Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
January 15, 2026 January 15, 2026 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Voices

Hopkins is a diverse university where an incredible mix of cultures, academic interests and personalities coexist and thrive. Here is the section where you can publish your unique thoughts, ideas and perspectives on life at Hopkins and beyond.

COURTESY OF BUSE KOLDAS Koldas writes a letter to her least favorite class, Physics, and describes her journey with the subject. 

A hate letter to physics

By BUSE KOLDAS | September 22, 2024

I would have started with “Dear Physics,” but let’s not lie to ourselves here. You are not my dear, Physics. What would be a good antonym for “dear”? Unbeloved? I’ll use that.

YAIR ARONSHTAM / CC BY-SA 2.0 Ferrer writes about the dilemma that comes with leaving home to go to college and how it reminds her of a Biblical story.

Pillar of salt

By JOHNALYS FERRER | September 18, 2024

My last goodbyes flow out of me like a disappointed sea, breaking and offshoring between the rows of my teeth, shaking my lips. As I see my parents’ faces, I am reminded once again of what must be done. Packing my life into three suitcases, I head off to college once again, with a quiet hope that this semester will be far better than the last. 

COURTESY OF AASHI MENDPARA Mendpara goes back to her last week at high school as an almost college graduate and tells her journey of accepting life’s losses.

Mastering the art of losing

By AASHI MENDPARA | September 15, 2024

I remember sitting in my English teacher’s room during the last week of senior year, on the verge of tears. I was having an absolutely horrible day; I was exhausted, my limbs hurt a little more than normal and I could feel a stress headache from the subtly creeping impending doom. 

COURTESY OF HAILEY FINKELSTEIN Finkelstein takes inspiration from a popular TikTok trend about aging and writes about the social pressure women face while growing old.

Aging incomprehensibly

By HAILEY FINKELSTEIN | September 15, 2024

Someday, I will wear my age like a badge of honor. I will have freckles because I am lucky to have time to sit in the sun. I will have emotions so pure and deep and all-consuming that you could trace them in smile lines and crow's feet.

fishermansdaughter / CC BY 2.0 Talwar comments on the instant gratification habits at Hopkins and contrasts it to how things used to be in the ancient times.

Choosing delayed gratification

By RESHAM TALWAR | September 8, 2024

As I enter my final year of university, I find myself in a never-asleep-but-always-tired world, where we have the power to summon the world's knowledge anytime at the tap of a finger. Instantly satiating our curious mind with an answer without letting it wander and dwell on the problem has its own pitfalls. 

COURTESY OF KAYLEE NGUYEN As a freshman, Nguyen reflects on her experience at Hopkins so far and how she finds happiness in her everyday life. 

Finding my moments of Hopkins happiness

By KAYLEE NGUYEN | September 8, 2024

While worries will always be present, we must remember that college is the time to experience the unexpected and to learn everything that we can about both academics and everyday life. Joy will always follow us, and we must take advantage of every opportunity for our moments of Hopkins happiness.

COURTESY OF YANA MULANI Mulani reflects on how she’s changed and grown over time.

Learning to accept that I’m ever-changing

By YANA MULANI | September 6, 2024

One thing I never predicted when I started at Hopkins is how much I would change throughout university. It sounds silly, because “of course college changes you.” Yes, I am more independent. Yes, I am more disciplined. Yes, I trust myself more (and also not at all). So, it’s obvious: College changed me.

COURTESY OF SUDHA YADAV Yadav shares her healing journey after losing a family member and explains how she connected with others.

Picking myself back up

By SUDHA YADAV | April 27, 2024

The last year and a half seems like a blur. I couldn’t keep up with life. My homesickness reached its peak and the pressures of graduate school crushed me — I was struggling to find a way to fit into this world. I always assumed I was strong enough to handle the challenges in life because I was forced to be like the role models I grew up seeing. I never shared my fears with other people and always put up a strong face, but that only led to loneliness. 

COURTESY OF GABRIEL LESSER Lesser tells how his trip to Rio with his college friends allowed him to mix the familiar with the unknown and says his goodbyes to The News-Letter.

Closing a chapter: Holding onto the familiar, making room for the new

By GABRIEL LESSER | April 26, 2024

I’m sitting here writing my last piece for my column in The News-Letter, and I am at a loss for words. I’ve thought about this moment for a while: what I’d write in my last piece, where in my life I’d be and what closing words I’d share. While the last four years have shaped who I am and influenced who I have become, I’ve come to the realization that, at my core, I’m the same I’ve always been: discovering myself through my writing and growing from my experiences.

COURTESY OF MADELYN KYE Kye reflects on how grief affected her experience studying abroad in Paris.

The truth about my semester in Paris, France

By MADELYN KYE | April 25, 2024

I studied abroad in Paris last spring and it still comes up frequently. Naturally, when people learn that I studied abroad, they ask me about it. Not wanting to kill the mood, I usually find myself lying, or, at least, oversimplifying the situation. 

COURTESY OF ISABELLA MADRUGA Madruga discusses her relationship with The Sims.

Why I play The Sims, and why you should, too

By ISABELLA MADRUGA | April 23, 2024

Growing up, I never really played — or liked — video games. I didn’t get the point. Watching my 4th-grade crush play Portal in his bedroom was boring. Okay, you get to the next level, and then you get to the last level and then what? You just play it all over again? Never mind the fact that I didn’t particularly enjoy games that hurt people violently. Games on the Wii were more tolerable, but then whenever I’d win (or more likely, lose), I’d think, “What’s next?”

COURTESY OF SARA KAUFMAN Kaufman reflects on how she has come to appreciate small joys.

Appreciating the fun-sized joys in life

By SARA KAUFMAN | April 23, 2024

I stand at a whopping 5 feet. That means I’m on my tiptoes for about half of each day, I fit comfortably in coach airplane seats and I have managed to end up with a list of “‘things in friends’ apartments that are taller than I am.” As a short person, it only makes sense for me to surround myself with other physically small things.

COURTESY OF PETER WANG Li reflects on feelings of frustration and ponders finding her calling.

Why do we even try?

By ALIZA LI | April 19, 2024

Why do we even try? As a graduating senior, I’ve asked myself this question many times. Sleepless nights spent cramming for Chinese exams and finishing English papers have left me wondering why I bother to put so much effort into my work and whether this effort will be worth it in the end.

ARANTZA GARCIA / DESIGN AND LAYOUT EDITOR Koldas rereads old journal entries and promises herself to learn how to forgive.

My attempt to master forgiveness

By BUSE KOLDAS | April 11, 2024

Reading old journal entries is difficult to begin. If you’re a person who has never been good at facing failure, like I am, it is dreadful. For the last couple of weeks, even the thought of rereading my old entries was enough to make me nervous. However, a few days ago, I radically turned off the switch in my head that was keeping me from doing this. I wished to reflect. I wanted to see my growth, the steps I had taken forward, if any.

COURTESY OF AASHI MENDPARA Mendpara reflects on her former obsession with teen magazines.

Here's to pining for the American teenage dream

By AASHI MENDPARA | April 10, 2024

I remember being 10 or 11 years old, sitting in front of my family’s desktop computer, staring at a picture of a girl. She was maybe 17, wearing a red varsity jacket with matching red Converse shoes and big gold hoops. Her hair was long, straight and blonde. She was sitting cross-legged on a baseball diamond, a bat casually resting on her shoulder. 

ARUSA MALIK / DESIGN AND LAYOUT EDITOR Zhu reflects on her Shanghainese identity. 

Lost and found: Reclaiming my voice as a Shanghainese

By VICKY ZHU | April 8, 2024

Over winter break, my family’s activity and conversation revolved around a TV series called Blossoms Shanghai. Set in the ‘90s in Shanghai, the show interweaves stories of young Shanghainese fighting for their future in their own ways as the city undergoes tremendous economic changes.

ARUSA MALIK / DESIGN AND LAYOUT EDITOR Swindle reflects on how her relationship with the piano has changed.

Learning to play piano

By LANA SWINDLE | April 5, 2024

When I was seven years old, I started to learn the piano. I had a wonderful (albeit strict) teacher, who taught me a lot about how to place my hands on the keys, read bass clef and approach three-octave scales. I graduated from intro exercises to sonatinas after a couple of years and started performing annually at my teacher’s recitals.

Baltimore strong: The resiliency of cities

By RAGHAV AGRAWAL | April 3, 2024

Like many other residents of Baltimore, I woke up on Tuesday morning to the news of the Francis Scott Key Bridge falling overnight when it was hit by a massive ship that was exiting the Port of Baltimore. It goes without saying that this was a devastating incident for the city, and our thoughts and prayers are especially with those who lost loved ones.

COURTESY OF KAITLIN TAN Tan writes about her experience on her spring break trip.

Off-season: Reflections on the road

By KAITLIN TAN | April 3, 2024

There is a strange peace to the sight of a beach town emptied. Arriving at Cape Cod at noon in late March, we were served a sight of pastel storefronts and wooden walkways that wove around one another in a tangle of overlapping outlooks and porches. My roommate and I were the only passengers on the large bus into town.

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