Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
September 25, 2026 September 25, 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.

COURTESY OF MIKE EZPERANZA Miller discusses the notion of “artivism” after getting assigned a dance piece assignment on politics at the Peabody Institute.

Expecting activism out of artists

By ANGELINA MILLER | December 10, 2024

Wednesday, Nov. 6, 9:25 a.m. Leakin Hall, Peabody Institute. A studio that had once been filled with dynamic pulses of expectant energy had now been reduced to a foreboding hush. I caught myself avoiding the despondent stares of my peers as I walked apprehensively to my spot. Drafts of how I would one day illustrate where I was when “it” happened flooded my head. Within these floods, I attempted to search for a polished response to indicate my dissidence, but everything felt too forced. In the end, I had abandoned my grand gesture of outrage and took a seat among the mass of wary bodies.

COURTESY OF ANNE LI Li reminds the reader to take care of themselves by by telling a personal anecdote.

Take care of yourself, too

By ANNE LI | December 7, 2024

Two weeks into starting college, I joined my first lab, a number of student clubs and enrolled in many pre-med classes. As a first generation student, it was safe to say I was led in a blind eye, never knowing which step was the right one. As long as I moved forward and kept on doing what I was doing, that was all that mattered.

COURTESY OF HAILEY FINKELSTEIN Finkelstein reflects on going back to her hometown for the holidays.

On bagels and gray hair

By HAILEY FINKELSTEIN | December 7, 2024

To go back to my one-square-mile hometown for Thanksgiving is to buckle my younger self into the passenger seat of my mom’s red Kia and take her for a drive. At every stop sign in my old high school parking lot, there is a new wave of nauseating nostalgia. 

COURTESY OF MOLLY GREEN Green tells the story of a table that has a long history in her family.

All the things a table can hold

By MOLLY GREEN | December 5, 2024

It is 1994. She’s shopping at Pottery Barn with her boyfriend. He needs help furnishing his apartment — she has deemed him hopeless at all things decor, and besides, the furniture she picks today will soon be theirs, so she is careful. Meticulous. Precise. 

COURTESY OF ALYSSA GONZALEZ Gonzalez tries to find the middle ground between her passion for her future career and her other interests, friends and family. 

Have we turned off our humanity switch?

By ALYSSA GONZALEZ | December 4, 2024

When I was younger, my mother would always tell me that I would be remembered by my title: a great lawyer, a Hopkins graduate, an expert in international studies. I never realized why this idea always rubbed me the wrong way. I began to wonder: will my entire life be reduced to my work? 

COURTESY OF CELINA STODDER Stodder comes to the realization that she might not be as alone as she thinks she is in Baltimore.

Give me my ship back, please!

By CELINA STODDER | December 3, 2024

I want to let you in on a secret. Or, rather, a lesser known fact: The USS Constellation was originally built by a Stodder! Cue the double-check of my last name.

COURTESY OF BUSE KOLDAS Koldas explains why she doesn’t want the semester to end.

Can’t wait until the semester is over, until it is

By BUSE KOLDAS | December 1, 2024

Exhaustion and boredom have been ornamenting my dialogues recently. I get asked how my day has been, and without even thinking, I respond with “Tiring.” I come home to my roommates and all of our conversations about school conclude with “I need a break so bad.” At this point of the semester, I don’t recall a single day where I did not overhear the statement “I can’t wait until the semester is over.”

COURTESY OF MOLLY GREEN Green expresses her feelings toward her best friend in a letter.

Letter to my best friend

By MOLLY GREEN | November 23, 2024

We meet when we are small. I have a side part. You’re growing into your smile. Sometimes my mom drives you home from school and we do homework together on my bedroom floor: pre-algebra and five-paragraph essays. We talk about our middle school boyfriends that we acquired in tandem. You insist yours isn’t gay. In your room, the walls are lavender and lined with old softball trophies. We read the same books; we wear the same socks. You teach me how to bake. My job is to eat the extra chocolate chips. I braid your hair before I go home so you can wear it wavy to school tomorrow. I leave your house with capri leggings covered in dog hair and cookies in my backpack. 

COURTESY OF KIRSTEN AMEMATSRO Amematsro describes her attempts to reach “her ideal self” during her study abroad semester in D.C.. 

Everything, everyone, everywhere but D.C.

By KIRSTEN AMEMATSRO | November 21, 2024

I was optimistic. I was ready to be in the nation's capital, not only to witness history unfold but to simultaneously analyze it within a historical context. I wanted this semester to be the semester — the one where I would finally explore all of D.C. (long overdue as a Northern Virginia native). 

COURTESY OF KYARIE SHELTON Shelton tells her experience at Hopkins as a Black student and criticizes the reversal of affirmative action.

In the space between acceptance and belonging

By KYARIE SHELTON | November 20, 2024

I’ll never forget the moment I saw “You’re Admitted” flash across my screen. I was sitting criss-cross applesauce on my bedroom floor, working on an AP European History project when I received an email notification saying there was an update to my portal. I set my phone up to capture my reaction. I tried to tame my excitement by muttering, “Who cares if I get into Johns Hopkins,” but inside, I craved the validation of an acceptance. As the screen lagged, my anxiety built and I covered my computer, shielding myself from the possibility of rejection. Finally, the page loaded, and there it was: a banner of acceptance. I laughed, clapped and immediately shared the news with my family.

COURTESY OF KAYLEE NGUYEN Nguyen pens a letter to everyone and everything she has ever loved and ponders about this complex emotion.

A non-anonymous anonymous love letter

By KAYLEE NGUYEN | November 19, 2024

“Love” is one of the most — if not the most — elusive emotions for a person to experience. Whether you’re an artist or a scholar, defining “love” is a nearly impossible task. Perhaps due to its abstractness or broad definition, conveying this emotion is an intricate skill that takes years to perfect.

COURTESY OF ANNE LI Li celebrates her new age and a shifting perspective toward birthdays.

20: A moment of self-celebration and growth

By ANNE LI | November 15, 2024

Recently, I turned 20. While starting another decade of my life felt heavy in its own right, I had been anxiously anticipating this moment for so long that reaching the milestone brought an unexpected sense of calm clarity. For the first time, too, I didn’t shy away from celebrating myself. And for the first time, I didn’t wait for others to notice or wish me happy birthday first.

COURTESY OF KAITLIN TAN Tan overhears a conversation about burnout while studying at an outdoor cafe.

Beast of burden

By KAITLIN TAN | November 14, 2024

I haven’t yet met anyone on this campus who hasn’t been exhausted, at some point, by the time November rolls around. Still, every other day I trick myself into thinking that burnout is an isolated experience. 

COURTESY OF JOHNALYS FERRER Ferrer depicts an evening with the monster of academic validation.

The haunting weight of my future on my chest

By JOHNALYS FERRER | November 14, 2024

Sometimes, as I walk towards my dorm and look for my keys to open the door, I can feel his presence, creeping behind me as an overwhelming void of disapproval trails the steps I have taken. I can hear him grunt and scoff at me looking for the right key, as if he expects more. 

COURTESY OF ARWA MAREDIA Nguyen challenges her poetry skills through the courses she takes at Hopkins and grows to like this genre.

Sensationalizing my poetic sentiments

By KAYLEE NGUYEN | November 13, 2024

First Year Seminars (FYS) seem to be one of the most defining features of the “Hopkins First-Year Experience.” From uncovering the secrets of “Why We Science?” to snacking in “The Literature of Food,” there seems to be an endless supply of knowledge ready to be unveiled by the next unsuspecting freshmen.

COURTESY OF LINDA HUANG Huang reflects on her first time voting in the 2024 election. 

More than a sticker: where my first vote took me

By LINDA HUANG | November 11, 2024

Politics always felt distant, like an endless noise I wasn’t supposed to question. I had always treated politics as something I chose not to participate in or educate myself in. To me, it represented polarity, difference, argument, conflict — nothing of a good connotation.

TIM EVANSON / CC BY-SA 2.0 Finkelstein criticizes the politicization of transgender rights and shares her sibling’s story.

Trans kids need you

By HAILEY FINKELSTEIN | November 10, 2024

This year, my younger sibling Ellis was finally able to start receiving gender-affirming care to support their journey as a transgender individual. Ellis has always been their own fiercest advocate, using their voice to fight for their right to existence in a society that has extended unspeakable amounts of hate to children who just want the basic right to live authentically as themselves. 

COURTESY OF GABRIEL LESSER Lesser finds himself distant from his loved ones following graduation, yet manages to keep them close to him.

Pieces of home everywhere I go

By GABRIEL LESSER | November 10, 2024

A few weeks ago, I walked into CVS and printed out 114 4x6 photos. My intent was to make a photo wall in my apartment, but given that I am indecisive, I decided to just print a huge chunk of my favorites folder without truly thinking about the sheer quantity that I had selected.

JIYUN GUO / DESIGN AND LAYOUT EDITOR Koldas writes her farewell to the Milton S. Eisenhower Library and reminisces about the last time she was there.

A goodbye to Milton S. Eisenhower Library

By BUSE KOLDAS | November 10, 2024

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the things that I’d done for the last time without knowing it. My dad put my hair into a ponytail for the last time on one random school morning in 2014. I played my final solitaire game on our crusty computer in 2016 right before it shut down for good, never to be opened again.

COURTESY OF SARA KAUFMAN Kaufman describes the journey of finding her voice and developing her public speaking abilities.

To speak or not to speak? My journey from whispers to speeches

By SARA KAUFMAN | November 9, 2024

Last week, I caught a particularly annoying cold and lost my voice. As I showed up to class armed with masks and copious quantities of hand sanitizer, I noticed that I wasn’t raising my hand during lectures nearly as much as I usually do. I wasn’t asking my professors questions or answering theirs because of my voice; I didn’t bother trying to speak because I knew it wouldn’t work. Its silencing effect was annoying, and it was particularly irksome because this wasn't the first time my voice had held me back.

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