Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
April 18, 2024

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 JAMIE KIM As Christmas nears, Kim considers where home really is and what it means to find belonging.

I’ll be home for Christmas

By JAMIE KIM | December 12, 2022

So, where’s your hometown? It’s one of the most typical and easy conversation-starting questions. Yet, it can be a hard stump for someone with a multicultural, multi-regional background. The Merriam-Webster dictionary’s first definition of home is “one’s place of residence.” However, as a college student, I technically have two residences: one where my parents and siblings live and the other here in Baltimore. Plus, my physical home has changed quite a lot growing up.

COURTESY OF CHIDIMMA EZEILO Ezeilo reflects on her memories of Christmas, both in Nigeria and in Baltimore.

It’s Christmas time already

By CHIDIMMA EZEILO | December 11, 2022

Can you believe it? It’s that season of the year when we all joyfully sing holiday songs and Christmas carols. The lyrics that come to mind right now are “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.” I literally sang those words out loud and did a happy little dance right in the middle of the library!

COURTESY OF SUDHA YADAV Looking back on 2022, Yadav expresses the need for rest in moments of chaos.

A goodbye letter to 2022

By SUDHA YADAV | December 10, 2022

2022: a year that everyone looked forward to after COVID-19. Leading up to this year, I made a list of things I wanted to do, and like most other people, only ended up opening it once or twice throughout the year. Now when I look back, I realize 2022 had totally different plans for me than I originally thought. 

Letting go of leaving a legacy

By MICHELLE LIMPE | December 8, 2022

Rationally I know that “being forgotten” is an inevitability. With over eight billion people on this Earth and millennia of generations past, I am ultimately just another number, another statistic in the world. My studies in Public Health, with its focus on population-level impacts and statistics, serve to strengthen this rationalization.  

COURTESY OF JOCELYN SHAN Recalling a memory of a trip with her friend, Shan reconciles her intimate view of China from a familial perspective with a more impersonal view from a foreign lens.

What’s not in the picture: the Great Wall

By JOCELYN SHAN | December 7, 2022

My China is China, and Carson’s China is China. I don’t think that one is better than the other. My China is precious and full of familial ties, but there is yet another version, maybe thousands of versions, that are equally as important. Carson’s foreigner perspective didn’t corrupt this place; it just looked at it from a different angle, seeing walls and mountains that I had never noticed before.

COURTESY OF CHIDIMMA EZEILO Hailing from Nigeria, Ezeilo expresses her love for the beauty and sights of her new home in Baltimore.

The Nigerian Black beauty in Baltimore

By CHIDIMMA EZEILO | December 4, 2022

“Hey, you! Can I be your sugar daddy?” This has so far been the most hilarious comment I have heard hooted to me on the streets of Baltimore, the city I have called home for nearly two years. 

COURTESY OF ANNI FAN Fan discusses how her experiences at Hopkins led her to decide to move on from swim.

Why I decided to quit swim

By ANNI FAN | December 3, 2022

I spent most of my freshman and sophomore years weighed down by a constant sense of tiredness in my bones. But that was to be expected since I woke up at 5:30 a.m. three times a week to jump into a cold pool. 

COURTESY OF MADELYN KYE As she prepares to study abroad, Kye discusses her excitement to explore a new culture and her fears in losing time with her friends.

Preparing to study abroad

By MADELYN KYE | November 30, 2022

I am preparing to study abroad next semester. So far, this has mainly consisted of curating a new wardrobe on Pinterest, applying for a visa and — on a sadder note — grappling with the knowledge that this would be my last semester with many of my best friends at Hopkins.

COURTESY OF SHIHUA CHEN Looking back on her experiences applying to medical school, Chen considers how her culture plays a role in her professional life.

How my culture affects my professional life

By SHIHUA CHEN | November 28, 2022

When I interviewed at a medical school earlier this year, I felt the interview had gone ok. In preparation I practiced my answers with multiple mock interviewers, watched countless videos from past applicants and researched extensively on the school.

COURTESY OF GABRIEL LESSER As he adjusts to a new Spanish-speaking environment, Lesser reflects on his family’s different languages and how they have influenced him.

What my family has taught me about language

By GABRIEL LESSER | November 18, 2022

My mom was younger than I am now when she moved from Brazil to the United States. She met my dad, who is from New York, while they were both studying abroad at Tel Aviv University. At the age of 19, she left her home in Rio de Janeiro and transferred to college in New York to be with my dad.

COURTESY OF ALIZA LI Li considers the events in her life that led her to major in Writing Seminars at Hopkins.

Why I chose writing

By ALIZA LI | November 13, 2022

In some sense, I write as a form of embodiment, a way for me to make real the things I cannot express outwardly. Writing is no longer something I want but something I need. I need it, just as much as I need water or shoes. 

Dear extroverts, introverts are normal too

By JAMIE KIM | November 3, 2022

One of the most obvious things that we notice in our everyday lives is that people are distinctly different. There are 7 billion people sharing the earth. But how many are considered normal? When are people considered abnormal? 

COURTESY OF ROWAN LIU Liu reflects on her time at Hopkins, her volunteering experiences with a refugee family and what it means to move forward into a new and unfamiliar space.

Onward and upwards: Helping a refugee family move in

By ROWAN LIU | October 28, 2022

Before the pandemic, I was a freshman still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my time at Hopkins. I was preoccupied with my grades, my resume and being the best I could be.  By the start of spring of 2020, I began to volunteer with the Baltimore chapter of the International Refugee Committee (IRC). I thought it was an excellent activity to get involved in, since I wanted to work with international organizations or the State Department in the future. 

COURTESY OF MOLLY GREEN Green recounts her experiences as a summer camp counselor and the joy of mentoring young campers.

The camp counselor life

By MOLLY GREEN | October 19, 2022

June 6 was the day my summer truly began. At 6:30 I woke up, put on my bathing suit and sweats and drove to my favorite place: work. My coworkers and I greeted each other in the parking lot, blinking away the mist of the early morning as we started our trek down the hill to the beach. 

COURTESY OF MADELYN KYE Kye reflects on the ups and downs of her tumultuous relationship with running.

My relationship with running

By MADELYN KYE | October 19, 2022

I have an on-again, off-again relationship with running. The cycle began when I joined the track and field team in seventh grade. I already played a fall sport and was looking for a way to stay active in the spring. That year I tried out sprinting, hurdles and triple jump; I found myself extremely motivated by the prospect of progress in these various events.

COURTESY OF JACKIE RITTENHOUSE Rittenhouse describes all the memories, rituals and feelings that come with Sunday.

A Sunday kind of love

By JACKIE RITTENHOUSE | October 16, 2022

It’s Sunday, a day made for living slowly, for taking care of yourself and your space and for recharging all of the little aspects of yourself that are expended every other day of the week. It’s Sunday, and I choose to rest.

COURTESY OF MICHELLE LIMPE In anticipation of The News-Letter’s return to print, Limpe and Gahagen discuss the paper’s production history.

Back in black and white

By MICHELLE LIMPE and MOLLY GAHAGEN | October 13, 2022

The return to “normal” has been gradual for all, The News-Letter included. The pandemic forced us to move our print publication, a tradition on campus for over 120 years, to a fully online, daily production with our last print edition published on March 12, 2020.

Editor's Picks
Weekly Rundown
Podcast
Multimedia
Alumni Weekend 2024
Leisure Interactive Food Map
The News-Letter Print Locations
News-Letter Special Editions