For the last four years I was a barista at Starbucks. One of the first things I did in my time there was tell a lie. Well, sort of. On the interview, when the manager asked about my availability, I told him I would be unable to work Sundays. He said that was unusual and […]

“Ms. Miah, it’s nice to be ambitious, but you shouldn’t get your hopes up about getting into Harvard. It’s a really competitive school and having a felony might make your chances of gaining acceptance unlikely.” I shifted in my seat and adjusted my hijab, unsure how to respond. I gritted my teeth and half-smiled. Were […]

Last semester, I officially joined QC Voices with “Unpacking and Repacking Love to Find Home.” That piece borrowed elements from lyric essays to find some means of consolation. Writing that piece was the NyQuil of alleviations, it only relieved the symptoms. In a sense, this piece will be a part two, or the strengthened body that […]

Upon discussion with a very kind human working for an airline ticket agency about what we each had for breakfast, I was transferred to a robotic representative. I was told this transfer would provide me with “quality assistance” regarding the importance of considering a purchase of Travel Protection Insurance. The voice spoke to me about […]

In the summer of 2019, Disney cast singer and actress Halle Bailey as the titular role in their explicit cash grab and abandonment of any and all creativity and in pursuit of a cinematic monopoly. Disney’s The Little Mermaid, the tale of a sixteen-year-old girl who gives up her voice in exchange for legs, in […]

It’s official. The plastic bag ban will take effect on March 1st across New York state. The ban is an attempt to reduce the amount of plastic bag pollution on the streets, in green spaces, and in our waterways. Plastic bags, also called plastic film, are not easily recyclable. Usually, the only way they can […]

Three years ago, in a small classroom with bare walls and overflowing bookshelves, nestled in the foothills of Jerusalem, my friends and I spent one winter afternoon debating the lengths and limits of inclusion and tolerance. The 2016 election had come and gone with a fair bit of commotion, as we watched the results roll […]

NOTE: This piece is not sponsored. Every letter and every word from here is voluntary. I started QC Voices thinking that I’d be doing others a service by spreading awareness about a topic that is too frequently left unexplored or discussed. But with the completion of each post, I realized that I was actually the […]

The holiday season means many of us bought gifts online and had them delivered right to us. In 2020, with more and more things being made accessible from the comfort of our own homes, it seems as though we’re moving further into the future. However, the popularization of shipping, especially expedited shipping, is having a […]

This year, I’ve decided not to change myself at all. Every single year before this one, for as long as I could remember, I would write down requests from normal to insane for my new year: Write a poem, ace your classes, lose a hundred pounds. Sometimes, resolutions can be excuses to escape yourself. This […]