Writer, sister, traveler…still figuring out what else. — Introducing Myself Reading others’ “about me” posts made me question how much I have to share about myself. Especially now, feeling isolated and aimless while basically unemployed and living at home again during a pandemic. However, I think for a shy 22-year-old I’ve experienced a fair bit so far. I’ve lived in…

At least this time, tuition will be covered — Usually don’t share life updates on here but I’m too excited (and nervous ) for my next step to keep quiet. In a few weeks, I’ll be moving to Portland to pursue an MFA in nonfiction writing, and to work as a teaching assistant to cover tuition and some expenses. …

No matter how close you are to them — I know, there are already too many online criticisms about the recent final season of Ted Lasso. But the show’s trivialization of anger as a response to discovering a close friend is gay deserves discussion, if only because it perpetuates a too-common way of thinking. Isaac avoids Colin, shuts down…

But tipping culture isn’t a long-term solution for workers — A recent Los Angeles Times article examined how tipping culture feels out-of-control for many in the United States, with more “tablets with quick-tap default tip options” and increased societal pressure to add a gratuity. As a barista myself, I’ll concede several points. Certainly, I thought of this article when I…

Delineating works as feminist, or anti-feminist, misses the point of the movement — As someone who has identified as a feminist since I knew what the term meant, hearing of media marketed as feminist makes me less, not more, interested. It’s not that art should never advocate for social change. But what’s described as feminist rarely strives to create a more equitable world…

Though both the works of geniuses, I would never watch them again — Although different in about a million ways from Alice in Wonderland, Ari Aster’s three-hour horror film Beau is Afraid reminded me of the Disney classic in its unpleasant surrealism and ultimately unsatisfying endings. Though the animation of the 1951 Alice is wonderful and the story widely beloved, to someone who…

Well-paying, nontraditional career paths are designed around men — A U.S. News article cited the surprise of many that college enrollment didn’t rebound after the pandemic, but is that really a shock? Tuition rates have only become more unaffordable and many fields nowadays necessitate additional vocational training that bachelor’s degrees are too broad to address. Decrying the expense of…

Both are difficult issues on their own. And when put together? — Food prices are insanely high right now. And gluten-free food has always been expensive compared to gluten-containing counterparts. I’m lucky enough to have parents who do so much to financially support me but if I didn’t, I would probably have to choose between housing and enough food — food that…

There’s a difference between being a proud housewife and unequivocally promoting it as a lifestyle — Don’t get me wrong: the traditional model of the man working and the woman staying at home has as much potential as any other to be healthy and beneficial. When both partners agree that this arrangement suits both of their personal and financial priorities, it’s worth celebrating. If anything, undervaluing…