So, who is Zave?
Honestly?
I’m still kinda figuring that out.
I’m a psychology student, writer, and someone who has spent a lot of time trying to understand myself, other people, and the world around me.
My interest in psychology started way before I ever opened a textbook. I’ve always been fascinated by people; why we think the way we do, why we behave differently in different situations, how our experiences shape us, and why two people can experience the same thing and walk away with completely different understandings of it.
Studying psychology has given me a language for some of the things I’ve experienced myself.
It has also taught me something rather important:
I don’t know everything.
And I’m not sure anyone does.
The more I learn, the more I realise how complicated people are. Psychology doesn’t always give us neat answers. Sometimes theories contradict each other. Sometimes the evidence is limited. Sometimes there are questions that researchers are still trying to answer.
And honestly?
I quite like that.
Because this website isn’t about me pretending to have all the answers.
It’s about asking the questions.
Why did I create Becoming Zave?
Because I have spent a lot of my life feeling like I was the only person experiencing certain things.
There is something incredibly isolating about thinking “nobody gets it.”
And then, sometimes, you discover that, actually, someone does!
Maybe they wrote about it.
Maybe they explained it.
Maybe they put into words something you couldn’t.
And suddenly, you’re not so alone anymore.
That’s what I hope to offer here.
I write about things that interest me, things I’ve experienced, things I’m trying to understand and things I’ve learned through studying psychology.
Sometimes I’ll write about something deeply personal.
Sometimes I’ll disappear down a psychological rabbit hole and emerge with far too many references.
Sometimes I’ll probably do both.
But everything comes back to the same thing:
Me, trying to understand.
What this website isn’t:
I think this is important to say; I’m a psychology student.
I’m not a psychologist.
I’m not a therapist.
I’m not a doctor.
And I’m certainly not here to diagnose you through a blog post.
I don’t write because I think I know what is best for everyone else.
I don’t.
Nothing I write is intended to replace professional medical, psychological or therapeutic advice.
When I talk about mental health, trauma, disability, gender or anything else, I’m sharing my perspective alongside whatever research or psychological theory I’m drawing from.
Your experience may be completely different from mine.
And that’s okay.
In fact, I’d expect it to be.
So what am I trying to do?
I’m trying to make sense of things.
Sometimes that means asking difficult questions.
Sometimes it means challenging things I’ve previously believed.
Sometimes it means looking at my own experiences through a psychological lens.
And sometimes it simply means saying:
“This happened to me. This is how it felt. Maybe you’ve experienced it, too?”
If something I’ve written helps you understand yourself a little better, makes you question something you’d never thought about before, gives you a new perspective, or simply makes you feel less alone, then I’m happy.
That’s enough.
I don’t need to have the answer.
I just want to make the question a little easier to ask.
One final thing:
You don’t have to agree with everything I write.
You don’t have to relate to my experiences.
You don’t even have to like my opinions.
I’d like you to think about them, though.
Because Becoming Zave isn’t about telling you what to think.
It’s about sharing what I’m thinking, what I’m learning, and what I’m experiencing, and perhaps creating a little space for you to think about your own experiences too.
I’m still becoming.
Maybe you are too.