So, I'm Rahel.

When I was born, I was handed a name, a race, a gender role, an entire identity I never asked for. It was like being cast into a story I didn’t write, expected to follow rules I didn’t agree to. But I grew up, awkwardly at first, trying to fit in, trying to make sense of it all. Eventually, I stopped trying. I started rewriting the script.

Now, I’ve begun to convince the people around me to get used to my so-called “weird” personality. I’ve started caring less about what they think. And things, surprisingly, have started to move in a better direction.

I choose. That’s the difference now. I choose to be an atheist. I choose to be a feminist. I choose not to date, not to marry, not to have kids. I choose to live by what makes sense to me, not what was expected of me. And in making those choices, I’ve started to feel something like freedom.

Of course, I know freedom is never complete. There are things we live with. Not because we want to, but because we can’t change everything. Still, I choose to change what I can. Starting with my name.

My birth name carries a surname soaked in patriarchy -the very thing I despise most. So, I won’t carry it anymore. I want to be recognized as Rahel. Just Rahel. A name I’ve chosen for myself, a quiet rebellion, a softer echo of my real name.

This blog is my space. A place to say things I’m too afraid to say out loud. A place where I can be honest without being exposed. Mysterious, but not invisible. Known, but not found.