I’d like to think that I’ve done many hard things in life: I moved to a new country; I learned to speak English fluently in a household that did not; I got accepted into the college of my dreams as a first generation student. But learning to love myself was the hardest thing I’ve ever learned to do.
Looking through my favorites, it’s easy to think of my bookshelf as a biography. In reality, it is a mirror. Each time you revisit a book, a small trace of yourself gets snagged between the lines, the smudges accumulating like heights marked on the walls of a childhood home.
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?”
Through my veins runs a liquid similar to everyone else's, but as a Philadelphia Eagles fan, the sustenance has a unique color and composition we sum up as “green.”
As I approach the end of my undergraduate career at Hopkins, I’m looking forward to new adventures and novelty. I wanted to share some recommendations for places that have become some of me and my friends’ favorite spots in the city, in hopes that they will help you explore and better acclimate to your new home.
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.
Let’s start small: I’m sitting at my desk in Baltimore. It’s piled full of books I’ve been reading for classes: stacks of novellas and chapbooks, a linguistics textbook, and a handful of children’s books. Beside me is an oven-safe ceramic; within it sits a raw, frozen chocolate croissant, ready to thaw and rise while I sleep.
I just had some of the driest chicken of my life at Hopkins Cafe, and now I’m in the overcrowded Brody Reading Room having just spent 30 minutes playing Brawl Stars instead of studying. Classic.
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?
If you’re looking for a swoonworthy romance, Los Angeles is probably not the first place to go. I guess you could say it’s “romantic” in a sense: Cherry-red sunsets lining cobalt waves are taken for granted and star-studded Hollywood lives just around the corner, but it’s not the place for an Audrey Hepburn kind of meet cute.
Dear Janice, After a bit of reflecting, here are some things I want to tell you.
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.
I was around ten when I first heard the phrase “comfort zone.” It was uttered by my favorite YouTuber at the time in her Monthly Favorites video, and I decided that I wanted to build up my comfort zone — now, at 21, I think I’ve done too good of a job.
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. And for a solid week (if we're lucky), we actually do it.
As a healed doomscroller, I don’t remember when exactly I became addicted, but I do recall why.
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.
At first, it seemed like things were falling into place. But, despite how hard I tried to deny it, cracks were forming within me.
Growth is a complicated thing. We often think about it in a positive lens, like shedding our old skin to reveal something beautiful beneath it. Growth can be finding your fashion style, pushing yourself to start a new hobby or learning to love a part of yourself you’ve hated. But, it can also be letting go of a friend, giving up on something you no longer enjoy or picking up a bad habit.
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.
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. Research has kept up with this innate human search for dopamine: Psychology and neuroscience have started looking for the neurobiological basis for contentment.
