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Barira

@becomingbarira

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Career • Travel • Self-help
Lessons from 10+ years of solo living, 5+ years of corporate life & 26+ years as the eldest daughter ✨
📍istanbul & Khi

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hi, i’m barira. some of you might remember me from a blog i had a while back. if you’re new here, welcome.

i live in istanbul now, but i’m originally from a small town in pakistan. i left home almost nine years ago; moved cities, then countries; and slowly built a life full of firsts.

i’ve had an online presence before, but it started to feel too visible and too personal, so i stepped away. this page is something new. the intention is simple: to share the journey along the way- the soft, messy, in-between parts of building a life far from home.

i work somewhere between tech and finance, live alone in a city that still feels new, and i’m navigating a long-distance marriage, which mostly means it’s me, my laptop, and whatever version of myself i’m growing into that week.

i’m an introvert who hates small talk but still wants to feel a little more connected. and somewhere between back-to-back meetings and trying to keep it all together, i realised work had quietly taken over everything else.

so this space is a pause. a way to not forget who i am outside the KPIs and the corporate ladder.
just small thoughts, soft reflections, and maybe a way to feel less alone; for me, and maybe for you too.

#bigsisperspective taken in Istanbul, Turkey by @becomingbarira

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a year ago

Petition for @djiglobal to sponsor me!🙏🥺 taken in Istanbul, Turkey by @becomingbarira

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12 days ago

This place was so dreamy💗🌄

#cappadoccia #hotairballoons #cappadociaturkey #turkeytravel taken in Cappadocia/Turkey by @becomingbarira

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6 months ago

Since about two months, my passport has been with a visa office, which means this is the longest I’ve stayed in one place in years, and the longest I’ve been in Pakistan since 2021.

And my biggest realisations so far:

First, what a privilege it is to have the freedom to book a flight on a random Tuesday and call it a day. To live in this beautiful, slightly delusional disassociation from reality where leaving is always an option.

Second, passport privilege must be really delicious because having a weak passport really isn’t for the weak.

Third, maybe I’ve never stayed in one place long enough because I’m afraid I’ll have to confront the darker side of things. There’s something very convenient about always being on the move, you’re perpetually in the honeymoon stage of life.

Anyway, that’s enough realisations for one day. It’s getting suffocating. 😭

#passportprivilege #solotraveller #sololiving #expatlife #türkiye taken in Türkiye by @becomingbarira

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2 months ago

13k steps and lots of staircases later taken in Langkawi, Malaysia by @becomingbarira

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10 months ago

got another degree in STEM and stocked up on avocados. what did you achieve this weekend?

#graduationday #browngirlgrad #firstgenstudent #bigsisperspective #pakistanigirlabroad #graduationshoot taken in Istanbul, Turkey by @becomingbarira

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a year ago

Corporate baddie by day, vacay girly by night🤎🥥

#summerinturkey #summerinthecity #summeroutfits #solotravel #bigsisperspective taken in Antalya, Turkey by @becomingbarira

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a year ago

Just checking the resolution📸 by @becomingbarira

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16 days ago

idk i’m starting to think my passion in life is just wearing cute outfits, walking 20k steps while discovering random streets in cities around the world🥰

#istanbulstreetstyle #istanbulstreets #turkeytravel #ootdinspiration #modestfashion taken in Istanbul, Turkey by @becomingbarira

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2 months ago

life may be testing me a little these days, but how could i ever complain when i’m in my favourite city, living a life my childhood self could’ve only dreamed of 🤍 taken in Istanbul, Turkey by @becomingbarira

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a month ago

@hudabeauty lipgloss supremacy🫡

#pakistanistreetstyle #farshishalwar #hudabeauty #hudabeautylipgloss taken in Karachi, Pakistan by @becomingbarira

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9 months ago

Apparently, independence comes with a list of rules nobody remembers asking us to agree to.

Be ambitious, but not intimidating.
Have standards, but don’t be “difficult.”
Have boundaries, but don’t have an attitude.
Be successful, but stay likeable.
Take care of yourself, but don’t become “selfish.”

Anyway… WTF is all that? 🫠

Here’s to questioning the rules we were taught to follow, and building lives that actually feel like our own.

#independentwoman #womeninbusiness #ootdfashion #corporatewoman #womenempowerment taken in Karachi, Pakistan by @becomingbarira

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2 months ago