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(09/24/15 5:11am)
I want to share my semester in New York in a way that captures what it means to live in a different place. I considered the usual tropes of experience sharing—what I’m eating, what I’m doing and what I’m seeing. I thought if I could share what I’m hearing, I might capture New York beyond the one-dollar hot dog stands or the crowded subways. I spent an afternoon listening and recording the soundscape of the Brooklyn Promenade under the Brooklyn Bridge.
(09/10/15 4:43am)
There comes a time in every career where you realize you have ended up in the occupation that fits you the least. The banker traces his crippling anxiety to handling any form of currency. The entrepreneur realizes that his childhood lemonade stand was his first and only success. The politician finds that he has no genuine interest in public service. And I, the columnist, have no opinions.
(08/27/15 5:29am)
I spent the summer participating in the DukeEngage Seattle program, but now beginning a different internship in New York, it feels natural to keep plowing ahead, compartmentalizing my summer in Seattle as just that — another summer experience. I’ll withhold judgment on whether DukeEngage fulfilled its mission of significantly impacting me through service immersion. It’s too hard to tell. I thought it would be more appropriate to share a moment from the summer that meant something to me and will continue meaning something to me.
(05/27/15 9:57am)
My application to be the Class of 2015 commencement speaker was overlooked. I guess Duke frowns upon bestowing the honor on individuals that are still students in their undergraduate program. However, considering the public reaction to the more “distinguished” guest, I’ll just assume an implicit heartfelt apology from the graduation committee. Based on Paul Farmer’s criteria for what constitutes a good commencement speech, I was objectively the better choice. I cross the apparently low threshold of understanding the game of basketball better than Mr. Farmer—in fact, I’m classmates with those mythical creatures called Jahlil and Justice. My major still exists at Duke. I also have professors and friends and know the name of Duke’s president. Had Farmer chosen to make his case for speaker on the grounds of humanitarian service it may have been a closer comparison—my prospective Duke Engage Seattle verses his Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian award. Instead, he chose to fight his battle on who could relate more to the Duke student body. What he failed to realize is I, being a student, relate quite well. Thus, I would like to deliver the commencement speech the Class of 2015 has been waiting for.
(04/09/15 8:19am)
When I was in tenth grade I wrote a great poem about autumn leaves. In retrospect, I think we’ve all written a “great” poem about autumn leaves. Anyway, the entire stupid tenth grade competed to have his or her poem chosen by an unknown publisher with poor taste to be recited on some random occasion that no one wanted to go to anyway. If I sound bitter, you’re mistaking an objective recollection for bitterness. And no, my poem was not chosen.
(03/26/15 9:02am)
I recently said goodbye to my pre-major advisor and hello to my new major. I may not be the first person to ever declare Public Policy as a major but I believe congratulations are still in order. After all, it’s not every day you declare your college major, unless you started off as a pre-med. Before you roll your eyes, condemning this column as another futile complaint of being put into a box or forced on a singular career track with no hope of readjustment, fear not—I like being put in boxes. Instead, I wanted to address a few logistics my pre-major advisor tried to convince me were vital to graduating. Something about requirements and natural sciences but I wasn’t really listening. I feel mildly confident in my ability to meet whatever academic benchmarks my institution has so rudely imposed on me. What concerns me more are the requirements you can’t find on ACES. My advisor seemed unsympathetic to my desire to create a long-range plan for completing Duke’s unofficial graduation requirements.
(02/12/15 9:49am)
They tell us college is about exploring. They say, take classes outside your comfort zone and see what lights a spark. I have nothing but resentment for truthful clichés. But I still signed up for “Writing the Movie” last semester to bring some diversity to my class schedule. Plus, who doesn’t dream of writing their own movie? By accident, I fell in love with my characters—fictitious personas of my own creation—and marveled at a world carved out of my own mind. I was committed in a way I hadn’t been committed before, and expressed an interest to my professor in finishing my movie after the semester ended.
(01/29/15 10:26am)
I’ve written enough columns to realize what a narcissistic venture I’ve gotten myself into. Who am I writing these for? Why even bother? As an editor, I get frustrated with how other columnists put opinions on pedestals as if to enlighten the hoards of impressionable readers. The truth is I don’t care how going home for winter break forever changed how you appreciate your friendships. But then, every two weeks, I preach how going home for winter break forever changed how I appreciate my friendships. The only difference between me and other columnists is sometimes they’ll use actual facts to support their claims.
(01/15/15 11:44am)
President Brodhead and I have had our disagreements—all of which are in my head, since he has no idea I exist—but the most relevant of our imaginary feuds was his claim on my admissions letter that Duke University is now my university. Okay, maybe Dean Guttentag wrote it, but I bet Brodhead was the mastermind. Two DukeEngage rejections later, I realized what Brodhead really meant. He was probably thinking something along the lines of having access to excellent academics, research opportunities, brilliant students and faculty, domestic and abroad service programs, career advising, great facilities, diverse social organizations and a beautiful campus. Somehow, he thought just having the opportunity to take advantage of these resources was enough. But I took it to mean he was tossing me the keys to the Chapel. Let me tell you what I had in mind.
(11/13/14 10:00am)
Some Duke students claim they only leave campus to go to Shooters and Chipotle. Although Chipotle sets the bar unfairly high, I don’t think that generalization gives credit to the many Duke students who do take advantage of Durham. Whether that entails seeing a show at the Durham Performing Arts Center or taking your parents to Revolution, students have responded well to a constantly improving downtown Durham.
(10/30/14 9:52am)
Well, it’s here. I’m finally going through my quarter life crisis. Or hopefully it’s my quintile life crisis. I won’t be able to tell for a while. Either way, this crisis better be related to my age, otherwise I’m just going crazy.
(10/16/14 8:35am)
Shut up teacher.
(10/02/14 9:14am)
I like to think that something first becomes real when I learn it exists. By that logic, Yik Yak is a brand new social media platform that was invented five and a half weeks ago. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sorry to say Yik Yak is not the online furniture-trading app we’ve all been waiting for (hit me up venture capitalists). Rather, Yik Yak connects you with people near your location--perfect for a college campus--and allows you to anonymously post messages that are up-voted and down-voted by other anonymous users. Yik Yak is so simple that the only reason it beat out the hundreds of other apps with the exact same idea is because of the cute, cartoon yak spinning around its loading page.
