Since January 2026, waking up in the morning has felt different. Before you even get out of bed, you have to choose whether to follow the news from Iran, whether to speak up or stay silent, and how to keep living with what you know. Even stepping away is a choice. No one can decide for you, and you’re the one who has to live with your choices. This morning, the regime ruling Iran executed Ali-Sina Mostafavi, a mountaineer and political prisoner. It killed another of our fellow Iranians who had protestedBahram Rameh

Dear God, hello… Please help me stay on the right path. Don’t forget me—just be there for me like this, watch over me. Help me become what I want to be; help me become a useful person in this world. I don’t want to be insignificant or useless—please help me always think. I want to be okay, to stay with myself, and to take care of my inner self. Don’t let me drown in ignorance. Protect all the beautiful things, one by one. I am free.

original artwork by Maria Yousefi