Reflecting on democracy, dissent and the dangers of entrenched power, Sheila Paylan tells the story of jailed Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza with growing concerns in Armenia, urging vigilance against the erosion of hard-won democratic space.

Reflecting on her struggle with impatience and the hard-earned art of restraint, Sheila Paylan writes with humor and honesty about how learning to pause before reacting, speaking, or judging can become an act of power, healing and grace.

Forgiveness is often misunderstood whether as surrender, self-help, or moral performance. Drawing from personal experience and collective trauma, Sheila Paylan explores the tension between justice and mercy, insisting that peace built on truth, not amnesia, is the only kind that endures.

From genocide trials to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, Sheila Paylan explores the biases we all carry, how they shape our views, and what it takes to confront them honestly to find freedom on the other side.

From gold stars in kindergarten to titles and accolades in adulthood, we’ve been taught to measure our worth by checklists and labels. Sheila Paylan invites us to break free from the empty chase for approval and instead build lives that are real, sometimes messy, and truly ours.

Azerbaijani activist Bahruz Samadov was imprisoned for his pro-peace stance. In this open letter, Sheila Paylan highlights the brutal cost of dissent under Azerbaijan’s authoritarian regime and the moral failure of silence in the face of repression.

Reflecting on her own struggle with imposter syndrome, Sheila Paylan unpacks the weight of inherited trauma and the seduction of Armenian exceptionalism. Through the lens of identity and confidence, she calls for both an individual and collective shift—from needing to be seen as exceptional to doing the work of becoming truly excellent.

In the face of mounting concessions to Azerbaijan, Sheila Paylan argues that Armenia risks trading dignity for illusionary peace and explores the fine line between pragmatism and surrender, and why national self-respect must never be collateral.

In this deeply personal reflection, Sheila Paylan challenges cultural norms and redefines autonomy, asserting that womanhood should not be predominantly defined by motherhood. Instead, she advocates for the freedom to craft a meaningful life on one's own terms, embracing a broad spectrum of female identities and experiences.

In a world increasingly shaped by propaganda, disinformation, and spectacle-driven politics, staying awake, both literally and figuratively, has never been more critical. In this month’s column, Sheila Paylan explores the urgency of reclaiming reality in an era of digital illusions.