Self

First-year imposter syndrome, rejection cycles, and living in the moment

Russell Fan

“Success is not limited to current achievements; it also encompasses future endeavors that I can build for myself.” Contributing writer Russell Fan comes to terms with rejection in a self essay about trying to find an extracurricular to join.

THE PROSPECT | October 13

In anticipation of love

Kyung Eun Lee

“From the distance we see in each other, love emerges.” Contributing writer Kyung Eun Lee reflects on finding love and community through solitude and struggle.

THE PROSPECT | October 11

Tierra y memoria

Rodrigo Córdova Rosado

“To see land and memory intertwined, the physical world and our experience of it, is perhaps one of the greatest lessons my communities have taught me.”

THE PROSPECT | October 9

Back to the B floor

Junior Year Firestone Locker - JPFG.jpeg

Back to the B floor

José Pablo Fernández García

Head Prospect Editor José Pablo Fernández García reflects on the calm and stability that Firestone Library’s B floor brings him, after all these years.

THE PROSPECT | October 6

Existence, in theory and in practice

Existence, in theory and in practice

Joshua Yang

“What I do on my Fridays has little bearing on my Tuesdays, and vice versa, yet I’ve found that it’s only through the dichotomy of these dual existences that I can be all of myself.” Contributing Prospect writer Joshua Yang reflects on balancing the theoretical, abstract world of philosophy and the concreteness of reality.

“What I do on my Fridays has little bearing on my Tuesdays, and vice versa, yet I’ve found that it’s only through the dichotomy of these dual existences that I can be all of myself.” Contributing Prospect writer Joshua Yang reflects on balancing the theoretical, abstract world of philosophy and concreteness of reality.

THE PROSPECT | October 6

Graduate student in an undergraduate world

Emily Miller

“We straddle a line between being an employee and a student. We are independent adults, but also part of a residential community and subject to the whims of university policy.”

THE PROSPECT | October 4

An ode to Dunkin’

An ode to Dunkin’

Lauren Fromkin

“For the first-years who never even knew this Dunkin’ once existed, let me enlighten you: This Dunkin’ did not have particularly good coffee or stellar customer service. It wasn’t always tasty or pleasant. It didn’t have the local charm of Small World or the customizability of Starbucks. But it was always there for you. And it was always the cheapest option.”

“For those first-years who never even knew this Dunkin’ existed, let me enlighten you: This Dunkin’ did not have particularly good coffee or stellar customer service. It wasn’t always tasty or pleasant. It didn’t have the local charm of Small World or the customizability of Starbucks. But it was always there for you. And it was always the cheapest option.”

THE PROSPECT | October 3

In love I trust

In love I trust

Abby Yuexi Lu

“Yet, suddenly, I didn’t want to just pass these moments by anymore. I wanted to feel the sentimentality exalted in the song and to one day be able to claim thoughts like these as my own.”

“Yet, suddenly, I didn’t want to just pass these moments by anymore. I wanted to feel the sentimentality exalted in the song and, one day, be able to claim these thoughts as my own.”

THE PROSPECT | September 28

The mysterious case of a Persian polymath in the Princeton University Chapel

The mysterious case of a Persian polymath in the Princeton University Chapel

David Chmielewski

“How can we wrap our heads around this singular place for Islam in the overwhelmingly Christian imagery of the Chapel?” Guest contributor David Chmielewski reflects on the significance of a stained glass window depicting the Muslim Abu Bakr al-Razi in the Princeton University Chapel.

THE PROSPECT | September 25

One tree over a changing campus

One tree over a changing campus

José Pablo Fernández García

“Somehow, already, the Princeton I applied to and the one I first came to know feel a world apart from the Princeton slowly being built around us.”

THE PROSPECT | September 22

At the solitary table

José Pablo Fernández García

“It felt like too perfect a contrast to my situation, enjoying a day of my own design and full of what I favored in life, but still on my own.”

THE PROSPECT | 09/18/2022

Before the bubble bursts

Before the bubble bursts

José Pablo Fernández García

“But somehow, at the end of 70 minutes of songs and scenes that aim to distill this club and this school into laughter and song, ‘Orange Bubble’ hits me more with the emotional than the comedic: I think of how much I love this school.”

THE PROSPECT | 09/08/2022

DISPATCH | Living for the day: Paris, Part Two

View down Rue Soufflot - JPFG Dispatch Part 2.jpeg

DISPATCH | Living for the day: Paris, Part Two

José Pablo Fernández García

“Here I was, living a life once-imagined. I have the card to prove it.” In the second installment of a two-part series, Head Editor José Pablo Fernández García chronicles his summer in Paris, reflecting on how to define one’s present and future self.

THE PROSPECT | 09/06/2022

‘Not like light from dead stars’: Russian, piano, & life leading up to brain surgery

Ellen Li

“But could it be that literature is all there is — not just as in poems and novels, but as in expression by means of language?”

THE PROSPECT | 09/01/2022

Why you shouldn't take classes on Wednesdays

Why you shouldn't take classes on Wednesdays

Gabriel Robare

“I’m focusing this semester on defending my free time and defending my personal goals.”

THE PROSPECT | 08/30/2022

DISPATCH | The day I stopped: on dreams, healing, and what we take with us

DISPATCH | The day I stopped: on dreams, healing, and what we take with us

Anika Buch

“Where I was from wouldn’t matter if I was good at what I did — that’s what I told myself eight years ago. But time moves forward, and so did I.”

THE PROSPECT | 08/30/2022

DISPATCH | I still see it all: Paris, Part One

Eiffel Tower Sunset - JPFG Dispatch Part 1.jpeg

DISPATCH | I still see it all: Paris, Part One

José Pablo Fernández García

“I’m trying to describe it with words, but I would have to be an Impressionist essayist to truly write the light in Paris and Princeton.” Head Editor José Pablo Fernández García chronicles his summer learning and taking in the sights of Paris.

THE PROSPECT | 08/30/2022

DISPATCH | Talking to strangers

Kerrie Liang

“For my entire life, I have lived by the saying, ‘Don’t speak unless spoken to.’ But the past two months of talking to strangers have allowed me to learn, empathize, and connect with others in a way that I would never have experienced otherwise.”

THE PROSPECT | 08/16/2022

On the tenth August 2nd

José Pablo Fernández García

“I learn so many things. I learn how to avoid, and I learn how to confront. I learn how to embrace, and I learn how to expunge. And I learn to leave August 2 open on my calendar.”

THE PROSPECT | 08/02/2022

DISPATCH | The Simple Suds of Midtown Manhattan

Gia Musselwhite

“A lot has changed since those nights. I’ve grown, my mom’s grown, and our relationship has grown more complicated, as mother-daughter relationships often do.”

THE PROSPECT | 08/02/2022

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