Category: Personal Essays

It was hard growing up punk on a budget. Punk then emo because my middle school pubescent rage turned into awkward angst once I started high school. It’s a strange sentiment because ideally, being part of the punk subculture was never supposed to be something one could or couldn’t afford. After emigrating to the states,…

Today I turn 18. As always, this birthday has prompted self-reflection, perhaps even more so as I sit quarantined in Saybrook College at Yale. I cannot help but wonder what life would have been like if this pandemic had never happened. It is quite likely I would have ended up at a different university. I…

Dear Professors,  Stop assuming that I know things.  In fact, assume that I don’t know anything at all. Assume that I only have two old brain cells left and they’re only enough to remember my name and birthday. When you feel yourself starting to say, “You should’ve learned this in high school…” remember that me…

“Culture, Consciousness, and Movement Building: Las Tres Hermanas” These three concepts acted as the foundation of the community organization I interned at throughout my year at community college, Motivating Individual Leadership for Public Advancement (MILPA). It is based on Las Tres Hermanas (the three sisters), the indigenous farming technique of planting beans, corn, and squash…

Ironically, I held no childhood compulsions to lay down my baby hairs. My hands were not trained with gel stiffened toothbrushes and precision, but with bright brittle crayons and youthful ease. You begin to notice that being so carefree isn’t inconsequential. You’re swept into swirls at the edges of western beauty.  I was never good…