Language Learning
There’s no better way to get to know people, to disarm prejudices, and to remove the barrier of “the other” than to learn a language.
Chad Westra (’15) is a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington where he studies modern Chinese history. He enjoys chess, following Detroit sports, and caring for the overgrowth of plants in his condo.
History, What Is It Good For?
I’ve heard it said that historians are the “mules of academia.”
Alongside Mary Gates
Have you ever seen the air before?
What Chronic Pain Has Done for Me
Only after living with persistent pain did I understand why old people can be so grumpy.
Transplants
Without a breaking loose of the old, sometimes there simply isn’t room to grow.
It Only Takes Three
Something repeated enough becomes the truth.
Strangers
There is a paradox behind the art of interacting with strangers.
Gloom and Doom
As the days have steadily gotten shorter, darker, and wetter, the creeping presence of death has seemed to constrict tighter around my periphery.
Snapshots of a Dieffenbachia
His twig-thin waist cannot support his bulging, leafy muscles.
The Pessimist’s Guide to the Graduate Seminar
The seminar is the ultimate breeding ground for imposter syndrome.
From 313 to 206
My Panera coffee subscription is practically worthless now—this is Starbucks territory.
Flooded Thoughts
It’s all becoming a horrible kind of natural disaster déjà vu
Josh and Chuck and Me
I’m not solely writing out of selfish, monetary interests.
What’s in a Name?
The parsing of words is no minor squabble. It has real-world implications in terms of policy and people’s lives.
Debating Human Nature
Mencius likened ethical cultivation to the growth of a plant, with all people possessing inner sprouts of virtue within.
Gator Tales
Have you ever had an amber alert go off on your phone at an inopportune moment?
Snowstorm Saints
I do not want to be like the man in the boat, alone to face the howling winds and blustering snow.
We Are Not Special
I humbly suggest that we cease being ignorant optimists and start being realistically hopeful.
An Unpleasant Encounter with Mrs. X
Narrow-mindedness, group-think, and the desire to wall oneself off from outsiders is not solely a conservative issue, but a bipartisan problem and part of the human condition.
Lucky of the Hot Springs
The act of donning this ridiculous suit enabled me to let go of the remaining hesitations I harbored about the questionable hot-weather hot-spring endeavor we had gotten ourselves into.
The Delights and Travails of Fall Camping in the UP
I won’t say we pulled half-burned logs out of firepits to salvage them for our own use, but I won’t deny it either.
On Hope, Collapse, and Normalcy
But like a towering stack of nachos, hope and excitement can only be piled so high before everything comes tumbling down.
Nainai
My presence that summer must have been a shock to Nainai, but oddly enough she never questioned why a tall, thin, white, American guy was living in her home.
