Racial Clarity

Race can often be a touchy subject, but as a biracial person, I often feel like I have a certain level of immunity when it comes to this subject. I don’t, in truth. If anything, I probably have more responsibility than the average person to handle this subject well. PRESSURE. (Good thing pressure generally just […]

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Teacher Life: Articulating Emotions

Yesterday I sent a kid out of the classroom with whom I have a love-hate relationship. He can be quite explosive, disruptive, and even violent at times, but I also have this genuine affection for him. And I think he likes me, too.

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Teacher Life: Working Through Conflict

Last week, I saw an ugly side of one of my young students. English name of Brian. He is normally very cute and engaged during class (and I may even subconsciously favor him sometimes..). He just has the kind of attractive personality that makes you want to call on him all the time.

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Made For More

Sometimes I feel like I was made for more, more than what my current life is. Recently I’ve been feeling it rather strongly––this nagging sensation that I have more potential inside me than I’m tapping into. And that nagging feeling is leading to frustration. Could this just be Millennial hubris (as my brother has been saying)? Am I just another example of Why Generation […]

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Teacher Life: The Whisper Technique

This week my voice got hoarse, which made it difficult to speak loudly during class, which made me realize how much I rely on yelling to control my classroom. Since that fallback was no longer an option, I resorted to a technique my roommate has mentioned a few times. It’s called the whisper technique. I started talking […]

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When Sickness Hits: Some Tips

Since cold and flu season is upon us (or at least upon me), I thought I’d help out the world by posting some of the epiphanies that have come to me during the last week of being sick. Here are some tips: 1. Don’t give in. Some friends swear by the “deny sickness at all costs” […]

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Smashing Cockroaches

The other night, I had a slightly traumatic experience: I entered my bedroom just in time to see a huge cockroach leap right into my bed!! To give some context, I sleep on the floor (on a mat that Koreans call a yo). I also sleep inside a pop-up mosquito tent with a zip-up flap door. […]

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Why We Need Sadness

I cried a fountain while watching Inside Out. The movie is a surprisingly profound look at loss and the ways loss changes us…

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