I spent a morning last week at The National Gallery in London thinking of Patti Smith’s first time in a museum. In ‘Bread of Angels’, she talks about the life-changing day her father decided to take their family to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, describing it as “a revelation”. (…)

‘Travel Light’ by Naomi Mitchison was the perfect companion on my trip to De Hoge Veluwe National Park. It’s a story about a girl raised by bears and dragons, who strongly dislikes heroes. “Travel light my child, as the Wanderer travels light, and his love will be with you,” she is told as she embarks on a journey after losing everything she knew and loved. (…)

Some months ago I dreamed I was fleeing a city that was about to collapse. I ran and only stopped when I reached a dark forest. I stood on the threshold terrified, but confident it was the only way to safety. Right before entering, a mother gave me a bundle - her baby - and asked me to take it with me. (…)

Rather than chaining us to darkness, the Devil actually represents the part of us that urges us not to look deeper, to stay in the surface, where light can still reach. True freedom awaits beyond the demons, just after the darkness. (…)

When visiting the Vatican last month, our guide said “I’m a historian, so our tour today is based on history, not religion - and history is based on facts; it’s black or white”. As a non-religious history lover who equally loves fantasy, spirituality, aliens, magic and a healthy dose of conspiracy theories, his phrase hit me like an invitation to a banquet. I stepped into the museum licking my lips and wielding my imaginary cutlery like weapons, ready to pick his so-called-facts apart. (…)

I got my first “adult job” at a big company in 2013. I vividly remember the feeling of my new work clothes clinging to my body like a cross between an armor and a cheap costume that was fooling no one. (…)

I’ve been a writer ever since I was a little kid – and yet as an adult, I always hesitated to call myself one. (…)