Life can feel confining at times. With every freedom to enjoy there seems to be a limitation. However, after watching a submariner’s TikTok, many people are grateful for the life they have. They were also amazed at how a person lives on a nuclear submarine.

Former Royal Navy submariner Paul McNally shared what life was like for him during a seven-month long patrol inside a submarine. He introduced the video with, “Everything I’m about to say sounds fake, but it’s completely normal underwater.”

@paul_mcnally_ We also supplement vitamin D due to not seeing sunlight for months. ♬ original sound – roknardin

We also supplement vitamin D due to not seeing sunlight for months. ♬ original sound – roknardin

People sounded off in the comments remarking about the day-to-day reality of being underwater in a metal tube:

“I panicked and realized I don’t ever have to do this.”

“This sounds absolutely miserable, thank you for your service.”

“Wow, this just made me really grateful for my silly little life.”

Here are some of the odd realities McNally shared about living in a submarine for an extended period of time:

‘Fresh air smells disgusting when you’re back on land’

McNally shared that, over time, many submariners get so used to the purified recycled air within a sub that “regular” air stinks when they return to the surface. This is because the air within submarines is made through a reverse osmosis process and electrolysis. Reverse osmosis removes salt from ocean water surrounding the vessel to create pure water. Electrolysis turns that pure water into breathable hydrogen and oxygen. This air is free of the usual air pollution and scents that typically exist outdoors. The air is also recycled and filters out any contaminants throughout the voyage.

They drink ‘demin’ water

“Demin water” is shorthand for “demineralized water.” Like how a submarine gets its air, it also gets its water through reverse osmosis. While pure water does sound clean, it’s not necessarily good on its own. Much of our drinking water contains healthy, helpful minerals whether you drink it from the tap or a purchased bottle through a store. This means that submariners are encouraged to take extra supplements and vitamins to make up for it.

‘No contact with the outside world for seven months straight’

In the TikTok, McNally mentions the long span of time without contact with the outside world, limiting communication between sailors and family members to one email per week, printed. Patrols and mission protocols can vary, but for most submariners email is the primary way to communicate with the outside. This can be due to technological limitations or mission priorities that call for limited communication between the vessel and other areas. 

There may even be protocols that prohibit certain messages, such as the death of a family member, be withheld until the submariner is back on shore. This can be due to mental health and morale reasons, along with the reality that the person usually cannot leave mid-patrol to address their loss.

‘Daytime and nighttime don’t exist’

Since sunlight cannot peek into submerged submarines and there needs to be 24/7 alertness to keep the vessel moving safely, there is no “day” or “night.” McNally shared that he worked two six hour shifts per day on his vessel. Since submarines only have artificial light, submariners have to take vitamin D supplements to help offset the lack of sun exposure.

Many submariners have ‘coffin dreams’

Due to living in such cramped quarters, many submariners have “coffin dreams,” nightmares in which the submariner believes they’re being buried alive, even after they wake. This is due to the confined coffin-like bunks and the reality that they’re technically buried underwater.

‘Showers are limited to 16 seconds’

While the reverse-osmosis of seawater helps create breathable air and drinking water for the submarine, it also is the water supply for other needs on the vessel. This includes cooking and showering. It’s also very limited in supply.

@themilitarytimes How long can you take a shower on a submarine? Submarine bathrooms: Part 2 #military #militarylife #militarynews #militarytiktok #defense #defensenews #news #sub #submarine #submarines #us #usa #usnavy #navy #navyship #navyships #boat #boats #water #shower #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Military Times – MilitaryTimes

How long can you take a shower on a submarine? Submarine bathrooms: Part 2 #military #militarylife #militarynews #militarytiktok #defense #defensenews #news #sub #submarine #submarines #us #usa #usnavy #navy #navyship #navyships #boat #boats #water #shower #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Military Times – MilitaryTimes

Because of the greater need for air and drinkable water, showering is less of a priority. This means shower time is extremely limited in order to save clean water. Most showers allow a person to spray water on themselves to get wet, turn off the water to lather up their body with soap, and then spray the lather off quickly. 

It can ‘rain’ inside a sub

It’s not that rain clouds form inside of a submarine, but it’s not far off either. The interior of the sub is impacted by the water temperature of the ocean outside of it. If the temperature outside of the sub causes the temperature inside to drop, it can lower to the dewpoint. This creates condensation “sweat” that could “rain” in parts of the sub.

They entertain themselves the best way they can

Recreation is necessary when living in a tube with 130 people, but the options are limited compared to on land. Movie night and video games help pass the time between shifts. Card games, especially cribbage, are considered the traditional and time-honored way people on the submarine bond. 

Different submariner vessels also have various playful “rites of passage” not unlike fraternities and sororities. On “Halfway Night,” for example, the submariners celebrate the halfway point of their deployment. This can include various activities including throwing cream pies at their ranking officers. Some vessels allow submariners to receive “halfway box” care packages from loved ones to celebrate being halfway done with their tour.

@._.its._.emma Hopefully, this can help someone who has no clue what snacks to include, because that was me at one time #foryoupage #milso #milspo #navy #submarinefamily #halfwaybox #navywife #submariner ♬ original sound – noahksticks

Hopefully, this can help someone who has no clue what snacks to include, because that was me at one time #foryoupage #milso #milspo #navy #submarinefamily #halfwaybox #navywife #submariner ♬ original sound – noahksticks

Based on McNally’s video and other submariners’ experience, living on a submarine isn’t easy, but it sure is interesting.

Music, community and joy drive real change

In a small village in Pwani, a district on Tanzania’s coast, a massive dance party is coming to a close. For the past two hours, locals have paraded through the village streets, singing and beating ngombe drums; now, in a large clearing, a woman named Sheilla motions for everyone to sit facing a large projector screen. A film premiere is about to begin. 

It’s an unusual way to kick off a film about gender bias, inequality, early marriage, and other barriers that prevent girls from accessing education in Tanzania. But in Pwani and beyond, local organizations supported by Malala Fund and funded by Pura are finding creative, culturally relevant ways like this one to capture people’s interest. 

The film ends and Sheilla, the Communications and Partnership Lead for Media for Development and Advocacy (MEDEA), stands in front of the crowd once again, asking the audience to reflect: What did you think about the film? How did it relate to your own experience? What can we learn? 

Sheilla explains that, once the community sees the film, “It brings out conversations within themselves, reflective conversations.” The resonance and immediate action create a ripple effect of change.

Across Tanzania, gender-based violence often forces adolescent girls out of the classroom. This and other barriers — including child marriage, poverty, conflict, and discrimination — prevent girls from completing their education around the world. 

Sheilla and her team are using film and radio programs to address the challenges girls face in their communities. MEDEA’s ultimate goal is to affirm education as a fundamental right for everyone, and to ensure that every member of a community understands how girls’ education contributes to a stronger whole and how to be an ally for their sisters, daughters, granddaughters, friends, nieces, and girlfriends. 

Sheilla’s story is one of many that inspired Heart on Fire, a new fragrance from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection that blends the warm, earthy spices of Tanzania with a playful, joyful twist. Here’s how Pura is using scent as a tool to connect the world and inspire action.

A partnership focused on local impact, on a global mission

Pura, a fragrance company that recognizes education as both freedom and a human right, has partnered with Malala Fund since 2022. In order to defend every girl’s right to access and complete 12 years of education, Malala Fund partners with local organizations in countries where the educational barriers are the greatest. They invest in locally-led solutions because they know that those who are closest to the problems are best equipped to solve and build durable solutions, like MEDEA, which works with communities to challenge discrimination against girls and change beliefs about their education. 

But local initiatives can thrive and scale more powerfully with global support, which is why Pura is using their own superpower, the power of scent, to connect people around the world with the women and girls in these local communities. 

The Pura x Malala Fund Collection incorporates ingredients naturally found in Tanzania, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Brazil: countries where Malala Fund operates to address systemic education barriers. Eight percent of net revenue from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection will be donated to Malala Fund directly, but beyond financial support, the Collection is also a love letter to each unique community, blending notes like lemon, jasmine, cedarwood, and clove to transport people, ignite their senses, and help them draw inspiration and hope from the global movement for girls’ education. Through scent, people can connect to the courage, joy, and tenacity of girls and local leaders, all while uniting in a shared commitment to education: the belief that supporting girls’ rights in one community benefits all of us, everywhere. 

You’ve already met Sheilla. Now see how Naiara and Mama Habiba are building unique solutions to ensure every girl can learn freely and dare to dream.

Naiara Leite is reimagining what’s possible in Brazil

In Brazil, where pear trees and coconut plantations cover the Northeastern Coast, girls like ten-year-old Julia experience a different kind of educational barrier than girls in Tanzania. Too often, racial discrimination contributes to high dropout rates among Black, quilombola and Indigenous girls in the country. 

“In the logic of Brazilian society, Black people don’t need to study,” says Naiara Leite, Executive Coordinator of Odara, a women-led organization and Malala Fund partner. Bahia, the state where Odara is based, was once one of the largest slave-receiving territories in the Americas, and because of that history, deeply-ingrained, anti-Black prejudice is still widespread. “Our role and the image constructed around us is one of manual labor,” Naiara says. 

But education can change that. In 2020, with assistance from a Malala Fund grant, Odara launched its first initiative for improving school completion rates among Black, quilombola, and Indigenous girls: “Ayomidê Odara”. The young girls mentored under the program, including Julia, are known as the Ayomidês. And like the Pura x Malala Fund Collection’s Brazil: Breath of Courage scent, the Ayomidês are fierce, determined, and bursting with energy.

Ayomidês take part in weekly educational sessions where they explore subjects like education and ethnic-racial relations. The girls are encouraged to find their own voices by producing Instagram lives, social media videos, and by participating in public panels. Already, the Ayomidês are rewriting the narrative on what’s possible for Afro-Brazilian girls to achieve. One of the earliest Ayomidês, a young woman named Debora, is now a communications intern. Another former Ayomidê, Francine,........

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