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An open letter to my 34th year on Earth
Dear 34, I didn’t think I would be writing one of these again… But, it appears to have worked well last year, so I’m making it a thing. First things first: you, my dear friend, have been a pleasant surprise. After the clusterfuck that was 33, I wasn’t expecting much. Still, I leapt into your arms with pizzazz at midnight 365 days ago, and...
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The beauty of connecting
Relationships. They can make us, and they can break us. I find this is particularly true during phases of uncertainty and personal growth. These phases tend to bring self-doubt, internal monologues that challenge you at your core, and just general growing pains. So, the relationships you choose to foster during these moments are pivotal. I have recently been experiencing one of these moments of...
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What I’ve learned from my 10-day social media hiatus…
I tried. I really did! I told myself I needed a social media hiatus (specifically, a Facebook and Instagram detox) for a myriad of reasons. It’s too distracting. It eats up too much of my time – time better spent writing, reading, creating, class prepping, meditating, any-other-ing but social media-ing. It sometimes makes me anxious, upset, and fidgety. It makes me prone to oversharing...
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Summer 2018
As you already know, this summer was a whirlwind. Last I wrote, I was wrapping up my first wave of dissertation research in Tampa, and right about to head out to England for a two-week summer program at Oxford University. Needless to say, it was amazing. But the summer didn’t end there – it was followed by a three-week trip around the UK and...
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Navigating that #phdlife: Dissertation Diaries
Let the dissertation games begin! When I first envisioned this series of essays about the PhD experience, I thought I would write about them chronologically… how to apply, what to expect, how to pick your mentors/advisors, how to manage the first few years versus the latter portion of the doctorate trajectory. However, I’m currently smack in the middle of collecting data for my dissertation…...
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Cuatro mil seiscientos cuarenta y cinco…
El pasado martes, 29 de mayo, el New England Journal of Medicine publicó un estudio conducido por investigadores de Harvard University, donde se estiman 4,645 muertes relacionadas al paso del huracán María en Puerto Rico. He leído varios comentarios del público relacionado al estudio, algunos de los cuales cuestionan la veracidad de estos números, mientras que otros solo se enfocan en esta parte de...
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Back at it
A lot can happen in a month. When I started this very young blog back in the cold, snowy month of March (which feels like eons ago), I thought I would be able to write at least once a week. I figured it would be a way to channel my thoughts and process my emotions as life happens. However, the past five weeks have been pretty...
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Navigating that #phdlife: Why do you want a PhD?
Three simple letters with so much meaning. A terminal degree. Subject matter expertise. Street cred. The pinnacle of your academic training. For me, it’s the ability to finally become an academic researcher and a professor. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to pursue a career that would allow me to teach, mentor and explore new ideas. I was an extremely...
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Life after Hurricane María
On September 20th, Puerto Rico was hit by Category 4 Hurricane María. Although I did not live through the storm like many of my friends and family, I vividly recall the collective sense of despair felt by members of the Puerto Rican diaspora. Many of us experienced immense anxiety during the storm, as we watched our Facebook NewsFeed and live videos from afar. I painfully...
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So, I started a blog…
Last week, I was reading a NY Times article by Matt Ritchel entitled, “How to Be Creative.” In it, he provides fantastic advice on allowing yourself to let go and feed your creative self. What really hit me was his section on being imperfect when creating something new. As he so eloquently states… “Perfectionism is creativity’s biggest foe.” Wow. Honestly, this couldn’t have come...
