I recently experienced my first true loss of someone close to me. My helper from the Philippines finally retired after being with my family my whole life. I had lost relatives before, but I was never as close with any of them as I was to my helper. Although she didn’t necessarily “pass away”, I had lost a part of my life that consistently was there every day since the day I was born, plunging me into emotions of emptiness, confusion, and uncertainty. I grew up in Hong Kong an

She lives in a world With an endless litany of ironies and contradictions. Thousands of followers, A thousand likes An avalanche of love An avalanche of hate Doom scrolling Just one more video Just one more post Another like  Another heart Another hate comment An entire world a finger click away She is loved all over her social media page. She is appreciated everywhere She is praised and celebrated  Then why the emptiness? Why has loneliness become her constant companion? She

Surviving this world Is surviving an unending race With an extremely skewed starting pool Stereotypes define our societal pillars They create barriers.  Barriers that are a vice around the heart.  Around the mind.  They grip you,  they pull you down.  Expectations.  Disappointment.  Ideals.  So many standards.  Society is the cage for every human being. Women are riddled with doubt. Doubt that is sewn into the very fabric of the ideals of the world. Society defines us as weak

Compassion. Service. Integrity. Respect. These values are so deeply ingrained into our UWC community, and I believe that I can speak for many when I say that they will remain with us throughout the rest of our lives. As students, we are frequently reminded of the central mission of our school; we see it in our curriculum, our mandatory and voluntary service, and our extracurricular activities and societies.  Our many, many societies. The Overcommitment Culture of UWC is somet

When was the last time you were truly  bored? Not the “I have nothing to watch on Netflix” kind; but the deep, restless, ceiling-staring boredom that used to accompany long car rides or Thanksgiving dinners before the age of smartphones. Have you ever watched a movie on your laptop, while catching up on your bio notes on your Ipad, and  scrolling through Instagram Reels on your phone - all at once? I sure have. Since when did  finishing a movie in one sitting  start to feel l

Get up. Drag yourself to school.  Activities.  Service.  A monotonous cycle. Face the piles of homework. Riddled with math problems and...

What does it mean to belong to a specific place? Is it the language you dream in, the streets that are ever so familiar, or the people...

With an age defined by the rapid development of technologies, the seemingly counterintuitive trend of analog products enjoying increased...

Many people may say my family is weird, even out of this world – and maybe they’re right. I do think my family is pretty unique. However,...

What does it say about the society we live in when chess, the ultimate intellectual pursuit in the 21st century, is still a...