For anyone who wants to listen

No matter where you’re going—Europe, the train station, a coffee shop, the library, the Fine Arts Center—there will always be a path.  These paths are scribbled all over the world; they interweave to form a colorful mosaic of journeys and expeditions and adventures. These paths are never-ending in my eyes. The world is round (sorry, Flat Earthers), and because circles are round, they have...

Excitement is a pale, yet warm, orange—not too bright because I don’t trust bright colors (lime green, I’m looking at you). Rich exhilaration—I feel this when I’m anticipating something exciting—has always been an indescribable shade of orange. It’s not the shade of the dimpled citruses sitting on my counter beside the bananas, nor is it the shade of the clouds that the setting sun pa...

In March, I went to Indiana for the weekend to visit my grandparents and decided to leave my phone at home, prompted by my exhaustion, simply, of constantly being on it. I didn’t announce my absence—I just left it in a box in my room as I gathered my bags and packed the car to leave.  I knew it would be difficult to go a weekend without snapchatting my friends, scrolling through Instagram, ...

Humans are social beings—it’s a scientific fact.  The human brain, particularly the neocortex, is substantially larger than other mammals of similar size. The neocortex is involved in higher social cognition—conscious thought, language, the regulation of emotions and behaviors, as well as empathy.  Human brains are hard-wired to feel for other humans, to communicate with them, and to interact with th...

It’s subjective, beauty is. That’s what the cliche statement “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder ” proclaims. It can’t be objectified; it can’t be reduced to a single object or person or idea or place—beauty isn’t an omnipresent idea or viewpoint.  Beauty is diverse, brilliantly diverse.  When I asked a group of people what the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen wa...

It seemed that being seen—heard, noticed, acknowledged—was the sincerest compliment of all.  Three beautiful humans amongst the hundreds in our crowded halls spent hours, days even, deliberating this week’s thought-provoking question: what is the kindest thing you’ve ever been told?  They each had a snippet of a story to tell: a story of gratitude, a story of compassion, a story of kin...

It really is the little things in life, I think.  It’s the little things to live for, to strive for, to look forward to. It’s the little things that get us out of bed in the morning.  It’s the outfit you pieced together the night before. It’s your new Discover Weekly on Spotify. It’s the donut with sprinkles you’ve been looking forward to all week. It’s the package that’s set to...