MENTAL HEALTH: NO LAUGHING MATTER There was once a day when mental health was a hush subject: the opposite is happening now. Mental illness is being romanticized in the media. It’s being desired among teenagers. It’s being talked about in […]
Read moreDepression and Me
A PERSONAL INSIGHT INTO MENTAL ILLNESS In 2015, I contemplated my death and nearly walked into the path of an oncoming truck. In 2016, I was hospitalized for my first suicide attempt. In 2017, I miscarried and was once again […]
Read moreFine Lies and White Lies
SPONSORSHIP, CONTENT OR BOTH? I believe the world runs on love. Many people believe the world runs on money. Here’s an example: In 1939, the Radio Corporation of America televised the New York World’s Fair, which included a speech by […]
Read moreAmerican Enough?
A CHALLENGED IDENTITY The image of a stereotypical American doesn’t fit with what most people would consider “American ideals,” a country that sells itself as a melting pot for multiculturalism. With the recent success of blockbusters starring non-traditional actors like […]
Read moreHazy Consent
FINDING THE LINE IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT Okay, I’ll admit it. One morning in my 20s, I woke up, after drinking too much, to a desperate gut-punch of a question: “Did we use protection?” We had. Of course […]
Read moreConfusion, Courtship and Condoms
ROM-COM GOES POSTAL Don’t you hate it when your younger sister mails your love letters to a slew of your past and current crushes? “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” is based on Jenny Han’s 2014 book of the […]
Read moreProtecting Pronouns
RESPECTING TRANS PEOPLE IN LIFE AND DEATH I knew SJ Brooks, who recently died in a tragic mountain lion attack. Instead of retelling the details, I’d like to skip the horror and tell you a little more about them as […]
Read moreSharing is Hard
ROADWAY COURTESY “Get off the road A-Hole!” I regularly hear that sentence from drivers just before I hear the sound of loud screeching tires, accompanied by a thick black cloud of exhaust, as an over-revved engine zooms away. The road […]
Read moreDon’t Judge a Book by its Cover
FACT-CHECKING THE CANDIDATES “I would definitely vote for him because he looks better than other candidates.” “I won’t vote for this guy because I have talked to him before and he is just a socially awkward person.” I am so […]
Read moreNot Your Average Athlete
BODY SHAMING IN SPORTS Even world-class athletes endure insecurities about their bodies. Body shaming is an issue pervasive across many spheres of our society today. Measures have been taken to stamp it out, but it remains as a last crude […]
Read more