakistan and Malaysia. After a quick reflection on my trip, I share how much perspective it gave me as I came back to my college routine. The two main pressures I talked about in my last semester of college are post-college plan (JOB) and marriage which is a conversation my parents sprung...

"Do it sad, do it tired, do it unmotivated. Just do it!!" This has been my new motto because being a young adult has not been the easiest thing with so much of my life left to plan and figure out and it feels like it needs to be done now, specifically career plans post-grad and finding my husband. I wanted to label these feelings and talk about what I expect most 21 year old, about to graduate, college students must be feeling. I h...

I often describe eras of my life as the aura of an animal and recently I have been feeling like a sloth. That's a rough thing to accept when I felt like a piranha the majority of the year, especially interning in DC, fighting obstacles and seeking opportunities. I describe how I feel like my slump is most likely due to things coming easy this year, resulting in a lack of hard work and making the reward less rewarding and not even w...

Sit down with Ameer and I as we chat about his passion for music. It started with family dinners with his parents singing, to him performing at non-profits in Lahore, Pakistan, to serenading PSA (Pakistani Student Association) at the Mehndi Ki Raat event at UC Berkeley where he is now pursuing his career goals in public policy in the Haas School of Business. I respect him for putting himself in the spotlight and showcasing his tale...

I grew up very very independent & being surrounded by so many people this year who have been so loving and welcoming, I've been learning how to balance letting myself be dependent on others without relying on them too much. Also, while continuing to practice always being able to support myself when I need to. This comes out with simple things like grocery runs to having mental breakdown therapy sessions. I feel that many of...

While recording at the conspired haunted Denver airport, I wanted to share my experiences playing golf for the last 12 years. How my dad dragged me to the courses every weekend, playing for my high school team, tips on your swing, and most importantly, the many many life lessons learned from playing. I absolutely love the sport and am so happy to share this part of my life with you guys and I can't believe I haven't made an...

Back home the lack of routine, adjusting to a new space, amongst a thousand new responsibilities over the summer of spending time with family, friends, and preparing to move across the country had me in a spiral. Also while having new feelings that I was processing for the first time. All these changes are attributed to growth and young adulting, but they can be terrifying to embark on. I discuss what these feelings are like and th...

Jugad shares his story of dropping out of Harvard after one year as an international student from Norway. Sharing his journey of discovering that Harvard wasn't the right fit for him and the mental implications and mindset he developed to redefine his priorities, led him to play soccer for the NAIA at a private school in Orange County and continue pursuing his bachelor's in computer science. We talk about South Asian roots,...

I wanted to dive into that despite consistent efforts towards your self-improvement and well-being every day, it is completely normal to experience moments of feeling down while staying focused. I believe it's important to justify logically these moments and acknowledge that it does not take away from the progress that you're making. Instead, I'm learning to allow myself to "ride out" those feelings rather tha...

Returning TMT, my sister!! We talk about our childhood and how our relationship has evolved from despising each other to now being each other's #1 best friend. If you have experienced sibling rivalry or working on healing your bond, you will relate to this episode. We openly discuss our relationship while living apart, highlighting the most significant red flags in each other's friendships, aspects that evoke envy, the most...