Take up a hobby. The relief and excitement and fulfillment of having something to focus on that does not include sitting in front of a computer and working for all the fame and fortune that academia can provide is well worth it. Taking time for yourself for nothing but pure fun might feel like a…
Does time seem to slip away from you? You get to the end of a busy day, and you know you did stuff, but you can’t quite say what exactly it was that you accomplished? Perhaps you feel busy, but not productive? “I’ve been working 80-hour weeks,” you complain-brag to your friends. (By the way, 80 hours…
Are you a procrastinator who suffers from writing anxiety? So am I. Writing prompts are a way to brainstorm your project and have a record of your thoughts. Using these prompts are a way to “word vomit” onto the page. This is not the time to be perfect. This is not the time to make…
I write to share stories. Injustice and pain is plaguing our world. I want to understand it. Why? What are the effects of this inequality? How can we begin to walk towards a more equitable and inclusive world? I write to share stories that illuminate the pain and offer some hope to extinguish it. I…
“Before babies are born they live in the sky where they fly among the clouds. The sky is a happy place and calling babies down to earth is not an easy thing to do. From the sky, babies can see the course of human lives. This is what the Hmong children of my generation are…
Getting in the Mindset: 4 Steps to Building Your Confidence
When I started graduate school, I didn’t believe that I was intelligent. Sure, I was a hard worker and productive. But I did not see myself as intellectually stimulating. “I could never be as interesting and thought-provoking as my professors,” I thought. This belief was a major roadblock. In fact, it still is. Not believing…
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