Archive for July 2020
Why you don’t feel successful at Princeton
I spent my first two summers of high school completing state-required gym classes so that I could fit more science classes into my schedule during the academic year. Every morning, I had to run a lap on the track with my classmates under the searing July sun. I ran these sprints several dozen times, and…
Read MoreVoices from the Invisible: The Reality of Black Lives in Our Schools
School people, especially boards and heads, are really good at spinning words into fluffy fantasies of utopian worlds where they have “created diverse, inclusive communities,” “protected and empowered the most vulnerable” and “cultivated environments to unlock the richness of diversity.” Lofty sentences appear in glossy catalogs and websites and swaddle prospective parents and students of…
Read MoreUnderstanding my inherited workaholism
My mind seems to be obsessed with this memory I have from second grade. I was playing with my friends at recess, telling them my dad got a new job two hours away from our home. I insisted we make a lemonade stand after school to raise money for him to stay. My naivete as…
Read MoreLet’s Agree to Disagree
A few days ago, I graduated from Penn. It’s a moment I had anticipated for years, and now I am entering a world and workforce rife with uncertainty. While Penn taught me a lot of unexpected lessons regarding grit and perseverance, one in particular stands out in this current crisis: Try your best to understand…
Read MoreMy body is not a joke
While casually scrolling Facebook (for the hundredth time that day), I noticed a meme about looking like a busted can of biscuits when it comes time to go back to work, to go to the beach, to go outside, etc. The comments underneath talked about how “disgusting” people would look going out to these activities…
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