‘My blog helped me to be a writer’

risingbd, country’s leading and popular news portal, is publishing stories on persons who have succeeded in various fields.  As part of its efforts, Nabila Nowshin is now writing stories of 30 persons under the banner ‘in series #30days30souls’. Recently, she interviewed Samira Ahmed who is an engineer, blogger and a young mother. In the exclusive interview, Samira Ahmed mentioned her education and service life, experiences, busy schedules, upcoming plans and more which are given below.

Hello, how are you?

I am good, cannot complain. Taking it one day at a time during these unprecedented times.

What is your nickname?

That’s a long list! For example- Sam, Sammy, TJBA, TJ, TMM.

From where you completed your O’levels and A Levels exams?

Both from Scholastica.

Tell about your university life and which subject you were reading in?

I graduated from University of Glasgow, Scotland, with a degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering.

Where are you living right now?

London, England.

Where are you working right now?

I work in Air Traffic Control.

Where did you used to live in your childhood? Tell us one memorable story from your childhood!

I was born and raised in Dhaka. I have too many memorable stories to share but the ones that keep coming back to me are the Boishakhs we spent in Charukola and the rickshaw rides around the city to watch Sholoy December lights with my family.

Do you want to give any advice to an 18 years old-yourself?

Do not allow anyone to mistreat you. Know your worth.

Is there anything that you wanted to achieve from your childhood and now you have got it? If yes, then what is that and how do you achieve that?

I always wanted to write. My blog (The Millennial Ma) has helped me establish myself as a writer of sorts and I am grateful for taking a leap of faith.

In this moment we all know we have got some precious free time. So, what are you doing with this time? Are you doing something productive? Then share it with us! We would love to know your activities.

I have periods when I am uber productive – I bake, I blog, I try to read, which is my favourite hobby. But I also have periods when I struggle to get up from bed and can only do the bare minimum.

I see you are a young mother and in this quarantine you got a lot of time to spend with your baby boy. What do you both like to do the most in this free time?

We love to go for walks and observe pigeons, dogs and ducks. Now that it's summer, we treat ourselves to an ice-cream (or two).

You are a part of ‘#themillennialmumsquad’. What does that squad do? And what’s the meaning of this name?

This is a hashtag I came up with to encourage moms, especially Bengali moms, to share their stories on motherhood. The Millennial Mum Squad is all about shining light on the real, raw faces of parenting as a millennial mother.

I see you are very good at giving the reviews of books. But do you have any plan to write any books in future? If yes, what will be your book about?

Yes, that is my ultimate dream! I think my book will probably be a murder mystery with a fierce female protagonist who is a bit of a bad-ass.

Besides this, what do you like to do in your pastime?

Chilling out with my partner over some good Netflix shows.

After 10 years where do you want to see yourself?

I want to see myself content with the life choices I made along the way.

In your journey who were always beside you and whom you want to say thanks the most?

My mum, grandmother, aunt, sisters, friends and husband. I am an incredibly lucky girl with a very strong support system around me. I am nothing without them.

So, in series #30days30souls you are one of those 30 people. How do feel to take part in this?

I feel humbled and honoured. Thank you so much for making me a part of this wonderful project!

And also, there are 29 more people like you who are passionate about their work and doing great for the world. Do you want to give any message to them?

I get immensely inspired by people who are passionate about making this world a better place. Thank you for the energy and compassion you bring to the table. The sky is your limit!



Dhaka/Mukul