Finding humor and humanity in the Catholic Church

My family is deeply religious. My father’s side is wholly Irish Catholic. My mother’s side is not Irish, but my grandparents on her side were sure as hell Catholic, and, of course, so is she. I believe we may have some Baptists in the family somewhere but I have not heard much about that.

What it really means to be an introvert

It’s always the quiet ones. That’s what they tell me anyway. I’m pretty sure the whole expression is, “It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for,” but to be honest, that doesn’t help me understand it much. Do people expect me to jump out from behind their blackout curtains just as they’re settling in for the evening? Steal the highlighters I borrow from them? Occasionally say something snarky? The horror.

Becoming more than just another Hopkins pre-med

You’ll know it when you see one. We sit in the front row of every class, answer every (rhetorical) question, flood review sessions and the 6 p.m. JHMI shuttle and follow professors around like lost puppies until we’re sure they’ll write us a letter of recommendation. Hopkins is our battleground, and we are feared and despised by our peers and faculty alike.

Finding the courage to come out in the social media era

I’ve spent the last year trying to write screenplays and short stories about teenage girls struggling to come out to their families and friends, and one question always came up from my peers in workshop and my professors: “I don’t understand why it’s so hard for her to come out.”

Unlearning my grandfather’s masculinity

"You’re a man now! Stop crying.”

Refusing to let masculinity standards define my sexuality

Rediscovering my Korean heritage in college

I think it was in fourth grade when I truly came to grasp a sense of my “otherness.” It was a hot August day, and I was playing on the swings at my local community center. A girl with mousy brown hair and glasses came up to me and asked, “Why is your face so flat?”

Debunking the perpetual foreigner myth

San Francisco. My mother’s womb. None of your business.

Gentrification and authenticity in D.C. Chinatown: walking the fine line between exploitation and prosperity

Last summer, while looking for a free bike on Craigslist, one thing led to another, and I ended up working part-time at a Chinese restaurant in D.C.'s Chinatown. Since then, people have asked me what I did there, and I can't really say.

Leaving Club Penguin and becoming an adult

Becoming my own person as an identical twin

We wore matching outfits. We shared a room. We even had bunkbeds. We watched Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen on VHS. It’s true: We did switch places to confuse our high school teachers.

Steps to being a bad roommate

As we move into the end of spring semester, many of us find ourselves in new rooming situations. Need to force your roommate to move out in order to get your make your McCoy experience a little less awful, or are you just simply a terrible person? Doesn’t matter. Through this series of simple steps, I can teach you how to be the worst roommate possible.

Get ready for Sylvan Esso to release new album, What Now

Why Supergirl has relationship trouble

Ways you can celebrate National Poetry Month

My experience at the big fat Indian wedding

Fact checking: why it’s important even for student media

Ellen Bass explores resilience in “Enough”

The GOP attempt to appeal the ACA was a joke