Classes are over for the semester, senior year is past its midpoint, but Thanksgiving break still feels like yesterday. I feel older, not wiser, still grasping at the last straws of magic — of a world slinking away. The gates of college contain within them a world of their own, as do amusement parks. At … Continue reading Disney, nocturnal me, Harry Potter
Tag: Winter Break
I, Istanbul
Note: Thank you to Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) and to our phenomenal trip leader Jesse for the chance to spend two weeks of my winter break in Turkey. Harvard kids, apply!!! Check out the program here. *** The cypress and plane trees, the rooftops, the heartache of dusk, the sounds coming from … Continue reading I, Istanbul
2020 新春快乐 • Happy Chinese New Year
新春快乐！Happy Chinese New Year 🧧🥟❣️ 祝大家鼠年大吉，心想事成，平安喜乐 🐹 A week ago I was making manti (Turkish dumplings) at a cooking studio in Istanbul alongside other students on the CMES (Center of Middle Eastern Studies) excursion. Today, after waking up way past noon, I wander into the living room in my PJs and see my family making dumplings. … Continue reading 2020 新春快乐 • Happy Chinese New Year
winsome little nothings
S I N G A P O R E — engulfed in days of tropical thunderstorms and endless showers. The city is crying and I wake up to the pitter-patter of tears streaking a windowpane accidentally left ajar. The floor next to the window is slightly wet. I leave footprints all over the wooden floor, … Continue reading winsome little nothings
Interning at Northern Light Venture Capital in China
Before I get swept up in the semester, let me close the chapter of winter break. I'm writing down my internship thoughts in the polar chill of Cambridge, MA. January has ended. Everything's days and continents away. Did you do anything meaningful over the break other than drink bubble tea?Yes!! (Doing meaningful things and drinking … Continue reading Interning at Northern Light Venture Capital in China
Sky Lanterns & New Year Resolutions
Get off the old train, step onto the platform, merging into the stream of bobbing heads flowing along at the speed of a sweating snail. Squeeze past the human gantry, craning my neck for a look at the sky behind the canopy roof. See the miniature sky in the phone screens held up by the … Continue reading Sky Lanterns & New Year Resolutions
Another Christmas Comes and Goes
Not winter, but always Christmas. My mom sweeps into the room and starts shaking me by the shoulders. She briskly turns off the air-conditioning. WAKE UP! she thunders. For the first time in twenty years, I know that Christmas starts with no immediate present to unwrap on the morning itself, and so I roll around in … Continue reading Another Christmas Comes and Goes
Girl in D.C.
Dear You, what is art for? Last week, I was in Washington, D.C. with seven other Harvard students on a 10-day Wintersession at Dumbarton Oaks revolving around this topic: Culture and Power: Art, Philanthropy, and Diplomacy in America. In those 10 days, I've seen art like this: And this: Interestingly, this: But also this: Lastly, my … Continue reading Girl in D.C.
As I Stand, I Feel
Minutes before the day ends in my time zone, Merry Christmas everyone!🎄🎄🎄 1. Christmas Today, I am grateful for— Funny presents (the wrapped mango slices still win) This year, my dad told me with a straight face: "I'm no longer going to be Santa because you're nineteen." My parents pretended to be Santa for years … Continue reading As I Stand, I Feel
Selina Xu 