All posts by Karen Hua

I am obsessed with order, symmetry, perfection. I hate gray areas, in-betweens, grounds of ambiguity. Last year, I strove for an all-or-nothing “balance” that I thought would regulate and organize my life. However, what I’ve realized is that balance is not about “extremes” leveling each other out. It is not always about saying a hard yes or a hard no. It isn’t about making a definite decision. Rather, a true balance is about finding the middle ground that I have hated so much. Last year, in an effort to maintain aRead More

When I started college last year, I averaged about five hours of sleep a night. As the year tolled on, my alarm clock chirped an hour earlier. Four hours of sleep definitely wasn’t something I enjoyed, but it was a routine necessity just like everything else on my to-do list. I enlisted it as another adjustment to becoming an “maturing.” Adulthood meant being career-driven and hungry for success—so naturally, sleep deprived, right? Unfortunately, even only a few months, in the human body realizes that it simply cannot operate with soRead More

I am the biggest sucker for sunsets, and Los Angeles particularly seemed to know that. My first time there was enough to have me stumbling over, in love. The term “takes my breath away” has always been a cheesy one. Walking into the sunset is clichéd. But that was exactly what LA was – sheer beauty – and no other way to describe it. LA punched me, slapped me – enamoured, enthralled me. I gazed with glassy eyes over sunsets brighter, bloodier than any I had ever seen. I stumbledRead More

I’ve made it back home after a three week solo roadtrip on the west coast – and I am in one piece. My limbs are all still attached, my physical state is intact except for a bike scrape on my ankle. I’ve returned with all my possessions present, minus one lost hair elastic and one tube of lipstick. I would consider my sanity partially stable, and my mental health only mildly shaken. My bank account will need a whole year to recuperate, but I feel exponentially richer than before IRead More

We can’t stop, and we won’t stop—Well, you should stop. New Year resolutions are great—if you’re the type of person who is so self-disciplined that you can actually follow through with your promises for longer than one week—aka, you’re probably not human. So, as imperfect humans, we are typically more prone to listen when we are told no, don’t, STOP. The negative is always more powerful, and I’m going to put that to the test.   15 Stop-It’s for 2014 Stop spending more on material goods than on experiences. It’s greatRead More

Regardless of which college you attend, these are 16 must-do’s to put on your bucketlist. College is called the best four years of our lives for a reason—but it’s also such a short time we must take advantage of. Not only are the academic opportunities plentiful, but the callings for adventure are, as well. With greater independence and freedom, this is our chance to explore beyond our comfort zones and discover every facet of ourselves. Good luck!   1. Attend a sporting event Regardless of whether your school is aRead More

Hopelessly in love with… Your totally oblivious best friend Your best friend you probably has you in the friend-zone Your roommate Someone who lives a world away Someone who’s totally out of your league Someone who’s taken Your friend’s totally-off-limits boyfriend/girlfriend That person you’ve been staring at for the past forever Someone too old for you Someone too young for you Your totally dreamy boss/coworker Your totally dreamy teacher Someone you just met Someone you haven’t even met yet Someone on the Internet A celebrity who doesn’t know you existRead More

Yesterday, I Skyped a girl I have never met, yet a girl I have been speaking to every day for four years. She lives in England and is starting her first year of university this month. She occasionally sends me sparkly stickers and British jewelry, and I whimsically mail over cards covered in amateur doodles of cartoon animals. I watched as she picked out a prom dress, I listened to her rants about her qualms and insecurities, I told her dumb jokes to alleviate the stress of exam season. SheRead More

There is no sensation quite like the anticipation of imminent departure. I remember my final week at home before returning to college, each morning awaking next to friends I cared about deeply. It would be 7am, the sunlight freckled across our statuesque faces—our arms in legs entangled in a silent refusal to move and an unspoken plea to stay. Then, the sudden jolt of our rainforest alarms, the slam on the 15-minute snooze. The lethargic, reluctant roll over to friends on each side—groggily, but oh, so acutely, understanding that ourRead More

This past summer, I took a solo roadtrip meant for “self-exploration and discovery”—and some other hippie bullshit I thought would make me more introspective as an individual. Ironically enough, though I exuded a pseudo-whimsicality and spontaneity for adventure, I rigidly revolved my life around rules and schedules. My first stop was Mount Washington in the New Hampshire Whites, which was the highest peak I would’ve ever climbed. I joined a group of other solo hikers, but it was clear that I was the expert in the group—in tip-top shape toRead More

Plays, musicals, orchestras, concerts, dance-performances–we can’t get enough. For the first-time tourist or the returning traveler, New York’s artistic scene is never lacking. From the classic Broadway theater experience, to lesser known immersive experiences, New York will have shows to accommodate any age and any taste.   1. The obvious, number 1 on your list: Watch a Broadway play or musical. Broadway is timeless, and there are always a wide variety of shows to suit any taste. If you’re looking for a comedy, there’s Book of Mormon or Wicked. ForRead More

Ever since blowing eighteen candles out on a perfectly frosted cake, we’ve all been in the limbo that is emerging adulthood. We may proudly parade around calling ourselves “adults,” when really, we are still discovering what adulthood truly entails. As we soon observe, being an adult means at heart, not in physicality. Sure, we may legally be over the age of eighteen and eligible to vote, but it takes a while for the mentality and maturity of to solidify firmly. These milestones of adulthood don’t all happen overnight. Ultimately, beingRead More

In terms of success, it seems like the world is divided into 4 general subdivisions of people: Success has a subjective definition, and is different in the eyes of everyone. Most commonly, it means obtaining our goals and achieving personal happiness. For a few, it may be affluence; for some, their names etched in the history books; and for others, simply a nice home, small family, and stable job.   The people who “don’t work hard” yet still succeed For some individuals, it seems as if serendipity and luck always seem to beRead More

As I stumble my way further through college and dabble in the so-called “real” world, I’m coming to the sad realization that so many careers are fueled by the misfortune of others. A good friend of mine was recently accepted into pharmacy grad school, much to his elation because as he put it, “I’m pretty much guaranteed a job for life now, unless people suddenly stop needing medication or something.” As altruistic as his intentions probably are, the core of his future profession is dependent on waiting for people toRead More

Middle grounds and in-betweens—where boundaries are blurred, expectations are muddled, and nothing is really satisfied. Let’s start with the basics.   2% milk: it doesn’t have the creaminess of whole milk, but it isn’t the health conscious choice of skim milk. Diet soda: it’s ultimately still soda, and by default unhealthy. But it tries to compromise with a lower calorie count and a poser for sugar? B’s: the mutant hybrid between effort and indifference—the love child of half-heartedness. With just a step further in effort, there was the potential toRead More