A week of firsts 

Me, backstage.

Podcasts and backstage passes.

Sometimes saying yes to something can be a bit scary. My go to line has always been “I’ll take a look at my schedule and get back to you” – or “Insyallah” when talking to Muslim friends – whenever an opportunity presents itself not because I don’t want to do it (save for certain exceptional circumstances) but because I’m worried that I’ll end up with a very busy schedule if I agree to everything. Then there's the whole "am I even good enough for this?" debacle. 

Last week, though, I had the occasional and rare slow uni week, so I’ve decided to say yes to a couple of things. What’s even more exciting is that these opportunities are things that I’ve never ever done before, so you bet I would’ve squeezed them into my schedule regardless of how busy I would’ve been!

AFW Runway

On Saturday, I had the privilege of helping backstage at an Adelaide Fashion Week event. This is so major for me as a fashion girlie, it’s my first time being involved in something like this! So, I put on my best casual outfit (how is a girl to choose THE best casual outfit for her first fashion week event?? First impressions are at stake here people!!) and headed off to the art gallery where I would be whisked away into a small room by the gift shop to meet the stylist and the volunteer team.  

It started off slow at first with me being tasked to cut some tags and sort some labels, but boy was that already so exciting to do! Then it was an hour and half till showtime and things started to get a bit more frenzied. Next thing you know, I was sifting through the rack of clothes looking for the slightest wrinkles. We did a lot of steaming in between the powerwalks from the dressing area to hair and makeup, and back.

I was in euphoria the whole time from the moment I saw the clothes lined up on the racks with the styling cards hung in front of them to being blinded by the hair and makeup lights and seeing the models looking glamorous in their outfits. I wish I could’ve stayed for the dressing and runway but I had to leave early. Nonetheless, it was a grand experience! 8-year-old Asirah who used to play dress up and strut around the house in her outfits and makeshift bags would be so stoked to hear this.

What Messes with your Head Podcast

Being on a podcast was not on my 2022 bingo card but I’m glad it happened! As we enter an era of podcasting, I thought it would be interesting to try my hand at it. Am I good at conversing? Absolutely not, but do I think that all the times I’ve spent pretending to be on The Late Late Show in front of my bathroom mirror would help me with this? Duh, of course. So I said yes when I was invited to be the first guest for the upcoming “What Messes with your Head?” podcast!

I would be lying to say that I wasn’t nervous the whole time or that I was talking so coherently that I should consider becoming a newscaster. I stumbled on my words a couple of times and had to wait for my brain to reboot here and there but I had fun doing it. Besides, it was all very laidback, and John and Steph were incredible at leading the conversations and taking the pressure off me. 

Safe to say I had an incredible week of firsts. Sometimes you just gotta throw your name in the hat and see where it leads you. 

Tagged in What messes with your head, podcast, first time, fashion, Adelaide fashion week, international student