Week 3 Abroad: Discovering Alcalá, the Reina Sofia and Toledo

Apologies for this being so late after my week one and two blog posts! Even so, I figured I'd write up some reflections for my time abroad for my own memories. During week three, I had felt really confident navigating around the town. I tried some new local restaurants, although there are still a few…

Week 2 Abroad: Mosquitoes, Midterms and Málaga

Nice alliteration, right? This week’s weekdays weren’t super eventful, and thankfully I was much less anxious this week than during week one. I mostly was getting into the swing of things. Here’s what has come to be my schedule: Wake up at 7:45 a.m. Get ready for classes and eat a quick breakfast. Start the…

Week 1 Abroad: Anxiety, Settling In and Some Daytrips

I’m in Spain! I know it’s been almost a whole year since I’ve blogged. Basically, the entirety of sophomore year was crazy for me. Maybe I’ll do a sophomore year and summer reflection blog post before junior year. For now, though, here’s my first installment of four posts about my time in Alcalá de Henares,…

College Packing List

Happy August! I feel like this is the fastest a summer has ever flown by for me. For me, August flips a switch in my brain into school mode. Since I’ve always been a detailed planner, you can probably imagine that I was incredibly stressed while trying to pack for my first year of college…

Adopted, Chinese American, and Uncomfortable

When people ask me what I am, there's a multitude of answers I could give. I’m a student, I’m a dog-lover, and I’m a feminist. The answer that people are probably seeking, though, is that I am Chinese. But I am also American. My parents—my Irish American mother and Polish American father—couldn't conceive their own…

Rethinking Affirmative Action

“We hear all the time about racial disparities in K-12 education slanted against minorities… To me, it doesn’t make any sense [that] when we’re talking about higher education, oh, now it becomes colorblind. Now we’re not going to look at race,” said black student Donovan Harvey, then a senior at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in…

10 New Year’s Resolutions

It’s almost 2018, and I find myself pondering about my goals for the new year. Although I've never been very committed to making — nor keeping — resolutions, I thought I’d give a few simple suggestions. I wouldn't necessarily call them my resolutions, but they're a few things that I try to continuously improve on.…

Net Neutrality 101

Do you like when your show on Netflix freezes up or quits? Do you want to pay a higher premium for the same Internet you have now? Do want less access to a wide range of websites? If the answer is yes to any of these, I don’t believe you. If the answer is no,…

Response to IU Sexual Violence Poster Prank & Mike Strunk Apology

About two months ago, someone played a crude prank. I feel that it is important to address this sensitive issue in a carefully thought-out manner, which is one reason I am writing this now. (Also, I’ve just been really busy with schoolwork, lol.) This has been either on my mind or in the back of…

Long-Distance College Relationship Advice

It’s the start of a new school year, and you're probably busy getting everything in order to have a successful semester/trimester/quarter. The last thing you want to worry about is your relationship. It can be a really stressful, tough thing to deliberate on. I’m a freshman in college, and my boyfriend is a sophomore. Here…