The Excerpt At 28, Malala Yousafzai is finally finding her way
Oct 30, 2025
Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and education activist, shares her journey of resilience and self-discovery. She discusses her transformative years at Oxford, where she embraced a sense of normalcy and friendship. Balancing studies and global advocacy proved challenging, leading to moments of vulnerability. Malala opens up about her struggles with mental health, including confronting PTSD and beginning therapy. She also reflects on her role as an unofficial relationship mediator among friends and highlights the importance of education and therapy for girls in conflict zones.
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College Helped Reclaim Normalcy
- College let Malala reclaim a normal identity lost to early activism and trauma.
- Friendships, love, and mental-health learning helped her build resilience and self-awareness.
Activism Doesn't Erase Joy
- Malala expected activism would force a solemn, restricted life and feared normal pleasures.
- Immersion in peer life at college changed that belief and let her be both activist and ordinary person.
Nearly Failing Amid Global Travel
- Malala juggled global advocacy, fundraising, paid events, and Oxford studies, nearly failing her first year.
- Her tutor restricted travel and she sought academic support to pass her exams.
