How a tree decided where I live
The search for my off-campus home
It was a hot summer day in India, and I was holding my dad’s arms and standing in front of this old tree. My young mind was fascinated by the wrinkled bark and well spread branches tearing through the sky. He hoisted me into the air to pluck a lime from the tree, but suddenly […]
Recreating the taste of home
Exploring beyond my (culinary) comfort zone
“Do you need anything from home?” say my parents whenever we chat, asking if I wanted anything to be mailed. “I’m good!” I usually reply. There was one thing I missed from home, but it certainly couldn’t be mailed—the bakeries. Every visit to an Asian bakery was reminiscent of childhood memories of visiting the warm, […]
How to hang in there
For one grad student, holding onto their scientific dreams involves more literal grip strength than you might think!
I was skimming the schedule of a conference last week when I saw the last thing any 6th year PhD student wants to see: a title that could describe my project, on someone else’s abstract. I froze with dread. Did I just get scooped? No: the other project used a different experimental approach in a […]
Wait, there’s a fun scale?
Type II Fun - what it is, and why you should try it
As a statistics-loving graduate student, I am prone to quantifying everything. I have a tracking app for my running mileage, a separate one for my sleeping hours, and even a custom spreadsheet to grade fried hot chicken I’ve tried in Boston. One of the only areas of my life I don’t quantify is the nebulous […]
Life lessons from a cookie
What the science of baking taught me about leaving home and entering a new environment
One of the most famous movie quotes is Forrest Gump’s, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” As a hobby baker with a mega sweet tooth, I feel obligated to come up with my own metaphor: Growing up is like being inside of a baking cookie. To me, […]
