Fall 2021 Reflection

Today is my very last first day of class, for the time being at least. After approximately 15 years of preK-12th grade, and 4 years of undergrad, my time at school is coming to an end. I even graduate from Princeton 4 months from today, somehow. The time has really gone by quickly and now it’s up to me to make the most of my last semester. First, I wanted to reflect on Fall 2021.

Fall 2021 certainly had its ups and downs. I was in three classes last semester, in-person for the first time in a year and a half! This was my third year in a row of a journalism class in the fall and as usual, my journalism class was my favorite class. This year’s class was Politics and the Media: The Art of the Political Profile, taught by Terence Samuel, a visiting professor who’s a managing editor at NPR. Terry, as we called him, really emphasized the humanity in journalism and made me rethink how I interview sources and structure my pieces. He brought in several amazing guests, including his wife who’s also a journalist, except he didn’t reveal their relationship until there were five minutes left of class! I wrote my final article for this class about Judy Heumann, acclaimed disability rights activist who I’m fortunate enough to be able to call a mentor and friend now. I also took an introductory American Sign Language class, which was a really interesting experience. ASL is a difficult language but it’s also so important for people to learn because if more people knew ASL, it would create a more inclusive society. The professor was actually Deaf and just so knowledgeable about the challenges Deaf people face and how Deafness relates to the greater disability community. I especially appreciated learning more about Deaf history and culture. My final class was international relations, which was my last class for my major. To be honest, I was not the biggest fan of this class. It felt too much like a history of war for my taste, and the expectations were unreasonably harsh. But I made it through after lots of challenges, and that’s what counts in the end.

In addition to some academic struggles, I also had health challenges last semester, unrelated to COVID-19. It seemed like everyone caught random viruses all throughout the fall that were commonly called the Princeton Plague. Unfortunately, my body isn’t always so good at handling random viruses, and my cold virus turned into pneumonia. I had to go to the hospital near campus for a few days, in the middle of midterms week. I really didn’t feel great, but this still wasn’t nearly as bad as my pneumonia in middle school that some of you might be familiar with. I luckily got to go home for fall break to recover, but then I got another cough a few weeks later. Here’s hoping for a much better health semester this spring.

Socially, I had an amazing semester because in-person activities were permitted once again, although obviously with masks and other COVID-19 guidelines. From surprise birthday parties to dinners in town, eating club semiformals to conversations in my dorm room that lasted deep into the night, I’m so glad that I was able to make many amazing memories with the wonderful friends I cherish so much. I got closer to many people in my eating club and organizations like The Daily Princetonian. The ‘Prince’ continued to be the best part of Princeton. I was an associate news editor still until about a month ago. In the fall, I got to edit articles side-by-side with the writer in the newsroom, which was so much better than trying to do so over Zoom. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to both improve my writing skills and also gain such an incredible community throughout my time as a writer and editor. I also planned events for students with disabilities in my role as an AccessAbility Center fellow, wrote blogs for Princeton admissions, advocated for better campus policies related to disability and inclusion as the co-chair of the student government Disability Task Force, and supported freshman in their transition to Princeton in my role as a Peer Academic Adviser. I’ve also been working on my senior thesis, which is about how turnout of disabled voters in the 2020 election increased significantly and what we can learn from that for future elections. Clearly, I like to stay busy.

My next adventure will be looking for a job, which is definitely a bit intimidating! I’m hoping to work in nonprofit advocacy, government, or communications, hopefully somewhere in Washington DC. I went to DC almost every weekend over the summer and really fell in love with the city. I could definitely see myself there and hope to live independently as I’ve prepared myself to for my entire life. I’m excited to enjoy this last semester and I can’t wait to see what comes next!

Spring Semester of Junior Year

After ten long and difficult months away from the Orange Bubble, I was so fortunate to be able to return to campus for the spring semester of my junior year. It certainly was an unprecedented semester with plenty of challenges, but amidst the difficulties of an in-person yet socially-distanced experience, I’m grateful for the moments of hope, laughter, and joy that made me fall in love with Princeton all over again.

At first, I was not sure if I should return to campus because I was understandably quite worried about catching COVID-19. Luckily, Princeton had extremely stringent public health guidelines that made me feel comfortable living on campus. We began our semester with a ten-day quarantine where we were barely able to leave our dorm rooms. While this forced solitude was difficult, it basically eliminated any traces of the virus from the campus community at the start. During the semester, all students living on-campus and off-campus in the local area were tested twice a week for the virus through a saliva test. We had to wear a mask and social distance at all times, and classes remained mostly online. We could not have more than two other students in our dorm room or gather in large groups outside. The eating clubs were closed for food and social events, the dining halls had a much smaller range of food options, student activities still had to operate virtually, and the libraries required reservations. While all of these guidelines made it harder to learn and to socialize, I am so grateful they were in place, as we had very few COVID-19 cases the whole semester. Once I got vaccinated at CVS in March and my friends got vaccinated mostly in April, I felt like I could relax a little, finally. The rapid development and distribution of vaccines is truly a miracle.

It was another semester of Zoom classes, but I thought my professors did a good job using the online platform for the most part. My classes were Law, Institutions, and Public Policy; Global Feminisms: Feminist Movements in the Middle East and Beyond; Microeconomics for Public Policy; and Women, Gender, and Public Policy. As you can see, there were lots of required classes for my public policy major. I had never really engaged with law before, so that class gave me a bit of a hard time. However, I know it’s important to think critically about the institutional structures of our legal system with their shortcomings and possibilities for reform. The Global Feminism class was a seminar that showed me the diversity in the movement for women’s rights around the world. I feel like so much of my academic focus has been within the confines of the United States borders, so it was great to expand my learning to an international context. I’m not a huge fan of economics, but I liked this year’s class much more than the introductory level class I did in my sophomore spring. I appreciated how this economics class was more applied in nature as we used what we learned to understand modern policy issues like the impact of the child tax credit and the effect of school closures due to COVID. My last class was a required class for my second junior paper, major independent research projects all juniors at Princeton are required to undertake. I used qualitative interviews with female classmates at Princeton to write about how Donald Trump inspired them to become more politically involved during the 2020 election because he showed them the profound impact politics has on their personal lives.

My academic experience was definitely a challenge this past semester, and so was my social experience. In normal semesters, there is always so much activity around campus, and I’m rarely alone. I was always busy on the weekends seeing my friends shine in theater shows, dance performances, and acapella arch sings or hanging out in the eating clubs. All of that was gone this semester. I was in my room much more than ever before, and not by choice. I still managed to see friends regularly, but we had to spend time together individually or in very small groups. Mental health was at an all time low on-campus between this forced solitude of sorts, a lack of understanding from professors, and the removal of spring break due to concerns about students traveling.

I don’t want it to seem that the semester was all negative, however. There were definitely more good parts than bad parts. I found myself making new friends and strengthening existing friendships even more as we once again got to make in-person memories. I helped keep the town of Princeton’s restaurants in business as I got a lot of takeout to make up for the poorer quality dining hall food. I did my best to plan or attend outdoors socially-distanced group hangouts, like a picnic dinner with my friend group in front of the majestic Nassau Hall on the last day of class, a karaoke night on Poe Field (to this day, we still don’t know if the person who yelled at us at 1 am was telling us to be quiet or just singing along), and a listening party with my friends from The Daily Princetonian for the release of Taylor Swift’s re-recorded version of her classic album Fearless. Speaking of the ‘Prince’, I’m so happy to be an Associate News Editor for the second year in a row. I love writing and editing articles as part of this amazing group of passionate, dedicated, and compassionate staff (shoutout to my best friend, who’s the Editor-in-Chief). Another great part of the semester was that moments of spontaneous interactions with friends were possible once again, instead of having to put so much effort into planning meet-ups. Running into a friend by chance can change the whole course of a day, as I found out frequently. I got to return to my usual favorite places on campus, like the comfiest chair ever in Chancellor Green, the beautiful study spaces in Firestone Library, and the Hogwarts-like Rocky/Mathey College dining hall. I also found some new places to spend time in, like the classroom above the First College dining hall with a door code it seemed like only my friend group knew, so we ended up monopolizing it for study sessions every night, or the cafe in our student center where I could buy a croissant while doing some work (or rather, trying to do work but usually ending up having deep conversations instead). I enjoyed Center for Jewish Life activities as always, including Shabbat, which I went to almost every week for a good start to the weekend. I'm also so proud of the virtual event I planned and moderated for Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month featuring a talk with Judy Heumann, one of the most important disability rights activists of all time. Some of my favorite memories from the past semester came when I finished my finals early and had three glorious days of total freedom. The weather was absolutely beautiful, so I spent those days outside the whole time making some last memories with my friends for the year. I prioritized seeing my senior friends, who I will miss dearly next year. Those days of pure joy reminded me of the beauty of Princeton and reinforced how lucky I am to have made such amazing friends. Overall, the semester gave me what I really needed, which was the unparalleled access to academic resources in our libraries, the independence I desperately craved (I love you, Mom, Dad, and Colin, but I’ve grown to appreciate having my own space), and the feeling of community that I feel whenever I roll onto campus and can’t go anywhere without seeing someone I know. I’m so grateful I was able to make the most of the semester while staying safe and healthy.

Now that the semester has been done for over a month, I’ve been having a great summer. I was able to celebrate my 21st birthday in Washington D.C. this past weekend with two of my absolute best Princeton friends. The drive-by parade my parents organized for my birthday last year with my closest friends from home was so heartfelt and meaningful, but I’m glad I could celebrate my birthday properly in-person this year. I had an amazing weekend filled with love from people like you, my family and friends who truly mean the world to me. I have an internship with Congressman Steny Hoyer through the American Association of People with Disabilities internship program. Look out for a recap of that amazing experience at the end of this summer!

I can’t believe I’m now a rising senior at Princeton; I really don’t know where the time went. Things were going so well for me in spring 2020 before it got rudely interrupted by COVID-19, and I feel the need to do my best to make up for all the time I lost. While senior year comes with the stress of the senior thesis, there is so much to look forward to, and hopefully public health conditions will allow for a year as close to normal as possible. I move back to Princeton two months from today, and I can’t wait to make it the best year yet! Thanks for reading this long-winded update, if you made it this far.

2020 in Review

As midnight struck on New Year’s Eve, I sat on the couch with my family watching the ball drop in Times Square. I’ve spent many others New Year’s Eves doing the exact same thing, but this year felt different. For the first time, I spent the majority of the year stuck in my house, hesitant to venture into public because of the raging pandemic. I only spent two months at Princeton, instead of two full semesters. This was a year like no other, and while I know 2021 won’t be perfect as we continue the long journey of overcoming the coronavirus, I am hopeful that it will be better.

I last wrote an update in June after completing my second semester of sophomore year. I ended up having a pretty good summer, all things considered. I had a fantastic internship at Global Fund for Women, a non-profit that funds gender justice movements around the world. Even though it was virtual, I gained many valuable skills, such as project management and communications for nonprofits. One of my primary tasks was overseeing a virtual movie screening tour, for which I helped to manage over 100 events. Zoom was used in Global Fund for Women’s workflow before the pandemic, so even while across the country from their headquarters in San Francisco, I felt included in the workplace culture and enjoyed getting to know my amazing coworkers. I even participated in their book club! I am so glad I had this enjoyable internship experience.

At the same time as my internship at Global Fund for Women, I also participated in a virtual disability advocacy class through the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). I was originally supposed to intern in Congress as part of AAPD’s internship program. While I was sad that the internship component was postponed to this upcoming summer, I really appreciated how they still offered virtual programming. I learned so much about important disability rights issues in healthcare, education, and employment. I improved my advocacy skills by meeting with Senator Chris Van Hollen and getting him to co-sponsor an important bill called the Accessible Voting Act! Most importantly, I became friends with a fantastic group of young adults with disabilities from all over the country. Hopefully, we can participate in the program in-person this summer in DC.

Before too long, it was time to start the fall semester of my junior year. At first, Princeton had said that freshmen and juniors would be allowed back to campus, and I was all set to go. Three weeks before class started, Princeton changed its mind and only permitted students with emergency housing needs to live on campus. I was disappointed at first, but with rising COVID-19 cases, it was probably the right decision.

So I stayed at home for another semester and took a variety of interesting classes: Ethics and Public Policy, International News: Migration Reporting, American Women’s History, Studies in Spanish Language and Style, and Improving Health Care for Vulnerable Populations in the U.S. During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The journalism class was my favorite because I learned about all sorts of immigration policy issues and then got to interview fascinating people for my articles. We had many lively discussions featuring impressive guest speakers, and still managed to form a close-knit community, even virtually. Another highlight of the semester was the class about health disparities in the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a policy task force required for my major. I wrote a long research paper on the importance of home and community-based services, which ensure that senior citizens and people with disabilities can receive support and assistance at home in a way that maximizes independence and prioritizes safety, instead of forcing them into nursing homes. As we have seen, people living in long-term care facilities have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, so I appreciated the opportunity to research how to move people out of nursing homes.

Outside of class, I stayed busy in my role as an Associate News Editor for The Daily Princetonian. I am so proud of the reporting we’ve done since we were sent home in March. At a time when students were spread out around the world, our reporting kept the campus connected and informed. The Prince was a source of community for me through regular virtual social events with some of my closest friends. I also served as the Maryland and Delaware State Director for Vote100, a group that worked to increase voting and political engagement, and formed a student government task force to address the challenges students with disabilities face.

Although the semester was overall pretty good, my family hit a rough patch towards the end. First, my beloved dog Bree had to be put down at the age of 12 due to cancer and old age. Our house hasn’t been the same since then. The very next day, Mom-Mom, my grandma, went to the hospital with cardiac issues, and she stayed there until she passed away early in the morning on Christmas Day. In a year when so many people have lost loved ones due to the coronavirus, this double whammy of loss hit me pretty hard. I hadn’t seen my grandma since last Thanksgiving and instead relied on weekly phone calls to keep in touch with her. I feel fortunate that I wrote a paper about her in my women’s history class, and my dad and aunt decided to use it as her obituary, which you can read here. I was expecting to be super sad during and after her virtual memorial service, but honestly, in a strange way, I felt a sort of happiness because it just radiated love and appreciation. I was just gratified to hear so many people speak about how much they loved my grandma and how she influenced and inspired them. My grandma was such an inspiration to me and I will always cherish the memories I have with her. She will be greatly missed.

I want to end this mega post by thanking my friends and family for their support during my grieving process and throughout the pandemic in general. This has been a tough time for all of us, and I feel truly lucky to have such an amazing support network to keep me going. Many people who will read this post checked in on me with frequent texts after my grandma’s death, dropped food off at our front door, and made me smile and laugh at a time when I really needed it. I am so grateful for friends like you. I am about to return to campus for the spring semester, and while I know it won’t be anything close to normal, I am really looking forward to going back to Princeton. I hope everyone reading this post has a fantastic 2021 filled with love, friendship, good health, and happiness. Let’s hope for a better year ahead!