For the people that chase after a profession out of pure passion regardless of the salary, I applaud you and I respect you immensely. But I’ve stopped pretending that I am one of those and I’ve stopped feeling guilty for what happiness looks like for me.
I’ve come to realize that task forces are like rabbits—you put two of them in a room for long enough, and soon enough there are 10.
I joined not as an experienced actress or confident storyteller or believer in my own worth, but quite the opposite. It was a selflessly selfish endeavor: I wanted to bring life to someone else’s words in hopes that it would help me find my own. Just for fun, I reasoned, not recognizing at the time how much this show would come to mean to me, and what it can mean to you.
Taking chemistry was a mistake.
When people questioned athletes like Gu deciding to represent China, comparing her to athletes like Chen who continue to represent the U.S., whether I agree with their decision or not, I do acknowledge the risk and courage it took to make either decision.
I am not scared by the silence before the storm, but by the silence after sunset.
The denial phase begins where everyone begins at Duke: orientation week, better known as O-week. Nothing makes it easier to avoid confronting the gigantic life shift that is college like no work and all play for a whole week...but denial never lasts forever.
Fat shaming--this idea that we can bully people into losing weight--is blind and dumb.
Against the backdrop of a high-cost, fragmented healthcare system, the US healthcare marketplace continues to experience a flood of new choices.
I've come face to face with society's critical treatment of women masturbating, a memory that reemerges each time I search up vibrators on Amazon.
Being alone most of the time meant that I was forced to befriend myself, and as I got to know her a little more, I grew comfortable with her.
The first step to giving back to ourselves may be recognizing and embracing our non-superhumanity.
A phenomenon like K-Ville, which emphasizes the effort part of the meritocratic equation, rather than aptitude or advantage, begs some difficult questions about what it means to deserve something, especially among the educationally elite.
People should hate Duke because we’re infuriatingly good, not because we are prejudiced.
We love because it is the only power to drive out hate and it is stronger than death, stronger than crucifixions and guns.
I feel shocked, then afraid, and ultimately, repulsed.
I am a low income minority student, a label that I am neither proud of or ashamed of. At least, that's what I want to believe, but understandably it’s more complicated than that.
Maybe it’s a note your mom sent you in the mail, maybe it’s a kind gesture from a friend, maybe it’s a man from Lubbock reminding you just how amazing it is to stroll into one of the most legendary stadiums in the country whenever you feel like it.
I am so incredibly grateful for the economic resources that allow me to be here. I’m grateful that I get to play rich at Duke. I get to choose what sounds good at WU instead of gravitating towards the cheapest meal. I get to say yes to dinner dates and coffee chats without the anxiety induced by a price tag. And the best part: I get to use this power to do good.
Our society is moving forward. And when the Blue Devil mascot comes out at sporting events, the sight of his ears so clearly designed to be nibbled on gently, or of his eyes that are so easy to get lost in, is no longer as welcome to a modern audience. Sporting events are for celebrating the athletic achievements of our student body, not admiring the Michelangelesque sculpting of the Devil’s body.
