Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
September 18, 2026 September 18, 2026 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Voices

Hopkins is a diverse university where an incredible mix of cultures, academic interests and personalities coexist and thrive. Here is the section where you can publish your unique thoughts, ideas and perspectives on life at Hopkins and beyond.

SYDNOR DUFFY / DESIGN & LAYOUT EDITOR Rose Tuck pens her legacy letter with the help of Omkar Katkade.

Letters Without Limits: Rose Tuck

By OMKAR KATKADE | 2 days ago

I tell everyone to live your life the best you can and to the best of your knowledge. Follow your steps. Don’t start something and then stop. If it’s something you like, you do it. If it’s not, pursue what you want to do with your life. Follow your dreams.

COURTESY OF SEBASTIAN ALDERMAN Alderman reflects on his time as a hospital volunteer, examining who truly benefits more from his work: the patients or himself.

To listen

By SEBASTIAN ALDERMAN | 4 days ago

What I see as a volunteer is a snapshot. A freeze-framed moment in time of a person's life, and I feel both privileged to share that moment and duty bound to help them any way I can. 

COURTESY OF CRYSTAL WANG Wang makes the case for herbal medicine, a treatment from the community itself.

Herbal medicine and growing pains

By CRYSTAL WANG | July 16, 2026

Although I ultimately have no definitive answer to my original query, maybe it is worth it to implement a return of medicine that is born from communities themselves, tailored to their customs and invested in their well-being for the long, long term.

COURTESY OF ANDREW HUYNH Huynh pens an open letter to the joy of a cappella.

Music that moves: a love note to a capella

By ANDREW HUYNH | July 16, 2026

It is through this exact sense of community, united by music alone, that makes the Hopkins a cappella scene so great. Each and every group sings their hearts out in places ranging from hospital waiting rooms to semesterly concerts. Is that not reason enough to listen?

COURTESY OF CATHERINE CHAN Chan writes an ode to East Coast summers.

Old bay and East Coast summers

By CATHERINE CHAN | May 26, 2026

For no matter where I may travel I find that nothing compares to an East Coast summer vacation spent with the people I love, crab and Old Bay seasoning. 

COURTESY OF JASON CHANG Life sometimes gives us an unplugged controller.

The freedom of powerlessness

By JASON CHANG | May 25, 2026

And when you realize the scope of what you can’t influence, it highlights the things you can, allowing you to devote more time to them, rather than fruitlessly fretting over factors you can’t possibly impact.

COURTESY OF KAITLIN TAN Tan reflects on the conclusion of her Voices column, investigating how faith found its way into her final installation.

On faith

By KAITLIN TAN | May 24, 2026

In my freshman year, I named this column “White Noise” to symbolize the everyday blur that I found myself constantly parsing through for meaning, for something to hold onto. Now, rather than searching for something external from which I might derive meaning, I’m starting to find that it might be worthwhile to work in the reverse, too. 

COURTESY OF SAREENA NAGANAND What does it take to create a life of only the right places at the right times? Naganand has the answer. 

Right place, right time

By SAREENA NAGANAND | May 1, 2026

We don’t see it during the moment itself, but every circumstance has the potential to turn into a fond memory – all it takes is being fully present. 

COURTESY OF AMELIA TAYLOR What makes art? As Taylor suggests, the answer may be something other than just “artists.”

What makes art?

By AMELIA TAYLOR | May 1, 2026

Art is what happens when hard work brings the artist and their audience together to glimpse something meaningful about human experience.

COURTESY OF ANGEL WANG Wang reflects on the various meanings of "home."

Facets of home

By ANGEL WANG | April 24, 2026

When we first moved to Vancouver, my parents held out only a few weeks before their homesickness set in, rising like a fever. They booked their first flight back to China three weeks later. Then the flights home stretched to become months apart, then every half-year, until it was just once a year. 

COURTESY OF ELIZABETH RAO Rao writes to the freedoms of a new driver.

New license, new beginning

By ELIZABETH RAO | April 23, 2026

My driving journey so far has been a vessel for my journey of self-discovery. When I started to drive, I didn’t trust myself with such a powerful machine. Every time I sat behind a car wheel, I stepped out of my comfort zone. But with each successful trip I took, I told myself, “It wasn’t too bad, right? You can do it next time, too!”

COURTESY OF RILEY STRAIT Strait reaches back in memory to find an answer to the question of why he's chosen to be a writer.

Goldilocks forever

By RILEY STRAIT | April 23, 2026

My grandma was an English minor at her state college in Missouri, and perhaps selfishly or reductively — sorry, Grandma — I want to consider this the feat of her studies, the capstone. Every night, she respun Goldilocks into new configurations and mischief for me. She dragged the girl into modern context like a sorry child to the principal’s office. 

COURTESY OF LINDA HUANG Huang recounts a recent trip to Hong Kong over spring break.

My journey to Hong Kong

By LINDA HUANG | April 23, 2026

Two weeks ago, I decided to go to Hong Kong over spring break. It was impulsive. I had been there before — once as a child, and again in 2019. But somehow, I barely remembered any of it. This is the second time in a relatively short span that I have found myself writing about Asia, which probably says something about the kind of year this has been. More than ever before, I have been thinking more seriously about identity, what feels like home and how much of it is something I only recognize once I’ve been away from it. 

COURTESY OF SHREYA TIWARI Tiwari contemplates archives and memory reading Didion's posthumous release.

On archives

By SHREYA TIWARI | April 22, 2026

What do my archives look like? What have I kept that I’d like to get rid of? What have I thrown away or deleted that I wish was still around? 

COURTESY OF BRYCE LEIBERMAN Leiberman contemplates the necessity of fulfilling passtimes.

I got next

By BRYCE LEIBERMAN | April 21, 2026

I have never been the most skilled player, but if you ever happen to be at the Rec at eight on a Tuesday night, look at the basketball court. You’ll probably see a myriad of swishes, some lucky shots, a behind-the-back pass or two and a few people just running up and down the floor, enjoying themselves. 

COURTESY OF CRYSTAL WANG Wang reflects on summer afternoons spent fishing with her father.

Spineless books and afterschool fishing

By CRYSTAL WANG | April 18, 2026

When the summer heat has subsided, and the sun casts a liquid saffron in the rippling bank waters of the Loch Raven Reservoir, my father and I gather up hooks, lure and rods to set out fishing.

COURTESY OF ALEXANDRA GARCIA HERRERA Herrera reflects on a recent trip to New York.

The day I felt everyone’s story

By ALEXANDRA GARCIA HERRERA | April 18, 2026

Founded in 2009 by Brandon Doman, The Strangers Project began as a simple yet powerful idea: to collect anonymous, handwritten stories from people around the world and share them in a space where anyone could read them. What started as a small project has grown into a global collection of human experiences stories filled with honesty, vulnerability and emotion.

COURTESY OF HARMONY LIU Liu learns to think more positively after a streak of bad luck.

Unlucky

By HARMONY LIU | April 17, 2026

Two weeks ago, I had an incredible stroke of bad luck. Nothing was ever that serious, but minor inconveniences and unfortunate happenings followed me around like a fever I couldn’t shake.

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