Megha Das May 2026

For the last twelve months, I have lived in what author Jennifer Pastiloff calls “the beautiful middle.” Not the exciting beginning of a new dream, and not the glorious end where you finally "make it." Just the middle. The place where you put in the work, refresh your inbox one too many times, and wonder if you’re actually moving forward or just running in place.

I am learning that honoring your heritage doesn't mean living exactly like your parents did. It means carrying the best parts forward—the resilience, the hospitality, the fire—while building your own architecture around them. megha das

But for the first time in a long time, I am not terrified by the "not knowing." I am curious about it. For the last twelve months, I have lived