About

Hi — I'm Aref. By day (and most nights), I build software: interfaces, APIs, the occasional over-engineered side project. By the rest of the time, I write — essays, notes, drafts of things that may or may not become a book one day.

I'm from Afghanistan, and I live between two worlds — the world of code and the world of words. This site is where the two meet. I write about identity, migration, the books that shape us, and the very human experience of building something out of almost nothing.

I started this site because I kept noticing the same thing: the best engineering writing reads like good prose, and the best prose is built with the same care as good software — deliberate structure, ruthless editing, and a refusal to ship something just because it's finished.

What I'm working on

Day to day, I work across the stack — React, Next.js, Node, and whatever database happens to be the right fit. You can see that side of things on my portfolio.

On the writing side, I'm slowly working toward my first book — no announcements yet, but this blog is where the early thinking happens. If that's the kind of thing you want to follow, the blog is the place to start.

Elsewhere

I also write longer-form pieces on Medium. If you'd rather just say hello, the contact page always reaches me.