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.
This past summer, (my last and, sadly, only summer spent wandering in Baltimore’s heavy heat) I finally learned and realized what it means to be part of this city’s food culture.
Richard Linklater’s revolutionary epic ode to coming-of-age pushes the boundaries of all the conventions that we had come so used to associating with film. Films have traditionally served as an escape from the dreary bleakness of everyday life.
As fall approaches, every fashion lover is forced to look at their closet and re-evaluate each and every item. As much as you may have loved the off-the-shoulder dresses and Bohemian babe inspired ensembles of summer, it is time to remove the clutter and make room for a whole new era... or rather the second era of the sixties.
I know that summer is ending when I begin to get excited for all the television I plan to watch. Whether I will have time for it is a different story, but the line-up for this fall is enticing.
The last summer of my undergraduate career was colorful, but the brightest memory was my family trip to Florida.
Since it finally dawned on me that I’ll be graduating in a couple of weeks, I feel obligated to impart my pearls of wisdom on every underclassman that passes my way. College truly is a learning experience, and I’ve got enough life lessons bouncing around in my head to land me on a couch with Oprah.
As most of us college students know by now, summer is a time of endless opportunities and plans formed around May that become less and less ambitious come August. At the beginning of the summer it feels like the possibilities are infinite. But as the summer grind comes along and everyone is occupied with things like internships, summer jobs and working at the carnival, it can be hard to carve out time for the things that you didn’t have the time or energy for during the school year. In order to make sure you get at least some of the things you want to do during the summer in, it’s important to start planning early.
You can’t talk about Maryland cuisine without mentioning seafood. And you certainly can’t mention Maryland seafood without talking about the Chesapeake Bay. It’s important to learn, understand and appreciate the distinct foods Maryland has to offer, but it’s even more imperative to understand where that food comes from. The Chesapeake Bay is the life water that runs through Maryland as well as five other states, and is one of the defining factors that have shaped Maryland cuisine.
Top Dawg Entertainment, the independent hip hop record label that has developed a huge following recently, especially due to the success of Kendrick Lamar, landed at the Baltimore Soundstage on Sunday with performances by L.A.-based rapper, ScHoolboy Q, and Tennessee-based rapper, Isaiah Rashad. Due to how fast the tickets sold out weeks prior to the show, a second show was added later in the night. This had its pros and cons. On the plus side, the performers were set to a strict schedule and set times, which helped since most hip hop shows are notorious for having the headliner delay the start time. However, this unfortunately meant shorter sets for the performers.
I stumbled upon a quiz some time ago titled “Could You Prevent Someone Jumping from a Cliff?” After diligently filling out the answers, got the result: “No, you couldn’t.” The result wasn’t even that surprising, considering my overall grim outlook on life.
Recently, there have been talks that there will be a Mrs. Doubtfire sequel, and that Robin Williams is on board. The film was originally released in 1993, so it is the perfect mixture of being a part of a lot of our childhoods, and far enough out of our minds that it seems like a new—or good—idea. We are the demographic that studios want to reach, and a lot of us grew up with this movie and hold it near to our hearts.
This past week was spring break for a lot of high schoolers, including my little brother Johnny. The last thing I thought he would have wanted to do was to come and stay with me for a few days, but—alas—when I asked him he said he wanted to come down. This was surprising since my whole family is composed of homebodies, with my sister being the only pata caliente (literally, “hot foot,” or someone who just has to move around or travel). Apart from spending time with him, I really wanted him to get a taste of what college will be like, especially since he is graduating high school next month and will be going to college in the fall.
The first time I visited Paris, my aunt told me that there is something about the color of of the Paris sky at dusk that attracts writers, painters, and all manner of artists to make it their home. Paris was the first European city I visited, and I didn’t think much of my aunt’s comment at the time. But as I started to travel more while studying abroad, again and again I found myself drawn back to that first visit to Europe. There’s just something about Paris. Some people don’t have that same attraction to the language, to the food, to the color of the Seine on a crisp day in October. But for those who do, Paris takes hold, and for good reason. Here are a few.
“Do I know you?” The real question is: should I know you?
There’s pizza you eat with a fork and knife, pizza you guzzle down off oil seeped paper plates, pizza you ravage when you’re drunk, and pizza you eat cold when you’re hungover the morning after. There’s horrible pizza, mediocre pizza, good pizza, and cathartic, life-altering pizza. And in Baltimore, there’s (soon to be) Paulie Gee’s pizza.
The first quarter of the year came with a slew of album releases, but these four undoubtedly stood out from the pack:
There is no sense of pride like that of a Caribbean.
Have you ever called someone and when they picked up they said they were just thinking or talking about you? It is believed that if this happens to you then you will live a very long life.
When one of my best friends at Hopkins asked me, “How do you feel about Croatia for spring break?” I hesitated. Croatia? Why not Greece, or that Eastern Europe trip I’d been dreaming up for years? I knew next to nothing about Croatia. Dubrovnik sounded familiar, but even deciding which airport to fly into Croatia, seemed like a complex puzzle. Then, as I began to research Croatia, the mesmerizing images of waterfalls, old Roman walls, and cerulean blue waters of the Adriatic drew me closer and closer to its sea-lined borders. When suddenly it seemed as if the trip might not happen after all, I was crushed. I didn’t want Greece; I didn’t want Prague. I wanted Croatia. And against all odds, Spring Break 2014, Croatia, happened.
