The lady and the grad
How a dog can help you push through the loneliness of a PhD
It all started in the warm month of May, with a raging pandemic and a lonely heart. My roommate Sandy had gone home and wouldn’t come back until the fall, and I was losing my mind going in circles in the apartment. I had been wanting a dog. I had always loved dogs. The things […]
MIT PE to the rescue! Yee-hah!
How a trip to Volcano Bay got me learning to swim and much more!
Standing in awe, I gazed at the most beautiful theme park I have ever seen in my life. My friend and I had just entered the Volcano Bay at Universal Studios in Orlando after a morning flight on December 21, 2019. Skipping straight to the thrill rides (more exciting and even scarier than the other […]
On grieving from a distance
Learning to speak the language of loss
“Can you make a short video for 爷爷? Just a few lines to cheer him up.” I received this text from my mother on the evening of October 12, 2020. My paternal grandpa (爷爷, pronounced “yeh yeh”) had been transferred to a hospital several months ago, and his prognosis wasn’t looking good. Thankfully, 爷爷 hadn’t […]
Touring colleges on foot
A brief jog through some of Boston’s many universities
Coming from an undergraduate university located in a smaller city, I was used to living in an area with few nearby schools to compare to my own. In contrast, the Boston area is littered with colleges! In fact, Wikipedia cites that there are 45 higher educational institutions in the metropolitan Boston area. When I moved […]
What a poet taught me about sitting still
Building a mindfulness practice into a busy grad student schedule
One year ago or so, many of us found ourselves suddenly with more time that we ever knew we had. With no commute, no social engagements, and little to do outside the house, we were left alone with ourselves. Perhaps for the first time, or at least, for me, for the first time in a […]
