Life

CULTURALLY SHOOK | The iPhone X Reminds Me That I Am A Person

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That quote about being a tiny speck of dust in the infinite span of the universe—intended to be a comforting reminder that our actions do not merit the importance we delude ourselves into believing they do, and that we should really just relax—is actually quite demoralizing. Maybe it’s the leftover traces of teen angst that have dutifully followed me into my twenties, maybe it’s just how I’m feeling this particular rainy Thursday night—but that quote just makes me kind of sad. If I’m just an insignificant fleck of dust traversing outer space on a marble of a planet with millions of other equally insignificant flecks of dust, then what’s the point? Why are we setting our alarms for 8am, gaining significant leadership experience in a myriad of educational campus organizations, and forming meaningful relationships with our peers? Why are we doing anything, really?

Life

COFFEE THOUGHTS | Work Work Work Work Work

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Taking a step back, I can’t believe we’re already on week 4. My groggy brain tries to do the countdown of how many weeks left until the end of the semester. Wait a second–week 4? I’m over halfway done with my short course in Python! I shake my head, attempting to shake away the cobwebs.

Life

SAVING FACE | The Asian American Response to Charlottesville

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This piece was written at the time of—and in direct response to—the “Unite the Right” rally and ensuing violence that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, August 12th. Before you read this article, I suggest that you watch this video from Vice News first. It is an eyewitness account of what happened in Charlottesville. While watching this is not easy, I think it is absolutely essential: https://news.vice.com/story/vice-news-tonight-full-episode-charlottesville-race-and-terror
***
What happened last Saturday was appalling. I had been told that we live in a post-racial society, but events like this show that we are clearly not.

Life

GRACE’S GROVE | Decoration Inspiration

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Whether you love to spend hours on dorm decoration or just want to do the bare minimum, it is undeniable that loving your dorm room is very important. After all, how comfortable you are with your personal space determines how much sleep you get, which affects your ability to get up for those 8am classes, which determines your GPA. I guess I’m going down a rabbit hole here, but I speak the truth. To help you find some decor inspiration before the semester gets too busy, I’ve compiled a list of a few commonly seen decor themes, as well as some essential items you’ll need for each. Check the Instagram handles for more inspo!

Life

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM | Weighing in on Interminority Prejudice

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Over the summer, I managed to save up for a trip to California, one of the places in America celebrated for its liberalism and openness. Ignoring the sinking feeling that few other tourists would look like me, I set about to explore the Bay Area. An exciting aspect of traveling being souvenir shopping, I googled the best place to buy souvenirs, which took me to San Francisco’s Chinatown. Hopping from shop to shop deciding on what keepsakes to buy for myself and my family, I noticed a trend – each store I went into, a shop attendant would be close behind, watching my every move. When discussing race relations in America, whether it’s in a seminar or on social media, racial prejudice is often framed as only a “white problem.” Indeed, having lived as a minority in America for only two years, the first image that comes to mind when I think of racism in America is of torch-yielding white supremacists akin to those who were protesting in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Life

TRAVELIN’ WITH JACQUELINE | The Summer of Love Experience

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Before the contemporary hipster existed, there was the hippie of the 1960s. (Ironically, the term “hippie” was derived from the word “hipster,” which referred to the jazz cats of the 1940s.) Perhaps the most notable year for any hippie is 1967, whenduring which the Summer of Love took place in San Francisco. Hippies from around the country arrived in Haight-Ashbury and the adjacent Golden Gate Park, which, as I write this piece, is hosting the Outside Lands Festival for the weekend. Because this summer—the summer of 2017—marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Summer of Love, the city of San Francisco has been heavily promoting what has been (if you will, my fellow Warriors fans) dubbed the Summer of Love Experience, much of which revolves around a special (if not once-in-a-lifetime) exhibit of the same name from the de Young Museum, which is opportunely located in Golden Gate Park. And so, on this installment of Travelin’ with Jacqueline, we shall be traveling to not only to another place but toalso another time.

Life

WHITE KNUCKLES | Acknowledgments Too Long for My Thesis

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When I graduated high school, I wrote a farewell piece in the school paper; it came easy, words were flowing without obstacles, I had a lot to say. Four years later, I still have a lot to say; however, this is one of those very few times when I felt that there might not be enough words, or that they will be too small and timid, too controlled, too human. After reading Virginia Woolf, I found myself validated in my belief that humans are only allotted scattered moments of happiness – happiness which does indeed exist, but which is too big and overwhelming to be taken in over long period of time. We all know those moments in which everything lines up, in which time is right and slow, and everything is in place and shouldn’t be anywhere else – that is happiness, and it is a state of perfection that I always believed too divine to be long-lasting. I wasn’t completely right; the happiness I’ve felt over these four years was definitely human, not continuous but stretched out over weeks, over people, over places.

Life

TRAVELIN’ WITH JACQUELINE | Spring Break NYC – Part 2: Museums

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As a college student, it’s important to be aware and take advantage of the student discounts that places like clothing companies, restaurants and especially museums offer, because it’s going to be more than forty years until you can get a senior discount…forty-plus years of dreary adulthood in which you are expected to pay full price for everything—the horror! Seriously though, it’s always nice to save some money, so I whenever I go to a museum, I have my Cornell ID ready. During Spring Break I visited three museums, all of which offered student discounts, but I will only relate my experiences at two of them—the Museum of Sex and the Guggenheim.  
MUSEUM OF SEX
233 5th Avenue, NY, NY 10016
5 / 5 stars
On Saturday, after brunching at Friedman’s, James and I decided to walk to the Museum of Sex, which is a great place to visit if you don’t find the other huge art museums in town as appealing, hate the crowds that typically occupy spaces in such museums or just want to explore the history of sex. The first floor of the museum currently has an exhibition called “Night Fever,” which is about the disco scene in the United States, especially New York City, during the 1960s.

Travel

TRAVELIN’ WITH JACQUELINE | Spring Break NYC – Part 1: Food

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Like most Cornellians, I find that during the school year, amidst all the prelims and deadlines, it can be hard to set aside some time to treat myself and take things slow, which is why I decided to indulge in food, museums, and strolling around when I spent my Spring Break in New York City. I won’t be writing about every experience I had – only the ones I found to be interesting and fun. Originally, I was going to dedicate just one article to Spring Break, but I’ve decided to split the piece into two parts (one on food and another on museums), since there were too many highlights!  

FRIEDMAN’S
132 West 31st Street, NY, NY 10001
4 / 5 stars

Since I arrived in NYC on Friday night, I was able to spend the entirety of Saturday with one of my best friends from high school, James! We met up in the morning and got brunch at one of the Friedman’s in Midtown.