Lifestyle Category

My fiancée would argue that I am extremely resistant to trying new things, and for the most part, she’s completely correct. I usually live and die by the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” motto, especially when it comes to my diet. What makes it even worse is that my pickiness is at an extreme. With food, for example, I routinely feast on the following: cheese pizza, bean and rice burritos, macaroni and cheese, plain bagels, and other assortments of bread. I should be the size of a house,Read More

In elementary school, your teachers always had a set of rules to tell you on the first day. “Don’t speak when I am speaking.” “Raise your hand.” Then, there was the “Golden Rule”- treat others how you want to be treated. We are told this throughout our lives in school, sports and even the workplace. But when does the rule stop applying? There’s different views to this “Golden Rule.” For example, should your enemies be treated how you want to be treated? We all wanted to be treated well, correct?Read 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

1. Throw an awesome pool party with all of your closest friends Sun, water, friends, and good vibes, it does not get any better. Check out this awesome playlist to get the party started.   2. Get a decent tan 3. Find a song that will always take you back to the Summer of 2014 A work in progress playlist, still haven’t picked out my song yet.   4. Summerlovin’ 5. Take a trip or two to visit your friends, On a budget? Aren’t we all? Check out these awesome budget-friendly travelRead 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

Living under the rule of a federal agent made me a resentful adolescent. But it made me who I am today. “Wait till your father finds out.” Those dreadful words haunted me for most of my adolescence. My brothers and I were raised under the strict ruling of Dad (“The Dictator”) and Mom (“The Enforcer”). And much like a totalitarian state, there was no compromise or negotiation, and speaking out against the authoritative duo was intolerable. Similarly, in the event we were able to speak in our defense, our argumentRead 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

Unless your childhood was a mundane mix of mild manners and perfect parenting you probably read the infamous, Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorsts, somewhere between wetting the bed and fourth grade.  I could delve into details of the prizes his brothers found in their cereal bowls that morning and what Alexander found instead,(nothing), but from the title the underlying nature of the story is apparent.  As adults without bed times and with the ability to buy ourselves a cookie, we at leastRead 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

My early twenties, the years of my mindless actions, died as the third decade of my life became closer than the beginning of my 20th year of my existence. The first half of my twenties took their final breath surrounded by the experiences and knowledge I gained through the journey called life. Those years are survived by my friends that stood by me when I wanted to run from myself, my family that loved me for better or for worse, and my new view on the latter half of myRead More

I started working in my first real world job three months ago, and quickly became friends with the only other 20-something in our side of the office, Ceara, who is one of the coolest girls I’ve ever met. She recently got offered a job teaching theater at a school just down the street from her, and I honestly couldn’t be more excited for her – it’s a great opportunity. However, I did go through a couple stages of being less than thrilled. After all, the person I was closest to atRead More

World renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow once ordered all our needs into a rigid pyramid of importance. As Maslow argued, at the base of all our needs is what keeps us physically alive as human beings. As the pyramid narrows toward the top, meeting physiological needs transitions toward meeting more internal, emotional needs. He deemed this to be what founds a “stable” individual. However, is it true in every moment that we put our physical “needs” before what we mentally desire? Can Maslow’s rigidity ever flex? I don’t want to believeRead More

I take pride in my beard.  I love growing my facial hair out because it makes me feel manly.  Maybe it’s my own version of a lifted truck, but I don’t care.  It also keeps my face warm in the winter months, so there’s that.  Here are some things that can start to get annoying about having a beard once you realize that they’re going to happen over and over again regardless of where you are.   1. Things get stuck in your beard. Namely food, but you’d be surprisedRead More

I come from a long line of proud, Chinese-born and Chinese-raised relatives, but I am the first one to be born in the United States. Despite living in a suburban Bostonian home, I was raised on scallion pancakes and rice, torturous Chinese lessons every Saturday, and stereotypical Asian values. Every dinner was a lecture about how fortunate I was not live in a poverty-stricken communist country. Grades were always held as a number one priority, even before health and sanity. My Chinese school and group of family friends were alwaysRead More

I ran the San Diego Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon a couple weekends ago. My training leading up to it was spotty (at best). The foundation of my diet was ice cream and red meat. Having grown up an athlete—not a good athlete, but an accomplished try-hard—I assumed running thirteen miles would be a walk in the park. I was so wrong. Because we only walked for a few minutes in the proverbial park, and then had to keep running. I will now recount for you my first half-marathon—and possibly myRead More