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(04/10/25 1:35pm)
I want to start by opening up about two weaknesses of mine that I am actively working on: one, being more confident in making decisions and two, speaking up. I have always been someone who views situations from many — perhaps too many — angles and perspectives. It may sound like a strength, but oftentimes I struggle to present my ideas clearly and feel intimidated when approaching a person of authority, such as a principal investigator.
(04/10/25 2:11pm)
When I look back at child-me, it’s easy to see what has changed. I’ve gotten taller, older and less clumsy (arguably). My hobbies have shifted from playing with Barbies and American Girl Dolls to reading, watching movies and exploring new restaurants. I’m not as picky of an eater anymore and have expanded my palette to different cuisines and foods I would’ve previously shunned. I no longer live in Ohio with my parents, but rather, six hours away by car. I’m not scared of flights and traveling alone. Even though it is not my favorite, I feel comfortable speaking to a room full of people.
(04/10/25 1:44pm)
I used to think that I had my entire life planned out — laid before me as if it were a map and I was a pirate in search of gold; I would feel my finger swiftly trace the path in front of me. I always knew that I wanted to be a princess. Golden castles, sparkling gowns and a kingdom that adored me: What more could a little girl want? But my dream wasn’t just about jeweled crowns and shimmering tiaras. No; I wanted to be the kind of princess that cared for my people like my favorites: Mulan and Jasmine. I would imagine wandering through the halls of my castle and diligently partaking in royal meetings with countless advisors to make sure that no one in my kingdom ever suffered. I would be wise, kind, beautiful and generous: the sort of ruler every fairy tale promised.
(04/10/25 1:35pm)
Every human lives life aiming to be happy. We pursue jobs, careers, money, friendships and relationships looking for joy. We yearn for stability and consistency, a permanent state of calmness and joy. Our brains are wired to hunt for dopamine — a hormone that plays a role in memory, memory, pleasurable reward and motivation. Research has kept up with this innate human search for dopamine: Psychology and neuroscience have started looking for the neurobiological basis for contentment.
(04/10/25 1:36pm)
“I tried to do everything right.”
(04/10/25 1:43pm)
Dear Janice,
(04/10/25 1:51pm)
Hi Leo,
(04/10/25 1:36pm)
Growth is a complicated thing.
(04/10/25 1:43pm)
My first breaths were taken in the languid heat of a Los Angeles August morning. My mom tells me I was born with a head full of hair and that my birth was thankfully a lot easier than my older brother’s. A home video exists on a clunky camcorder somewhere in our house that’s just a close-up of my newborn face while my mom wiggles me into a soft white onesie. When I watched it for the first time, it was a little surreal hearing her voice from another time, even if it was just her saying “bless you” and cooing after I sneezed for the first time ever.
(04/10/25 1:53pm)
If I had to define my life, I would choose to define it not by what I’ve accomplished, but rather by the books I’ve read. I’ve spent my whole life passing from one story to the next. To me, it isn’t a choice to pick up the next book but, rather, a need to consume words. I fall hopelessly in love every time I open a book and then break my own heart the second I turn the page to the author’s acknowledgements. And then, I remedy my heartbreak with the next dose of a good book, falling into this cycle of ups and downs as I search for something that will soothe my craving for another story.
(04/10/25 1:40pm)
I grew up in New Delhi, India — a city where summers blaze relentlessly, where the streets never sleep and where every corner hums with stories waiting to be told. The scent of sizzling street food clings to the air, rickshaws weave through traffic in a chaotic dance and the pulse of the city is constant. Even as a child, if I had to describe my life in one word, it would’ve been eventful. There was always something happening — a festival transforming the skyline with bursts of color; an impromptu cricket game on the streets; a monsoon that turned the roads into rivers. In this fast-moving world, I learned to adapt, to stand firm in the face of unpredictability and to dream of what lay beyond the narrow alleyways of my childhood.
(04/10/25 1:37pm)
Despite being the shortest month in the Gregorian Calendar, February — the month of love and Punxsutawney Phil — can feel endless. As someone from the Northeast, I’m used to the cold. However, the grey slush barricading the Baltimore roadways is not a very welcome change. The winter Sunday is a short, dark blip marketed as a day of rest in the vein of the long-standing religious tradition observed by people across the world: the Sabbath.
(04/10/25 1:53pm)
As I approach the end of my undergraduate career at Hopkins, I’m looking forward to new adventures and novelty. At the same time, I have also developed quite a firm place in my heart for our school and our city. Like many other students, Baltimore is the first place I have lived in by myself, independent from my family and childhood friends, so it’s safe to say that the city has seen me through a lot of moments of growth.
(04/10/25 1:39pm)
Let’s be honest — goal-setting sounds amazing in theory. Every January, millions of people, including me, sit down with fresh enthusiasm, ready to finally get their life together. This is it, we tell ourselves. This is the year I wake up at 5 a.m., read 52 books, get ripped, find inner peace and maybe even learn French. And for a solid week (if we're lucky), we actually do it. We power through a few early mornings, sweat through a couple of gym sessions and nod along to the Duolingo owl aggressively reminding us not to break our streak.
(04/10/25 1:56pm)
I think people spend too much time talking about who they want to be and not enough time talking about who they already are. It’s always about the next step; the next goal; the next milestone. Nobody ever asks, “What’s your favorite thing about yourself today?” Like right now; in this moment. Not the person you’re hoping to become five years from now. Not the polished, grown, fully developed version of you. Just you, today.
(11/14/24 7:46pm)
(11/14/24 7:50pm)
Coming to Hopkins as an international student during the pandemic, I really had no idea what to expect. We were still under some pandemic restrictions, especially on the Homewood Campus, and I had barely met anyone who would also be attending Hopkins that fall. I felt scared and a little isolated. But my parents had been insistent on me giving it a go. Specifically, I remember my dad saying that I would make a new life for myself here in Baltimore, and that the chance to live in a country like the U.S. during university would open my eyes to a whole new range of perspectives.
(11/14/24 7:53pm)
In Irish, “sláinte” is the colloquial term used for toasts and other cheers. My Irish grandmother often uses it at birthday and holiday celebrations to start a meal and celebrate our family’s togetherness. This summer I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Ireland for two and a half weeks. Going into the trip, I was relatively nervous because it was my first time traveling alone internationally, but I was mostly excited for the chance to experience a foreign yet familiar culture in such an immersive way. So I boarded an Aer Lingus flight with my suitcase and guitar, looking forward to the time I would spend across the pond.
(11/14/24 7:54pm)
I used to say that I was from nowhere, everywhere or from the South China Sea. All were true enough.
(11/14/24 7:49pm)
Being African in the mid-2010s earned me rude comments on my appearance, my food and my way of communication. I used to evade inquiries into what I wore to Nigerian parties out of fear that people would see pictures and deem my clothes ugly. I refused to bring anything African for lunch because in my majority white middle school, I had experienced kids making fun of the savory smells or asking for a taste and spitting it out in disgust. I was even afraid for my friends to meet my parents because 1) my mother and father are extremely judgmental, and 2) they would remark on how loud we all laughed or talked.
