Midnight Books: Midnight in London By stelreadsloads12 Hello, everyone! On this week’s adventure to finding the perfect midnight story, I’ll be reviewing a pretty unknown book—Midnight In London. I found…
Midnight is a curse. The house holds its breath like a prayer, silence sewing itself into the walls. There is nothing signifying that this place is a home, the fluorescent…
On the 9th of December 2025, the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) officially began in Bangkok, Thailand, marking the country’s return as host after nearly two decades. Thousands of…
Disclaimer: this article contains discussion of sexual and gender-based violence, which may be upsetting or difficult to read for some readers. Please proceed with caution as you engage with this…
What is a Parasocial Relationship? As social media platforms have woven themselves into daily life over the past decades, they have recently changed how people interact with a variety of…
There were two roles in nature: hunter and prey. Dire wolves typically belonged to the former category, and they were usually the dominant species on snowy mountains. As a pack,…
“Yet it would be your duty to bear it, if you could not avoid it: it is weak and silly to say you cannot bear what it is your fate to be required to bear.”
- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
For 7 weeks now, we have been under the Movement Control Order. Some of us are stuck in residences crowded with housemates whom we barely know and managed to avoid for years before this. Some of us are stuck alone without a single soul to judge us as we waltz around the communal area in only a towel. Some of us are at home, either cooking and baking - having the time of our lives; or hiding away from toxic interactions, praying for escape. Some of us are taking the time to learn new things, while some of us are having trouble finding any meaning to waking up in the morning. The situation for every person is unique in its challenges and pleasures.
There is one thing we all have in common, though. We’re all thinking about how things could’ve been. Whether it’s, “this time last year I was...” or “right now I’m supposed to be at...” or “now I will never get to...”, the grief of our individual lost plans weighs upon us, on top of the concern we have for the COVID-19 victims and frontliners. After all, we’re only human, and it’s not something to be ashamed of.
Even with the Movement Control Order (MCO) in place leaving us with limited food options, one of the most common complaints from the MCO is that people have been overeating, oversnacking, and generally just eating at all hours of the day (what even is the distinction between snacks and meals anymore?). Despite the fact that most eateries are now only open until 8:00p.m. at the latest (that is, if they’re operating at all), people have found plenty of ways to keep their mouths busy. What with the MCO being extended until May 12th, Echo Eats is here to add fuel to the fire with our own five recommendations on recipes to try during this MCO to keep your tummy happy (and also to convince yourself that you were actually somewhat productive during this period).
It almost seems as though society synonymizes self-expression with ease. The entire construct is that your life may ameliorate as soon as you express yourself and stay true to your own essence. However, society fails to consider those who are unable to do so and are silenced by accusations of provocation.
For many years, women have only been accepted in society provided that they expressed themselves according to the societal expectations of how women should act. And these obligated characteristics have moulded their entire existence; femininity, submissiveness, and vessels that should bend over backwards to satisfy a man’s whims. Rebel against these norms and you are instantaneously accused of provoking others by defying the boundaries that have been set for you.
Your demise is predestined the moment you try and claw out of the cage you were born to perform in.
We make decisions every single day. From small ones like deciding what to order from Foodpanda, to big ones like whether or not it’s worth breaking the Movement Control Order (MCO) and risk arrest in order to buy that llaollao you were craving. Regardless, decision-making isn’t always that straightforward.
These decisions are final working papers submitted by “lawmakers” that convene assemblies in our minds. Unsure of who these “lawmakers” are? Fret not. We’ll be exposing each and every one of their identities. So, are these “representatives of the mind” guilty of making terrible and uninformed decisions on our behalf?
All I Can Do
by Jaclyn Heng
This is for the times I’ve had to keep a count of the number of days that went by without me getting whistled at or getting looked up-and-down while walking from my car to the BRT when travelling to college each day. A mere 7-minute walk and yet the Days I Did Not Get Catcalled count never reached a number where I needed more than my own two hands to count.
This is for the one time I sent a middle-finger to a man whistling at me from a lorry, on a day that I’d had enough. I told my parents about it and immediately got told off for being vulgar, then spent the next week using a different route to college in fear that that same man would come back for revenge.
But most of all, this is for all you girls out there who don’t even get to feel safe when walking alone on a street.
This should not be the way we have to live, yet it is.
In conjunction with National Poetry Month, Echo Media is proud to introduce our first ever Poetry Special! We’ve compiled 6 equally compelling poems for you guys, each written by a member of our very own Creative Writing Team.
Reality TV is often referred to as ‘brain dead’ entertainment by society, ridiculed for it’s ridiculous premises, scripted drama and unnecessary close up shots followed by overplayed sound effects. However, certain shows, despite its superficial surface value, actually have deep underlying messages of self-growth. To keep it interesting, this article won’t delve into the obvious self-improvement based reality shows like “The Amazing Race” or “Survivor”, instead it will focus more on the odd reality TV shows that we might have just watched for laughs
So, here are three unconventional reality TV shows with underlying themes of self-growth!
Have you ever watched a Tamil movie? I'm talking about the ones in the romantic comedy genre, the ones you watch just for the sake of watching. If you haven't, let me, as someone who grew up watching them, paint a picture for you. Usually, there will be this gorgeous girl minding her own business, an educated beauty talking to her friends on her way to college. Then out of nowhere, the most average male that’s supposed to be the hero of this story starts stalking her on his cheap motorcycle. He continues to harass her even though she shows signs of disgust towards him until inevitably, just after a mere 3 hours of realising her existence, he confesses his love for her. She is naturally offended by this confession and is confused as to how she could have possibly attracted such bacteria. Soon, however, after a series of events which usually includes him winning in a fight against 300 men twice his size, she “falls in love” with him too.
Prompt: What item do you own that you think best reflects you as a person?
Blushing shells from ocean caverns in Musandam.
Inky black pebbles from a remote village in the mountains of Khasab.
Sediments of sunsets from an ocean of pink rock in Sharjah.
Curlicues of white stone from the shores off Brighton.
Shards of earth to call my own,
when home is far,
I hold them close.
-Zafra Usman
Where are my human rights?
When did I lose my status of humanity,
become a race all too different.
When did the sins of another
become the sins of my father?
How did tomorrow’s terrorist
become synonymous with today’s entrepreneur, dreamer, son and brother?
Why do the blood and tears of my kin dilute in the face of justice?
