Category: Reflections

  • Ars gratia artis estne? That is the question

    This post is a tangent of my previous post, “Commentary on the Hidden Patriarchy in Ancient Roman Epics.” — Despite the common theme, the two poems, “Helen Grows Old” and “Reader, I” convey their message in very different ways. “Reader, I” ended on a note of hope and empowerment, which resonated more with me than…

  • Humanity’s Hubris

    Many of our world’s problems are caused or exacerbated by pride. There is often a stubbornness that makes people unwilling to listen before they’ve already decided or unwilling to concede because doing so feels like losing. I see it in friendships that fractured over a mistake someone was unwilling to apologize for. I see it…

  • If I could talk to Paul Kalanithi

    After sobbing wretchedly through the last chapter and the epilogue of “When Breath Becomes Air,” I sat for a while in silence, trying to absorb the weight of this incredible person’s life. As an aspiring physician-scientist who can’t stop turning over unanswerable questions, his words resonated with me. But there was one thing I couldn’t…

  • Commentary on the Hidden Patriarchy in Ancient Roman Epics

    I recently read two poems about the female experience and societal expectations in classical literature. “Helen Grows Old” is about Helen of Troy’s less-known and less-cared-about quiet life after returning to her husband, Menelaus. “Reader, I” criticizes the stereotypical hysterical role of women, using Dido as an illustration. This topic is one that most readers…

  • O’ Latin, wherefore art thou ‘dead’?

    After seven years of studying Latin, I’ve heard every version of the same question: “Why are you studying a dead language?” As a four-time National Latin Exam Gold Medalist (summa cum laude) and co-president of my school’s Latin Club, I’ve gotten used to defending my choice. I usually say something about intellectual rigor or cultural…

  • Objectivity is a beautiful lie

    Think about the last time you heard a cover and liked it better than the original. Something in the reinterpretation unlocked the song. Maybe it had a slower tempo, riffs in new places, or grief where the original had swagger, and suddenly you can’t unhear it. Although written in black and white, the score was…