Self

An ode to the return trip

An ode to the return trip

Joshua Yang

“I will forever be grateful to this charming, underfunded public transportation system for creating a liminal space in which I could simply exist, explore, imagine, and dream. In those rocking, ugly train carriages, I existed in the in-between.”

“I will forever be grateful to this charming, underfunded public transportation system for creating a liminal space in which I could simply exist, explore, imagine, and dream. In those rocking, ugly train carriages, I existed in the in-between.”

THE PROSPECT | February 2

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Waiting for a warmer Paris

Waiting for a warmer Paris

José Pablo Fernández García

“I wasn’t unhappy. I wasn’t as happy as I knew I could be. I was cold. Simply cold, but with no desire to add another layer.”

“I wasn’t unhappy. I wasn’t as happy as I knew I could be. I was cold. Simply cold, but with no desire to add another layer.”

THE PROSPECT | January 30

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Clinging onto Lunar New Year

Clinging onto Lunar New Year

Joshua Yang

“Some part of me fears that once I graduate and no longer have an abnormally long winter break to spend at home, Lunar New Year will be consigned to the same scrap heap of obscurity that Thanksgiving and Christmas currently occupy in my mind.”

“Some part of me fears that once I graduate and no longer have an abnormally long winter break to spend at home, Lunar New Year will be consigned to the same scrap heap of obscurity that Thanksgiving and Christmas currently occupy in my mind.”

THE PROSPECT | January 22

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Love in the ‘Prince’ newsroom

Love in the ‘Prince’ newsroom

José Pablo Fernández García

“If I had found some love and support and connection in our virtual newsroom while we persevered through those darkest months, then the return to our newsroom on University Place let me see all those things flourish. There are an endless number of vignettes I could write about love in this college newsroom.”

“If I had found some love and support and connection in our virtual newsroom while we persevered through those darkest months, then the return to our newsroom on University Place let me see all those things flourish. There are an endless number of vignettes I could write about love in this college newsroom.”

THE PROSPECT | December 21

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Empty niches

Empty niches

José Pablo Fernández García

All this from noticing an architectural quirk: these nine empty statuary niches led me along a year-long journey of observation and intrigued writes head editor José Pablo Fernández García in a visual journey through history and memory on campus.

“All this from noticing an architectural quirk: these nine empty statuary niches led me along a year-long journey of observation and intrigue,” writes head editor José Pablo Fernández García in a visual journey through history and memory on campus.

PROJECTS | December 18

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The exceptions

The exceptions

José Pablo Fernández García

“Either way, the exception carries a double-edged sword — glory and pain. How, why, do such things, even in less extremes, coexist? This is what made my friend’s comment somewhat haunting. Being the exception is a distinction: it aggrandizes and alienates at once.”

“Either way, the exception carries a double-edged sword — glory and pain. How, why, do such things, even in less extremes, coexist? This is what made my friend’s comment somewhat haunting. Being the exception is a distinction: it aggrandizes and alienates at once.”

THE PROSPECT | December 13

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The Self essay

The Self essay

José Pablo Fernández García

“But now, finally, in these essays I’ve found the binding together of my self. These disparate parts have been gathered and collected like a bundle of sticks — still precarious but at least momentarily unified.”

“But now, finally, in these essays I’ve found the binding together of my self. These disparate parts have been gathered and collected like a bundle of sticks — still precarious but at least momentarily unified.”

THE PROSPECT | December 8

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Growing up Buddhist during the holiday season

Growing up Buddhist during the holiday season

Albert Lee

“To some students, Christmas decorations may spark excitement for the holiday season. For me, a second-generation immigrant who was raised Buddhist, they remind me of my complicated relationship with mainstream American culture.”

“To some students, Christmas decorations may spark excitement for the holiday season. For me, a second-generation immigrant who was raised Buddhist, they remind me of my complicated relationship with mainstream American culture.”

THE PROSPECT | December 8

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An ode to laundry

An ode to laundry

Isabella Dail

Contributing writer Isabella Dail finds moments of calm and self-reflection in the act of doing laundry. 

Contributing writer Isabella Dail finds moments of calm and self-reflection in the act of doing laundry. 

THE PROSPECT | November 29

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Hello, my name is...

Hello, my name is...

José Pablo Fernández García

“But in such a surrender, there is, at a deeper level, a certain surrender of dignity and identity as well. A name is so personal a matter; it should belong to no one but oneself.”

“But in such a surrender, there is, at a deeper level, a certain surrender of dignity and identity as well. A name is so personal a matter; it should belong to no one but oneself.”

THE PROSPECT | November 28

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Arepas at Princeton: Reflections of a Colombian-American

Arepas at Princeton: Reflections of a Colombian-American

Sophia Colmenares

“Just as I would shape the raw arepa dough into their circular shapes, Princeton, in a way, has helped shape my understanding of my own cultural identity as Colombian-American.”

“Just as I would shape the raw arepa dough into their circular shapes, Princeton, in a way, has helped shape my understanding of my own cultural identity as Colombian-American.”

THE PROSPECT | November 28

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From Peru to Princeton: Paving my own path

From Peru to Princeton: Paving my own path

Frida Ruiz

“Before arriving at Princeton, I wondered if I would feel the same alienation that I had been feeling for so long.”

“Before arriving at Princeton, I wondered if I would feel the same alienation that I had been feeling for so long.”

THE PROSPECT | November 28

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Music and my identities: Learning from Jorge Drexler’s visit to Princeton

Music and my identities: Learning from Jorge Drexler’s visit to Princeton

Ian Fridman

“I belong to all my intersecting identities: a little to them all, but to none of them entirely. It is in these shades of gray that identity can be so wonderful.”

“I belong to all my intersecting identities: a little to them all, but to none of them entirely. It is in these shades of gray that identity can be so wonderful.”

THE PROSPECT | November 21

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The year of a heart cracked open

The year of a heart cracked open

José Pablo Fernández García

“This is why I consider this my year of a heart cracked open: because that shell has finally come off.”

“This is why I consider this my year of a heart cracked open: because that shell has finally come off.”

THE PROSPECT | November 20

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My rural community and the stories we tell

My rural community and the stories we tell

Noelle Carpenter

Contributing writer for The Prospect Noelle Carpenter reflects on coming to Princeton from a rural community. She writes that, upon encountering stereotypes, “I’ve found myself an unlikely champion, frequently arguing on behalf of a community I too had to learn to love.”

Contributing writer for The Prospect Noelle Carpenter reflects on coming to Princeton from a rural community. She writes that, upon encountering stereotypes, “I’ve found myself an unlikely champion, frequently arguing on behalf of a community I too had to learn to love.”

THE PROSPECT | November 17

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The Cause: the days are long, but the months are short

The Cause: the days are long, but the months are short

Joshua Yang

“I love the cause. Yet I can’t help but feel that loving the cause means I have little space left for loving streaky sunsets, or the wind whipping through my hair, or autumn fading to winter.”

“I love the cause. Yet I can’t help but feel that loving the cause means I have little space left for loving streaky sunsets, or the wind whipping through my hair, or autumn fading to winter.”

THE PROSPECT | November 14

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Extinguishing the poet with my tears

Extinguishing the poet with my tears

Kyung Eun Lee

“Suddenly, I’ve lost any and all sense of trust in the poet. How would I know if there were secret truths hidden in details invisible to the human eye?”

“Suddenly, I’ve lost any and all sense of trust in the poet. How would I know if there were secret truths hidden in details invisible to the human eye?”

THE PROSPECT | November 13

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Triangle Traces

Triangle Traces

José Pablo Fernández García

“All this makes my last few nights in McCarter for my last Triangle premiere this weekend just that much more special. And with light, one thing that makes it so magical is how ephemeral it is.”

“All this makes my last few nights in McCarter for my last Triangle premiere this weekend just that much more special. And with light, one thing that makes it so magical is how ephemeral it is.”

THE PROSPECT | November 3

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An ode to Halloweekend

An ode to Halloweekend

Eric Fenno

“Getting ready is the most essential part of a Halloween party. Whether you just throw on an oversized shirt and boxers for a low effort but utterly classic “the guy from Risky Business” or you don full-fledged face makeup, green hair, and purple suit for the Joker, getting ready is the time to get into character. You are no longer you.”

“Getting ready is the most essential part of a Halloween party. Whether you just throw on an oversized shirt and boxers for a low effort but utterly classic “the guy from Risky Business” or you don full-fledged face makeup, green hair, and purple suit for the Joker, getting ready is the time to get into character. You are no longer you.”

THE PROSPECT | November 3

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From hidden to happy: On not fitting in, being myself, and Season 1, Episode 5 of ‘Modern Family’

From hidden to happy: On not fitting in, being myself, and Season 1, Episode 5 of ‘Modern Family’

Avery Danae Williams

Avery Danae Williams, contributing writer for The Prospect, frames a self-essay about fitting in with an episode of “Modern Family.”

Avery Danae Williams, contributing writer for The Prospect, frames a self-essay about fitting in with an episode of “Modern Family.”

THE PROSPECT | October 30

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