Answering questions about life as a grad school student
Hi friends! I wanted to do this in the style of @kimberly on TikTok–her brutally honest days in my life. Here’s a few days in my life as someone who’s trying to cherish these days she’ll know a part of her will miss someday. Related Post: tuesday of spring semester | columbia chronicles Thursday April 11, … Continue reading days in my life | columbia chronicles
At the moment, I’ve become quite obsessed with a few things. So I figured here’s a chance to tell you what has been consuming my mind (in a good way!). This will kind of be a random list of items, but maybe you’ll enjoy it. #1: Burt’s Bees Vanilla Bean Lip Balm This one feels … Continue reading my current obsessions
March 2024 was a huge month for me. And it revealed a little bit of a pattern to me. I guess God likes to use the month of March to shake up my life a bit. Last March, I was accepted to grad school and rejected from a job I was so confident I’d get. … Continue reading MARCH 2024 in review
So I took a wee trip to Ireland this past week! For my Covering Religion course, we applied for a grant that would allow us to travel to Ireland and cover religion internationally. The grant meant that, for the most part, the trip was paid for. So on Saturday afternoon, March 9, we all headed … Continue reading the emerald isle
The firefly only shines when on the wing, So it is with us--when we stop, we darken. Through the gift to readers that is Libby, I randomly decided to start reading At Home in Mitford in September of 2022. It was one of the best reading decisions I’ve ever made. I read the Anne of … Continue reading my favorite fictional world: Mitford edition
Hi friends! It’s been quite a day (a Tuesday when I write this to you). I had some health things that came up, so I just wanted to say take care of yourselves and check in on loved ones. It sucks that so many I love live far from me and I have to relay … Continue reading death, love, and grief
I’m taking you through a Tuesday in my life during spring semester. This semester has been so hard. My reporting is competing with my Master’s Project. Not to mention my part time job (which is thankfully lightening up its load). Send prayers and good thoughts! January 30, 2024 On Tuesday morning, I ate breakfast and … Continue reading tuesday of spring semester | columbia chronicles
I mentioned at the start of the year that I wanted to read more classic literature as one of my resolutions, and so I figured I would share with you the books I want to read this year! Reading Goals for 2024 Anna Karenina I randomly bought Anna Karenina a few blocks away from Columbia … Continue reading reading goals for 2024
The posts that I missed writing when I graduated college in May 2022 were the end of semester reflection posts. These posts gave me an avenue to look back on the semester, see the gems I had, celebrate the wins I experienced, and mourn the losses I had. So it’s been a pleasant surprise to … Continue reading fall semester of journalism school reflection
We’re back to the fresh start feeling at the New Year. I recapped 2023 in last week’s post. I’m honestly more excited about the second part of 2024 than the first part (I’m dreading needing to finish my Master’s project.) While I have a few resolutions and intentions, this post is more about ins and … Continue reading 2024: In and out
It’s that time of the year, a time to assess the year that has gone by. The lessons we learned, the trips we went on, the moments we enjoyed (or didn’t). 2023 was a strange year for me. I started off the year still job hunting, but my heart wasn’t in it anymore, and now … Continue reading what i’ve learned in 2023 + 2023 Highlights
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—where I share with you the books I’ve delighted this year. My Goodreads goal was 100 books, and I made it to 103. I definitely won’t be attempting this goal again anytime soon . I really want to read longer books next year, but this was a cool … Continue reading my best books of 2023
I know I haven’t been the best at sharing my Columbia life, but I did want to share the last day of fall semester with you. Fall semester was hard, and was super super busy, but I’m glad it’s time to rest and relax (even while working on my Master’s project). Friday December 15, 2023 … Continue reading Last day of fall semester | columbia chronicles
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Spotify Wrapped season! It’s time to discuss all things 2023 music and jams that I loved. Side note: sorry for my absence on the blog lately. School has been taking over my life. Trying to post when I can, but it’s not been easy. Didn't mean to take a month off, … Continue reading best songs of the year: 2023
These days, due to the whole being-in-grad-school thing, I don’t have much time to travel for weekends. (Unfortunately, there isn’t such a thing as being off from your work. A thing I’m grappling with in whether or not I want to be a reporter.) But I booked a weekend off a week in advance to … Continue reading autumn girlie weekend in connecticut
Hello friends! Hope the fall weather hasn’t been too chilly for you! As for me, I’ve been working hard as a reporter in New York City. It’s often been a challenge but it’s also been a great way to learn about a million different subjects and get a taste of what every industry has to … Continue reading a Journalist’s guide to life
As a grad student, life is expensive. But a grad student in New York City is just pure insanity. Saving money is absolutely essential. Living here, things are way more expensive than they need to be. Just this weekend, I bought a small cup of Earl Grey tea for 4 dollars. 4 dollars! I could’ve … Continue reading how to save money as a grad student
Happy Wednesday, friends! Hope it has not been raining consecutively for 5 weekends straight where you are. Maybe the sun hasn’t been hiding its face for you. At least, I hope not. While I’ve had a few blogs be more about my life, my favorite blog posts to write are all about my thoughts. This … Continue reading Church, peace, and butterflies
Life has been CRAZY lately. The ups and downs have been wild. I don’t think I expected schoolwork to take up my whole life the way it has. I feel like I’m either in class or doing class work and trying to make plans with friends has been next to impossible. All in all, we’re … Continue reading grad school day in my life
Well folks, sometimes life hands you a bad hand. This blog post was supposed to be a recap of a trip I had planned for months, but NYC transit flooding meant that I stayed home. So instead of sharing with you the wonder of a new place (the trip is now set for next spring, … Continue reading i like their thoughts
Something my reporting professor said in early September made me realize I want to be a writer. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. But the funny thing about that desire is that it’s under the heavier ones. Ones like having a job and having people understand what it means to do the work you … Continue reading an inner voice makes itself heard
Romantic love is capacious. And I mean that not in the mystical sense - it cannot contain anything or everything and it is never without conditions - but rather it is capacious in the daily way that any expression of love might also express trust, doubt, regret, resignation, humor, self-congratulation, or sacrifice. Love can contain … Continue reading the stories we tell about love
One of the posts I’ve been looking forward to writing as a Columbia student is a morning routine. I love morning routines! Even though (if I’m honest) my morning routine hasn’t changed a ton since I was in undergrad at UVA, I am still writing this for memory's sake. Tuesday, September 5, 2023 Every morning … Continue reading a morning routine | Columbia chronicles
To take a little break from the Columbia content, I figured I’d introduce you to the stories and words that have haunted me. I love reading and even though these days, I mainly read on the train from Brooklyn to Manhattan (or vice versa). I wish I could read more for pleasure, but I’ve been … Continue reading writing that haunts me
As life has changed a fair bit lately (read my Life Update post if you don’t know), I also need to update my 2023 rule of life. I am probably not going to add anything because life has gotten super busy but we’ll see. Here are some ideas I’m playing around with. Walks Since my … Continue reading revamping my rule of life 2023
If you are confused about the headline to this post, you probably missed the last one. Here it is. You should totally check that out. I am in a new season and it feels exciting, and so the most natural thing is sharing it all with you! I’m calling this year of grad school the … Continue reading orientation | Columbia chronicles
This is it. This is the post we’ve all been waiting for. Walter Bishop at the beginning of Fringe, “So much has happened here, and so much is about to.” So it is in the spirit of Dr. Bishop, I continue. *screams excitedly* It’s almost mid-August and I’m writing this on a Sunday. I don’t … Continue reading Life Update of August 2023
There’s a delicious shiver of anticipation when you’re going on vacation. You feel it as you pack, eager to land in a new space and just breathe. You notice it when you’re scrolling, looking for activities or restaurants that you now know you have the potential to stumble upon. It’s there as you begin your … Continue reading vacation in the poconos
Lately I’ve been reading Wendell Berry, trying to figure out why he is so beloved and to gain a greater understanding of his views of the world. It’s his fiction that I’ve enjoyed. His stories about Port William are a reminder of the Avonlea and Mitford I long for. These stories are written in the … Continue reading Vocare, a call to place
Welcome back to the blog! I ended up taking a mini-break due to domain issues. I’m glad to be back. I feel a little rusty writing again, but I have to start somehow. I’ve been reading a decent amount this July and I can’t wait to share them with you. Here’s to the books and … Continue reading books and songs summer ’23
Hello friends! Welcome back to the blog! Things have been a little bit shifty when it comes to hosting, so I’m back on my original frontier. (I’ll probably talk more about this soon in a life update.) This past week, an idea occurred to me, and I was, at once, shocked, that it had not … Continue reading NYC vs Virginia
I’m writing this after a long weekend of forecasts insisting that there will be rain and experiencing no rain. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. I love rain. I love opening my windows and hearing the rain pit-pat against my window. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to live in a … Continue reading rain and dreams that don’t come to fruition
Hey friends! Hope summer is treating you well so far. Things are stressful and yet slow on my end. I’m waiting for summer activities to pick up. If you’ve been watching the news, you know that the air quality has been on quite a journey lately. The sky seems to be back its normal self, … Continue reading What I’m Watching Right Now
This is another post like one I wrote over a year ago called 12 thoughts. I basically go through my Notes app and find Notes that might interest you or I want to expand on. So here goes. 001. I think I want to start a little podcast called The Chit Chat. It won’t be … Continue reading thoughts from my notes app
As I’m writing this, it’s been a whole year since I placed a graduation cap on my head, sang the Good Ol’ Song, and graduated with the Honor of honors from the University of Virginia. If you would’ve asked me what I expected a year later in post-grad, it would not have been this. Currently, … Continue reading A year in review: post-grad lessons
Today is a lovely day in May. The trees are bright and green as the light streams through my window. I’m relaxing on my couch. Honestly, I’ve been feeling a twinge of writer’s block and I’m in a reading slump, so this was supposed to be a books & songs post, but now it’s not. … Continue reading lyrics i’ve been loving from new jams
Though I’ve never actually stepped into the doors of a monastery, I got to enter into that world while reading This House of Brede. We enter Rumer Godden’s book through Philippa, a top level executive who quits her job to join an abbey to become a nun. I love this story. It is so well … Continue reading in praise of monasteries
Hello friends! In New York City, after a weekend of an almost endless torrential downpour, we finally have blue skies with bright green trees again. My last post was about the lovely world of Avonlea and how our world has lost some of its beauty. Which means it was very serious. So I figured a … Continue reading Things I’m Loving Lately
“Spring had come once more to Green Gables—the beautiful capricious, reluctant Canadian spring, lingering along through April and May in a succession of sweet, fresh, chilly days, with pink sunsets and miracles of resurrection and growth.” Green Gables, Anne's home in Avonlea. Even now, I can see myself there. The tall grasses and clear blue … Continue reading My favorite fictional worlds: avonlea edition
Don’t be afraid of a quiet life. A small sustainable simple life is resistance against the vanities of the world. Plan on being hidden. Set your life up to have a few friends who hear you when you speak. Go to an insignificant church where they still have potlucks. Don’t buy any hype. You can’t … Continue reading a quiet life | quote series
So how did I do it? How did I manage to read War and Peace this year? Honestly, I have a few answers and a million thoughts about Tolstoy’s greatest work. So let’s begin! How did I read War and Peace? I had a few things in my favor. The biggest one was TIME. If … Continue reading How I read War and Peace
This past weekend my parents and I took a lovely trip to a place I had always passed but never stopped to explore: Culpeper, Virginia. Our little weekend was Friday to Sunday for a wedding of a dear friend of mine, Chloe (who I most certainly have on the blog somewhere!) Friday March 17, 2023 … Continue reading countryside wedding in culpeper, va
As I write this, New York City is once again enjoying snow. Little flakes fall from the sky and melt as they touch the ground. It’s silly. Despite the time change we all have experienced, winter seems keen on staying. Even with the extra light, spring feels far away. I’ve been going through a spell … Continue reading the promises we keep (or not)
I haven’t felt excitement like that thrumming through me since Israel. Post-grad is weird like that. If you’re lucky, you live in the same city as your friends, but if you’re not, you see your friends as trains passing you by, stopping briefly for a moment to catch your breath. Not being the lucky sort, … Continue reading a story on friendship: a trip to New Haven
I woke up to snow in New York City. Though I am a summer girl, if winter comes every year, why not at least have one day of snow? It felt like for the longest time, it would never come. I would see the little snowflake icon on my weather, get excited, and the weather … Continue reading The timing of your life
Hello dear readers! I have a wonderfully hot raspberry hibiscus tea steeping, and a lovely muffin to go along with it. But I’m also slightly bummed about the book I left behind at the library today :(. So here’s to sharing both the good and the bad. I figured since I didn’t have a particular … Continue reading A little q&a for the win
Inspired by a poem called You Could Build a World This Way, I decided on giving you, my gentle reader, a syllabus for this season of my life. The title of the class I’d be teaching is The Liminal. How do we understand moments that are, in a grand context, spaces between what we once … Continue reading A syllabus for this season of life
Hey friends, sorry for being MIA last week. I’ve been traveling and hosting people at home, so things were a bit busy. Things have now died down, and here I am back with my thoughts. I figured I’d ramble today because I was unsure whether or not I should tell you about my travels or … Continue reading this winter & the languishing
New Year’s is without a doubt my favorite holiday. Everyone gathered together to welcome in the new year. It’s filled with celebration and reflection, and it’s an all around good time. I don’t think I’ve ever actually been sad on New Year’s. If the year before was a bad one, then good riddance! And if … Continue reading 2023: New Year, New Me
Israel with its sun beaming down hotter than I’ve ever felt before. Graduation where President Ryan talked about leaving a light for when we’d return home. Dozens of rejections lining my inbox. The rejection I kind of blacked out during right outside a coffee shop. Singing worship songs at 2am because none of us wanted … Continue reading What I’ve Learned in 2022 + 2022 Highlights
Studying Life with Gigi 