RAYS OF SUNSHINE.

typography break while applying. lyrics from Weight of Living II by Bastille Self-reflection. It's something we as a people tend to save for later. Saved for the gaps in the rat race that is school and career. Saved for the comma in the sentence, the opportunity to breathe, granted once every few years. Saved for the pauses while we wait anxiously for life to press play again. As Cory mentioned, half-birthdays are a good point to reflect on the road you're on, as you keep on running, but what about those unintended stabs of self reflection we've all seen dozens of times? Those questions that probe on our common experiences as humans, but also make you think about your life journey and how you got to here. That's right, the friendly little password reminder! Since I am on the job hunt, I have been making account after account on different employer websites, and I am usually in such a hurry to just get on and submit the cover letter I spent the last hour perf...

So, for all the people wondering "what are you up to? Wait are you still in grad school?" In November last year, I stepped back from my graduate program. Long story short, it just was not the right time. I realized there is a lot I want to figure out about myself and the best career path for me before committing to a graduate program I am not sure about. One of the biggest challenges was realizing I have multiple passions and instead of wholeheartedly pursuing them all during my senior year of my undergraduate career, I picked only two (education and science journalism. Oh, Annenberg! The road not taken!) and chose to bide my time in graduate school. Instead of trying to work and applying for many different and difficult advocacy positions or trying Americorps, I chose to pretend to know what I wanted. I chose to leave the job search for next year. Now, I realize there are quite a few tracks that I am not only qualified for but have unique insight towards. And that it is...

I have decided to post my blogs about my family vacation to Florida from 8/15 to 8/20. Here's the fifth one, August 18th: Our day at the Lakeridge Winery! (These are directly transcribed from my written diary on my iPad.) "We're went to Lakeridge Winery for their annual Grapestomp to listen to local music, and STOMP some grapes! We took some pictures, stomped some grapes (my mother and I tried employing bharatanatyam skills to no avail.) Then Aditya and I drank homemade Godiva dark chocolate raspberry chocolixers with relish fries on the side. Surprisingly good! We then ate a picnic lunch of Indian food my mother packed from our full kitchen in our suite amidst ants and giant dragonflies. I got my face painted solely for the opportunity to enter the bouncy castle with little children. :) Then we ate more chocolate and drank shots of limoncello, waiting for the tour to begin. Doug our tour guide was hilarious. We all drank a few more samples, and I bought some pres...

I have decided to post my blogs about my family vacation to Florida from 8/15 to 8/20.  Here's the second one, August 17th: our day at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral!   (These are directly transcribed from my written diary on my iPad.)      At this NASA Center, we first took a lot of pictures, then we checked out the Early Space Exploration exhibit, waiting for the lunch with the astronaut Charlie Walker. He presented about "food in space"while we ate fried ravioli, salad, TANG, and apple pie. Then, I asked a question during the Q&A. We proceeded to take pictures with Charlie Walker and then watched the old IMAX movie about the International Space Center. We continued to check out some of the NASA art before the shuttle and simulator. (I went, the 3 wimps didn't!) Then I went to the Space Store to wait for the Charlie Walker signing, buying some reasonably priced souvenirs for me and Adi. I went to the Hubble 3D at...

 I have decided to post my blogs about my family vacation to Florida from 8/15 to 8/20.  Here's the second one,  August 16th: our day at Universal Islands of Adventure!   (These are directly transcribed from my written diary on my iPad.)   After eating at Mythos, we went to Seussland and reveled in the reckless childishness of the carousel and the Dumbo equivalent One Fish, Two Fish ride! Then came the "Cat in the Hat"! It was a turning stoner's paradise complete with rhyming narration. Even so, my brother Aditya and I bought matching Thing 1 & 2 accessories, like a real family.  Then we went to Marvel @ Marvel comics and chill on our way to Toon Town, where we got mom's phone charged as Adi and I sat for a caricature.       It started thunderstorming then, so I charged my phone, sitting like a homeless person in order to go to the "scary" 3D Spiderman ride. It was such a great ride wi...

I've decided to post my blogs about my family vacation to Florida from 8/15 to 8/20.  Here's the second one, August 16th: our day at Universal Islands of Adventure!   (These are directly transcribed from my written diary on my iPad.) Pre-Universal          "          I woke up super early due to my brother's snoring: that boy can SNORE! But I can't go back to sleep because I feel like I am in those retro Disney World commercials where the two kids can't fall asleep and giggle all night in excitement because today is IT! The day I finally see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!           I never thought my family would ever go on this trip, but here we are! I am so excited to try pumpkin juice and butterbeer, buy Hogwarts presents for my loved ones and myself, and just taking in the atmosphere of being in Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, even in the midst of Florida humidity.     ...

I've decided to post my blogs about my family vacation to Florida from 8/15 to 8/20. Here's the first one: August 15th, our day in St. Augustine! (These are directly transcribed from my written diary on my iPad.) "We arrived in Florida at 3 am this morning, and slept til 9, had coffee by the pool, went swimming, showered, ate pav bhaji, then got ready to head to St. Augustine!" "St Augustine is the cutest, most picturesque little historic city. I definitely have a new city to love! We went to the Castillo de San Marcos , the oldest fort in the United States, had a ranger-led history lesson, and then ate a fantastic lunch at Acapulco  Authentic Mexican Restaurant. We then got ice cream from Fudge Buckets & Hyppos . I had a popsicle from Hyppos made with fresh cantaloupe and black pepper: spicy, delicious, and nutritious! We bought groceries since we are staying in a suite, and then bought umbrellas because Florida decided to monsoon on us. We wai...