I’ve just finished college and stepped into a part of life where very little feels settled. I’m moving through the world with a light bag and an open schedule, paying attention as I go. I’m less interested in the moments people are applauded for and more curious about the quiet stretches in between—the parts of life that shape someone long before anyone is watching. I find myself noticing what people linger on, what they carry with them, and what they leave unsaid. I don’t write to explain lives or to draw neat conclusions. I write because observing feels more honest than summarizing. I’m drawn to small, telling details, to contradictions that don’t resolve, to the way uncertainty can shape a person just as much as confidence ever does. Most lives don’t unfold in clean lines, and I’ve found that meaning often shows up only after you stop trying to tie everything together. When I write about someone, I try to stand close enough to feel their presence, but far enough away to let them remain themselves. I avoid judgment and resist endings that feel too finished. I trust readers to recognize what feels familiar without being guided there. I’m optimistic not because I believe people are simple or easy to understand, but because I believe they’re worth the effort. Paying attention feels like a way of taking the world seriously, even when it’s complicated. Maybe especially then.
Author's posts
Erwin Schrödinger: The Patron Saint of Uncertainty (and My Writing Struggles)
I’ve always been fascinated by Erwin Schrödinger, the Austrian physicist who came up with that mind-bending thought experiment about a cat in a box. I mean, what’s not to love? The idea of quantum superposition – where something can exist in multiple states at once – blows my mind. As someone who’s struggled with uncertainty …
Denise Levertov: Where Vulnerability Meets Volcanic Fury
I was introduced to Denise Levertov’s poetry through a required reading assignment in my freshman year of college. At the time, I found her work to be both captivating and overwhelming – like trying to drink from a firehose while standing on quicksand. Her words poured out of me like a torrent, but I couldn’t …
Jean Jacques Rousseau: The Guy Who Said We’re All Good People, But Also Had Some Pretty Questionable Relationships
I’ve always been fascinated by the contradictions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. On one hand, he’s a philosopher who believed in the inherent goodness of humans and the importance of living in harmony with nature. His ideas about social contract theory and the general will have had a profound impact on modern democracy. Yet, his personal life …
Dorothy Wordsworth: The Sibling I Wish I’d Known Better
Dorothy Wordsworth has been sitting on my shelf for a while now, her small leather-bound book of journals collecting dust between my poetry collections and worn-out novels. I picked it up recently, not because I’d forgotten about her – I hadn’t – but because something about her presence felt particularly striking that day. Perhaps it …
Andre Breton: Where the Rational Meets Its Wilder Cousin
Andre Breton’s words keep me up at night, haunting the edges of my own thoughts like a whispered promise I’m not sure I understand. As a writer, I’ve always been drawn to those who push against language’s limits – and Breton was the master of doing just that. But it’s his Surrealist leanings that have …
Gertrude Stein: The Language of Indulgence
Gertrude Stein has been on my mind a lot lately, ever since I finished reading her novel “The Making of Americans” for my modernist literature class. At first, I found it challenging to connect with – the repetition and simplicity of her writing style felt like a deliberate choice, one that was both mesmerizing and …
John Locke: Where Do Life’s Circles Start (and End)?
John Locke has been lingering in my mind for weeks, ever since I stumbled upon his name while researching the Enlightenment thinkers. At first, I thought it was just another dusty old philosopher from history class, but as I started reading his writings, I felt a strange connection to him. Maybe it’s because he’s often …
Marina Tsvetaeva: The Poet Who Was (and Wasn’t) There
I’ve been thinking a lot about Marina Tsvetaeva lately, and I’m not entirely sure why she’s stuck with me. Maybe it’s because her life was like a never-ending storm – dark, turbulent, and full of contradictions. Or maybe it’s because, as I read through her letters and poems, I feel like I see bits of …
Blaise Pascal: The Anxious Philosopher in Me
Blaise Pascal. I’ve always been fascinated by him, but not in the way you’d expect. It’s not his mathematical genius or his contributions to science that draw me in – although those are impressive, don’t get me wrong. What really resonates with me is the complexity of his personality. I think about how he was …
Rachel Cusk: Where Does Guilt Live in the Gaps?
I’ve been thinking a lot about Rachel Cusk lately, specifically her essay “A Life’s Work: On Becoming a Mother”. I read it for the first time during my senior year of college, when everyone around me seemed to be figuring out their post-grad lives and I was… well, not quite. As someone who’s always been …
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: Where Uncertainty Meets Uncharted Territory
Goethe’s words have a way of lingering, like the scent of old books on a dusty shelf. I’ve always been fascinated by the way his thoughts seem to unfold, layer upon layer, each one sparking new questions and connections in my mind. As I sit here with my pen, trying to put into words why …
Emil Cioran: The Human Equivalent of a Frayed Wire – Always Shorting Out on Purpose or by Accident
I’ll be honest, I stumbled upon Emil Cioran’s work by chance, browsing through a used bookstore’s philosophy section during my senior year of college. His book “The Trouble with Being Born” caught my eye, and I bought it on a whim, not really knowing what to expect. As I began reading his essays, I felt …
Willa Cather: The Outsider Who Owned the Mainstream
Willa Cather’s writing often felt like a mystery to me, even as I devoured her novels and short stories in college. Her style was so distinct, so precise – every word seemed weighed with significance. But the more I read, the more I realized that I couldn’t quite pinpoint what drew me to her work. …
Alexander Von Humboldt: Passionate Obsession or Unhealthy Fixation?
I’ve been fascinated by Alexander von Humboldt for months now, ever since I stumbled upon a biography of his life while browsing through my college library’s shelves. His name kept popping up in conversation with friends and acquaintances who were studying environmental science or history, but it wasn’t until I started reading about him that …
Louise Glück: Where Intensity Meets Elegance (Or Does It?)
Louise Glück has been on my mind a lot lately, probably because I’m trying to figure out what makes her poetry so compelling. At first glance, she seems like the epitome of quiet confidence – a Pulitzer Prize winner, National Book Award recipient, and renowned poet with a distinctive voice that’s both lyrical and precise. …
Claude Levi Strauss: The Anthropologist Who Made Me Question My Optimism
Claude Levi-Strauss. I stumbled upon his name while reading a book on anthropology, but it wasn’t until I began to dig deeper that I felt an odd sense of connection to him. At first, I was drawn to the complexity of his ideas – the way he wove together structuralism and cultural relativism, challenging traditional …
Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Love Letter or Liberation Anthem?
I’ve always been fascinated by Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s life, particularly her relationship with Robert Browning. It’s not just the romance – though that’s certainly a big part of it – but the way she navigated her own desires and ambitions within it. For me, the most compelling aspect is how Elizabeth, as a poet, struggled …
Niels Bohr: Where Certainty Goes to Die (Or Does It?)
Niels Bohr – the man who dared to challenge the universe’s secrets, and in doing so, left me questioning my own place within it. I first encountered his name in a college physics class, where we spent hours pouring over his theories on atomic structure and quantum mechanics. But as I delved deeper into his …
Flannery O’Connor: What Would Happen If She Got Her Hands on My Family?
I’ve always been fascinated by Flannery O’Connor’s writing, but it wasn’t until I read her short stories that I started to feel a real connection to her. There was something about the way she wrote about people – their flaws and contradictions, their cruelty and kindness – that resonated with me. As I read through …
Gregor Mendel: Talking to Trees While Everyone Else is Talking to Themselves
I’ve always been drawn to the quiet, methodical nature of Gregor Mendel’s work. As a writer, I appreciate how he approached his research with precision and patience, like a gardener tending to the intricate patterns of a plant’s growth. What fascinates me is how Mendel’s experiments on pea plants led him to discover the fundamental …
Paul Celan: Where Identity Goes to Hide (And Why It’s Still Talking to Me)
Paul Celan’s poetry has been a constant presence in my life since I first stumbled upon it in a literature class during my junior year of college. His words have haunted me, lingered with me, and sometimes even felt like they were speaking directly to me. But as much as his poetry resonates, there are …
Susan B Anthony: The Rebel in a Corset
I’ve been thinking a lot about Susan B. Anthony lately, and what draws me to her is the sense of contradictions that surround her legacy. On one hand, she’s often celebrated as a pioneering figure in the fight for women’s suffrage – and rightfully so. Her tireless efforts to secure voting rights for women are …
Herman Melville: The Patron Saint of My Inner Contradictions
Herman Melville’s words have been lingering in my mind for years, even before I dove into his novels as a college student. There’s something about the way he tackles complex themes like identity, morality, and the human condition that resonates with me on a deep level. I think it’s because his writing often feels like …
Italo Calvino: Where Fragmented Thoughts are a Beautiful Mess
Italo Calvino’s words have a way of slipping into my thoughts like whispers from an old friend. I remember stumbling upon his essays and stories while researching for a paper on Italian literature in college. At first, they felt foreign – the language was poetic, the ideas were complex, and the tone was detached yet …
Margaret Mead: The Unsettling Truth About Being True to Myself (Mostly)
Margaret Mead. I’ve always been fascinated by her, but not for the reasons you’d expect. It’s not her groundbreaking research on adolescence, though that does get a nod of respect from me. As someone who’s still figuring out this whole “adulting” thing, I appreciate that she didn’t shy away from exploring the complexities of growing …
Alan Turing’s Face Haunts Me, But Does It Haunt Him Too?
Alan Turing’s face haunts me. I’ve seen it on a worn-out T-shirt my friend wore to class, and again on the Wikipedia page that I must have stumbled upon during a late-night research session for a paper. The first time I saw him was probably in an image of his later years, gaunt and bespectacled, …
Elizabeth Bishop: The Cartographer of In-Between Places
Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry has been a constant companion to me during my college years, and yet I’ve only recently started to grapple with what it is about her writing that resonates so deeply. It’s not just the precision of her language or the vividness of her imagery – although those things are certainly part of …
Johannes Kepler: When Perfection is a Never-Ending Orbit
Johannes Kepler – the man who cracked the code of our solar system’s rhythm. I’ve always been fascinated by his story, but it wasn’t until I stumbled upon a biography of his life that I started to grasp the depth of my fascination. It’s not just about his groundbreaking discoveries; it’s about the way he …
Octavia Butler: Where My Outsider Heart Beats
I’ll admit it: Octavia Butler fascinates me, but not just because she’s a trailblazer or a genius writer (although those things are definitely true). I’m drawn to the complexities that make her story feel both deeply personal and universally relatable. One of the things that’s always struck me about Butler is how her experiences with …
Rosalind Franklin: The Invisible Thread That Almost Broke Me Too
I’ve always felt a pang of fascination when I think about Rosalind Franklin’s story. Her life is like a puzzle with too many missing pieces, and yet it’s the gaps that intrigue me. What I know is that she was a brilliant British biophysicist who made significant contributions to our understanding of DNA structure, but …
Leo Tolstoy: The Elusive Truth and My Own Fumbling Attempts at Grasping It
Leo Tolstoy’s face keeps popping up in my mind, a constant presence in the crowded landscape of writers I’ve read and admired. At first glance, he seems an imposing figure – tall, brooding, with a philosophical intensity that makes me feel like I’m staring into the depths of the Russian soul. But as I delve …