I am not a chef. Not even a cook. I fall into the category of people who scrounge together meals, occasionally and eagerly resorting to Lower Live. I treat cooking as a necessary but unfortunate chore. No one is to blame but myself.
Across the Pond: Childhood Dreams and Double-Decker Buses
London has been a dream of mine since childhood. It was a place I saw in storybooks and movies, dotted with grand palaces and cherry red double-decker buses. Hollywood’s version convinced me that it was the pinnacle of perfection, at least in the eyes of my younger self.
Standing in Maloney Hall on that dull February day, I was overcome with excitement, knowing I would finally get to live out the life 11-year-old Makayla had always dreamed of.
India’s Next Move in the U.S.-China Chess Match
The chess match between China and the U.S. is far from over, and India should be perceived as a rook in the middle of the board, undecided on its allegiance. Maybe the answer does not lie in picking a side and falling into the depths of this zero-sum game, but in building a stable economy that allows India to reclaim as much independence as possible from this chess game.
Slow Down, BC!
I swear that I’m a good driver. I stop at red lights. I use my turn signal. Every accident I’ve been in has never been found to be my fault. That said, there was one time I slammed into a fence post on my way home from work.
Opposites Don’t Always Attract
The dynamics of magnets have never captured my attention, except during one middle school science test. I can’t remember Bill Nye’s explanation of magnetic poles or electron clouds, yet one lesson from the unit stuck with me— opposites attract.
The concept seems transferable to all aspects of life. Things that, at first glance, shouldn’t go together often make the best pairs—french fries and ice cream, dresses and sneakers, even light and darkness. But in these great pairings, is there a point where opposites become too opposite? In other words, can a fry become too salty for its ice cream, or ice cream too sweet for its fry?
Sauna Rules
The first week of classes is a little like the first week of January. I’m extra nice to everyone, striving for 10,000 steps a day, and trying not to eat carbs. Then, by January 7—or the second week of the semester—I’ve given up on my utopian resolutions and succumbed to Late Night at the Rat.
Cultivating a Secret Garden in Your Mind
Every day, middle school me spent hours practicing tennis alone against a backboard, with only my imagination to keep me company. At the time, all I focused on was perfecting my form, not realizing that I was also inadvertently training something even more important: the ability to daydream.
Drafting History in Campus’ Quiet Hours
I feel most like myself when I’m walking across campus at 2:00 a.m. on a Monday, when Gasson’s bells stop chiming, the buses stop huffing and puffing their way around campus, and the Quad’s sprinklers soak the bottoms of my jeans if I don’t maneuver around them swiftly enough.
You Are Wonderful
You are wonderful. And I’m going to prove it to you. You, yes you, are wonderful and infinitely valuable. If you just read those words and thought, “No way, not me. Wonderful is not the word I’d use. What do I have to offer that someone else can’t do better?” Make no mistake, all the world needs you to be is yourself.
LinkedIn-sanity
I have a LinkedIn, and it feels apocalyptic. For those who don’t know, LinkedIn is the social networking website for professional development. Unlike other social media platforms like Facebook or X, LinkedIn unpretentiously admits in its vision statement that it seeks to provide economic opportunity for its users—not social utility.