Self

Barely hanging on

“I’m barely holding on, and I would love for you to leave me alone if you aren’t willing to help.” In a guest submission to The Prospect, Associate Opinion Editor Kristal Grant responds to the administration and faculty’s inadequate and too-late (in)action on students’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m barely holding on, and I would love for you to leave me alone if you aren’t willing to help.” In a guest submission to The Prospect, Associate Opinion Editor Kristal Grant responds to the administration and faculty’s inadequate and too-late (in)action on students’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In difficult times, Olsson’s grilled cheeses persist

Despite its perishability, cheese as a concept might be more “pandemic-proof” than it initially seems. 

Despite its perishability, cheese as a concept might be more “pandemic-proof” than it initially seems. 

The reality of imposter syndrome in the COVID-19 era

“At a time when students, including myself, find themselves questioning their validity, high-achieving universities should emphasize the importance of rest instead of adding to students’ stress.” 

“At a time when students, including myself, find themselves questioning their validity, high-achieving universities should emphasize the importance of rest instead of adding to students’ stress.”  

Five ways to disrupt the monotony of Zoom University

Online school has encouraged a single focus on just being a student, with little motivation for any other activities. However, rather than falling back on the age-old habit of starting a new Netflix binge, I suggest that we all explore the idea of the “Five Hobbies.”  

Online school has encouraged a single focus on just being a student, with little motivation for any other activities. However, rather than falling back on the age-old habit of starting a new Netflix binge, I suggest that we all explore the idea of the “Five Hobbies.”  

When you silence Asian pain, you light us all on fire

“Today, I'm still wearing my KF94 mask to protect others, but I’ve shed my other mask — the one I wore to convince myself and others that the flames weren’t real. They are real, and the world is on fire — both literally, but also within the millions of minds that white supremacy and racial capitalism set ablaze centuries ago.”

“Today, I'm still wearing my KF94 mask to protect others, but I’ve shed my other mask — the one I wore to convince myself and others that the flames weren’t real. They are real, and the world is on fire — both literally, but also within the millions of minds that white supremacy and racial capitalism set ablaze centuries ago.”

Racism, innocent deaths, and Asian-American art

The Atlanta shooting is a clear call for me — and everyone — to take action for the Asian and Asian American communities by raising awareness and working to fight the thinly veiled, yet pervasive racism hiding behind our internal biases and microaggressions.

The Atlanta shooting is a clear call for me — and everyone — to take action for the Asian and Asian American communities by raising awareness and working to fight the thinly veiled, yet pervasive racism hiding behind our internal biases and microaggressions.

Rachel, who's an Asian

“A large part of my aversion to Asian dramas came from generally wanting nothing to do with any kind of Asian culture. Growing up in America, there was always a xenophobic undercurrent to products from my culture: Asian things were weird.”

“A large part of my aversion to Asian dramas came from generally wanting nothing to do with any kind of Asian culture. Growing up in America, there was always a xenophobic undercurrent to products from my culture: Asian things were weird.”

A defense of doing less

“The way I see it, if success in school requires crying on the floor, I don’t want to be successful. Success, I think, is being happy, at any given time. I still think it’s good to work, it’s good to struggle, it’s good to fail.”

“The way I see it, if success in school requires crying on the floor, I don’t want to be successful. Success, I think, is being happy, at any given time. I still think it’s good to work, it’s good to struggle, it’s good to fail.”

Why we should start listening to those ‘minor minorities’

“Watching the anti-Asian violence unfold on the news, I could not help but see my experience with dermatillomania as an allegory for how many Asian Americans, including myself, experience racism. There seems to be a pervasive insecurity that our struggles are unimportant, or simply not worthy of discussion.” 

“Watching the anti-Asian violence unfold on the news, I could not help but see my experience with dermatillomania as an allegory for how many Asian Americans, including myself, experience racism. There seems to be a pervasive insecurity that our struggles are unimportant, or simply not worthy of discussion.” 

Sexpert: What you should know about menstrual cups

Menstrual cups are a great alternative to pads and tampons and definitely worth trying out if you think they might be right for you! Not only are they more sustainable, but they can also be a super cost-effective option, compared to pads and tampons. If you take advantage of the campus initiative, your cup will be free and could last you up to five years with proper cleaning and care! 

Menstrual cups are a great alternative to pads and tampons and definitely worth trying out if you think they might be right for you! Not only are they more sustainable, but they can also be a super cost-effective option, compared to pads and tampons. If you take advantage of the campus initiative, your cup will be free and could last you up to five years with proper cleaning and care! 

It feels like America again

The Prospect associate editor José Pablo Fernández García wrestles with growing up in the age of mass shootings and how a return of such tragedies to the headlines grossly feels like a return to American normalcy.

The Prospect associate editor José Pablo Fernández García wrestles with growing up in the age of mass shootings and how a return of such tragedies to the headlines grossly feels like a return to American normalcy.

I tried over 1/3 of the Eating Clubs: here’s what I learned

Senior Writer Lillian Chen recounts her experiences at Terrace Club, Tower Club, Colonial Club, and Cap & Gown Club, and reflects on how each eating club contributed to her self-discovery.

Reading Peter Singer's ‘Famine, Affluence, and Morality’ 50 years later

“Famine, Affluence, and Morality” confronts the reader with their own complacency regarding global suffering, and the passage of time has not led to a heartening perspective. Half a century later, the world is in the midst of a refugee crisis, wars and famines continue to afflict millions, and society is still rife with poverty and inequality.  A modern frame of reference provides a new understanding of what may be necessary to goad the world into action, but we’ll start by reexamining Singer’s reasoning regarding the affluents’ duty to help those in need. 

“Famine, Affluence, and Morality” confronts the reader with their own complacency regarding global suffering, and the passage of time has not led to a heartening perspective. Half a century later, the world is in the midst of a refugee crisis, wars and famines continue to afflict millions, and society is still rife with poverty and inequality.  A modern frame of reference provides a new understanding of what may be necessary to goad the world into action, but we’ll start by reexamining Singer’s reasoning regarding the affluents’ duty to help those in need.  

Soup for the ‘Soul,’ thanks to Pixar’s first Black writer-director

For me, a senior in college trying to figure out what to do post-graduation, “Soul” hit especially hard.

This past year, I came to the “late” realization that I have been spending my four years of college moving toward a field I actually don’t want to pursue.

Five ways to take care of yourself in 2021

2020 was a physically and emotionally taxing year for many of us. The importance of finding outlets to keep us sane and relaxed as the world seemingly explodes cannot be overstated. In the sixth installment of our recommendations series, staff members of The Prospect share various self care activities they have adopted — not only to survive but to thrive — in quarantine. Here are some ways to take care of yourself in 2021.

2020 was a physically and emotionally taxing year for many of us. The importance of finding outlets to keep us sane and relaxed as the world seemingly explodes cannot be overstated. In the sixth installment of our recommendations series, staff members of The Prospect share various self care activities they have adopted — not only to survive but to thrive — in quarantine. Here are some ways to take care of yourself in 2021.

For all the grieving tigers

Every time this happens, every time I feel my eyes begin to swell up or my throat tighten a bit as I learn how many more thousands have died in this country alone, I wonder just how many people are setting out on this tragic journey I began about eight years ago.

Every time this happens, every time I feel my eyes begin to swell up or my throat tighten a bit as I learn how many more thousands have died in this country alone, I wonder just how many people are setting out on this tragic journey I began about eight years ago.

A family, paper towels & Princeton

This, if anything, is a story of the frustration I felt in those moments in the car, driving. I was frustrated because seeing that family felt like a failure. Indeed, it was a failure of our society to take care of that family’s most basic needs: food and shelter. This frustration was also very familiar to me after the recent months during which I’ve watched this country dramatically fail to respond to the pandemic: little to no effort to contain the virus, little to no effort to support those most affected. 

This, if anything, is a story of the frustration I felt in those moments in the car, driving. I was frustrated because seeing that family felt like a failure. Indeed, it was a failure of our society to take care of that family’s most basic needs: food, shelter. This frustration was also very familiar to me after the recent months during which I’ve watched this country dramatically fail to respond to the pandemic: little to no effort to contain the virus, little to no effort to support the most affected.

Grief in four corners

With the lockdown and strict quarantine earlier this year, my room has become the very essence of me, an extension of myself. I’ve rearranged it countless times in attempts to mitigate the boundary of who I was when I left for college and who I am now since I returned in the spring of 2020. 

Catching fire in darkness: Celebrating Diwali during a pandemic

I love Diwali for all of the light it forges in my house, for the seven lit candles which sit perfectly aligned on my fireplace for 10 days, for the sweets that cover every square inch of my kitchen counter, for all of the shoes I trip over as guests pile into my home. As an Indian American living in New Jersey, my parents have adapted the way Diwali is typically celebrated. 

COVID-19 cannot take our memory — unless we let it

 We had no affection for the privileges we had in a pre-pandemic life in the moments that we had them: therefore I feel that has been why we have been so eager to return to normalcy.  Nobody ever appreciated and “lived in the now” for the little things that made life flourish, until COVID-19 snatched them away.