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Transfixed
On a crisp summer evening a few days ago, I attended the Schuman Symphony No. 4 concert in Grant Park, Chicago. The cool wind brushed my face as I sat down on a rickety red chair in the free seats section. The stainless steel exterior of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion glimmered before me, intricate in…
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A Defense of the “Quiet Ones”
“Why are you so quiet?” This reoccurring question has haunted me my entire life and will, I imagine, continue to haunt me. As many of you may know or have come to understand, I am an introvert. I prefer listening to speech, small huddles or one-on-one conversations to large groups, renewing my energy in solitude…
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Becoming
Dear friends, How are you faring? Please forgive my silence recently. Due to fatigue and artistic stagnancy, listening to music has felt more cathartic than blogging in the past two months. Regarding academics, I’ve settled into the rhythms, the pace of classes and after-school routines, of the second semester. Although the heaviness of workload oscillates, I have (relatively) adjusted to…
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“Give My Heart”
Merry Christmas, friends!One of my favorite Christmas carols is “In the Bleak Midwinter.” I cherish its poetic form, its earnest melody, and the lyrics of sincerity and adoration. As I sang the song one late evening, with the glow of a candle dancing on my face, I felt struck by the final stanza:: “What can…
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On Remembering Beauty
Dear Friends,Disappointment pervades our world. The whispers of disillusionment and defeat manifest in the faces I pass, the conflicts that fissure the world and my world, the laments of artists such as The 1975, the silent tears of weary souls. I feel the ache of being human. I have known exhaustion, anxiety, fear, remorse, loneliness,…
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Care for Oneself
Dear kindred spirits, I cannot believe November is passing. Time is so strange, so swift, these days. Writing and blogging, in these past few months, has proved a more difficult pursuit than I’d imagined. My headspace is cluttered with the immediate and fatigued by the strains of studies and people. I want to write and…