Recently, I’ve been applying to graduate schools. And, as I fulfilled a requirement of submitting a statement of purpose, I considered and reconsidered the purpose of my life. Of course, an applicatio...  Read More

I left home in 2012 for college in upstate New York, not expecting to ever return to the small town in Wisconsin I grew up in. But once COVID hit, all I could think about was being at home with my fam...  Read More

Right about halfway through the semester, I hit a low point where I just did not have the strength to go on. In the midst of struggling both inwardly and outwardly, I started to feel that I was never ...  Read More

Protests over the death of George Floyd have spread across the nation. This instance of police brutality has garnered unprecedented coverage and has ignited anger and fear in those who see themselves ...  Read More

I grew up playing sports. My academic calendar revolved around football, basketball, baseball, and golf. It’s how I tracked the seasons. But the system of high school athletics soured my enjoyment of ...  Read More

I first learned what Unofficial Weekend was in the early days of Portuguese class this semester: “It’s a weekend where people go to parties and drink a lot,” one of my classmates informed the class. A...  Read More

Yesterday I used Walmart’s grocery pickup service for the first time. It was a pleasant experience – an employee confirmed my name, then efficiently loaded the trunk with my order, which included a co...  Read More

The Tuesday before my first college finals, I found myself in a crisis: a draft of a 10 page final paper for one of my classes was due the next day and I hadn’t started or thought about it at all. I h...  Read More

When I first came to college, I was afraid of being alone. I have a brother at the University, but I knew that he was busy with responsibilities that would make it hard for him to be there for me at t...  Read More