A Ghibli Pilgrimage, Part I: Preparation
This will be a series of posts covering my recent 7-day solo backpacking trip to Japan. The table of contents …
2019: Bloom
Musings in Madrid
I grip my bag and keep it secure against the front of my body like a pale child; I’d been …
How to Appreciate a Long Flight
Take a seat. Perhaps you have to make the awkward shuffle passing in front of aisle passengers to get to …
Mid-Year Resolutions & Reflection
I really had no clue what 2019 had in for me. It came rocking like a polished amusement park train, …
From the Pit of Hustle Culture
The unease set in just a couple weeks after tucking away my high school graduation cap in my bedroom. The …
Questions People Have Asked About College Admissions
I really thought I was done talking about the US college admissions process. I never hated doing it, but I …
An Empty Set is the Saddest Thing
The set for my last high school theater production was the grandest we’d ever had. Through the years, I’d seen …
A Game Nobody Wins
This Thursday morning, the entire high school assembled in the gym for the end-of-year award ceremony. I admit to always …
For Collegeboard
*This was written in the last 20 minutes of my AP Microeconomics exam, in the blank pages for the free …
The Gentlest Parting
It feels like I should be talking to him right now. It feels like I should be talking to him …
Exiting the Beinecke
For nothing was simply one thing. The other Lighthouse was true too. —Virginia Woolf I had grown used to …
On Passing Jing An Si
I’m dozing off in the Shanghai subway. We’re on a school trip. I’m fatigued from the flight and trying to …
[S(e)oul City] 3. Wordsmiths & The Pocket
A single microphone in a dimmed room, a quiet buzz in the air. Not much of a spotlight. I step …
On Choral Music
Upon returning from a 5-day trip to Beijing for a choir festival, I sat in the familiarity of my bedroom, …
Please Don’t Forget Me: a Cry for Permanence
Our histories are those of people that have come and gone. Reflecting upon the past is bound to bring up …
The Golden Rule of Genuine How-Do-You-Do’s
“How’s it going?” “What’s up?” “How are you these days?” There’s a million ways to say it, whether you’re chatting …
[S(e)oul City] 2. Seoul City Improv
Regular improv comedy shows, all in English, right in Seoul? That’s right. Seoul City Improv, an improv troupe that’s been …
Jeju Island: Hidden and Not-So-Hidden Spots
Gone are the days when Jeju was a vague land of ponies and tangerines, a second-choice destination for school trips …
[S(e)oul City] 1. Hergé Exhibition
My head might be in in college in America right now, but my heart and soul are firmly rooted at …
Battling the Concept of Mortality with Ice Cream Sundaes
On our drive home from the dentist’s office, Mom and I took an ironic turn into a McDonald’s drive-thru to …
