Lets go on an adventure together
Hey, Sofiya here,
I left the corporate world after a near-death experience and never returned. I chose a slow life in the Mediterranean. I am a writer, historian, technologist, cosmetic formulator, beauty anthropologist and small business owner. I write about history, philosophy, slow living. beauty, and what it means to build a life aligned with the soul after exiting the modern matrix.
I know people are having some nostalgia for the past, and I am definitely one of them.
I started this blog because I am an ex-corporate events sponsorship manager. I started as a freelance event manager and then moved into corporate sponsorship for a time. It was a career I started at 17, mostly to prove to my strict African parents that I could do well without going to medical school. 10+ years later, I built an events portfolio that spans 4 continents. But, as the story goes, I burnt out and found myself slowly living in the Mediterranean for a few months. COVID hit, and I just never left. That burnout was spurred on by a near-death experience and a spiritual awakening. I erased my social media presence, which in hindsight was a prelude to a (now) very obvious fact: resurrecting myself as a completely new being.
I have been so nervous about sharing online. First, because I did not grow up in this over-sharing, stranger-first social media world we live in. I remember when Instagram started and you really only kept up with your friends. Now, it seems as if we are all brands and businesses interacting with each other, rather than the focus being the social aspect of it. Second, I had a pretty big presence. My old blog would get thousands of hits and I got brand deals. I think it is hard building a brand but hard enough when you know that it wasnt entirely authentic.
For years, being successful was how I validated myself. It made me feel good to know that I might finally be able to accept myself. After my awakening, I realized that my whole journey so far was forcing a path that was not for me. Total misalignment with who I truly was – a creative, an artist. And that was ok – as long as I accepted myself. As long as I was willing to let others down. But it took a near-death experience to stop caring about external validation and achieving and (perhaps failing) at meeting whatever social expectations were had of me.
This is a big reason why I love blogging – it keeps the social aspect social. I am a real person. I will never market myself as a brand.
I’ve been thinking lately about whether I want to share my story of transformation—from burnt-out events professional and overachiever to slow-living, intentional entrepreneur. For over a decade, probably even more, I lived in survival mode. I hid behind productivity, adrenaline and achievement. 10 years in events taught me to execute flawlessly under pressure, but it trained me to ignore my body, my intuition, my limits and the most precious thing, which was my time and life.
Then life intervened. In a way I couldn’t optimize, fix, or power through. I had a near death experience and a spiritual awakening. Almost dying in an accident made me realize that this corporate life was just another form of feudalism. I was not much better than a slave.
What ultimately saved me wasn’t another strategy or endless personal development content—but slow living in Mediterranean. The pace, the presence, the return to simplicity quite literally gave me my life back. When I could not find answers, I went back to nature. I went back to making things with my hands. And it made it impossible to keep building from the same mindset that broke me and has been breaking people who have been indoctrinated into it.
That season forced me to start unlearning years of subconscious programming: hustle as worth, exhaustion as success, logic over intuition, working hard against my own feminine cycles, I began listening instead—to my body, my nervous system, and a quieter, more feminine form of knowing.
I’m still navigating how much of this belongs in conversations around business, events, and tech—industries that rarely make space for rest, cyclical energy, slowness, feminine rhythm and rest as a legitimate productivity model.
But I have to do right by me. And if I’m building companies, communities, and technology now, I want them rooted in nervous-system safety, embodied leadership, and a version of success that doesn’t require self-abandonment.
As things stand, I’m incredibly proud of this evolution—and I want to create a space where it’s safe to talk about rebuilding after burnout, unlearning old conditioning, and creating work that honors both ambition and humanity. and choosing a slower, wiser way forward.
I am going to bring a piece of that pre-2016 blogging culture back with long, fun reads where I can share my adventures and stories.
I will take you on the journey of building ALMADO Beauty an 100% natural body care brand. It was an idea I had as I spent some years living back home in East Africa.
It’s rooted in ancient rituals and sacred beauty, helping people return to their feminine essence. We use timeless ingredients and beauty practices that leave your skin glowing. The brand is about preserving ancient ancestral sacred beauty rituals and honoring the botanical heritage of my East African/Arabian heritage.
Facts about me
✤ I have a bachelors in Political Science, International Relations and in the STEM field now
✤ I am East-African-Levantine originally
✤ I grew up in Montreal, Canada and Istanbul, Turkey. I consider myself as French-Istanbulite.
✤ I speak French, Somali, and English. I am learning German and Mandarin.
✤ I am an equestrian. I love horses.
✤ I am a nerd and introvert. I love reading books.
✤ I am a HUGE foodie. I love to eat.
✤ My definition of a good time is a slow afternoon reading a book, drinking tea, deep convos with interesting people and sleeping.
I want to build interesting things and meet interesting people and share interesting ideas. I am planning on being super transparent about my own business process and I hope to make friends here.
Here is to being new friends and starting a fun journey together.
XOXO, Sofiya
