Behind The Desk

About Me - Writing as Menta

Who I Am

My name isn’t really Menta. It’s the name I chose to write under, because I want the freedom to share stories from my working life without the weight of names and titles.

These stories aren’t theories. They come from years spent at a desk, in meetings, over coffee breaks, and in the long evenings when work still followed me home. They come from the laughter of colleagues, from awkward silences, and from the tears I sometimes hid behind a polite smile.

Work shapes us in ways we rarely admit. There are small victories, private battles, and moments of absurd humor that get us through the day. That’s the part of work I want to write about, not to complain, but to remind us all that dignity and connection still exist, even when the pressure feels heavy.

A Personal Moment

After more than 20 years in the same company, I thought I had seen it all. The quiet tensions, the unwritten rules, the daily grind.

One afternoon, a colleague I admired came into my office. Normally calm and steady, she was shaken after a difficult encounter. Her voice wavered, her usual strength had slipped away, and suddenly she seemed more human than I had ever seen her.

What surprised me wasn’t her breaking down, it was how I responded. I had always been the quiet one, the one who avoided conflict. But in that moment I found myself saying:

"Don’t let anyone put you in this position again. You are stronger than this, and you deserve respect."

She stopped, took a breath, and I saw something shift. It struck me later that maybe I wasn’t just speaking to her. Maybe I was saying something I needed to hear too.

That moment stayed with me. It reminded me that even the smallest words can lift someone - or ourselves - when we need it most.

More About Me

Outside of work, I am a wife and mother of three, two now at university and one still in elementary school.

Balancing family and career has been messy, sometimes exhausting, but also full of lessons. My children have taught me more about resilience and perspective than any training ever did. They remind me to laugh, to set limits, and to hold onto the parts of life that matter most.

This is why I write. Because the struggles of work don’t live in isolation. They spill into our homes, our health, our relationships. Telling these stories is my way of connecting those worlds.

Why I Write

I write because stories linger. They replay in your head long after the meeting ends or the office door closes.

For years, I kept my own struggles to myself. I thought they made me weak or forgettable. But I’ve realized that those moments, the ones that felt heavy and uncomfortable, are often the ones that other people quietly carry too.

Sharing them doesn’t erase the struggle, but it makes it less lonely. If even one person reads and thinks “I’ve felt that way too”, then it’s worth it.

Work is not just tasks and deadlines. It’s people, emotions, and the courage to keep going. That’s what I want my writing to reflect: the hidden side of working life, the cracks we don’t always talk about, and the small sparks of hope that keep us moving forward.

Menta - writing work stories, one confession at a time.