Forgive Me Not

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.

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Forgive Me Not

Sheila Paylan

Oct 7, 2025

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.

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Archbiases

Sheila Paylan

Sep 8, 2025

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.

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Boxes and Labels

Sheila Paylan

Aug 11, 2025

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.

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To the One Who Refused to Hate Us

Sheila Paylan

Jun 30, 2025

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.

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To Be Sure

Sheila Paylan

Jun 2, 2025

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.

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Pride and Nemesis

Sheila Paylan

May 5, 2025

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.

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Party of One

Sheila Paylan

Apr 7, 2025

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.

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Are You Sure That We Are Awake?

Sheila Paylan

Mar 10, 2025

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.

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Unleashed

Respect the Pause

Forgive Me Not

Archbiases

Boxes and Labels

To the One Who Refused to Hate Us

To Be Sure

Pride and Nemesis

Party of One

Are You Sure That We Are Awake?

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