What does it mean to show one’s existence? What mark can one make as proof of their time on Earth? These are broad questions with no definitive answers. Nonetheless, we ponder these questions as we age, as every moment in life seems more important than the last. It is this tension between impermanence and the […]
I, like many other teenagers, spend far too much time on TikTok, consuming copious amounts of AI slop and content so mind-numbingly stupid it almost makes my lectures seem interesting … almost. However, amongst all the OOTDs (Outfits-of-the-Day) and food reviews, some gems make you stay beyond the 0.2 seconds it takes to scroll. I […]
“It’s one thing to be looked at, and another to be seen.” These words come from Caleb Azumah Nelson’s “Open Water” and speak to a question I’ve found myself grappling with this semester. What does it mean to be seen? I have a running bit with some of my close friends where, if we spot […]
The late English philosopher, Sir Roger Scruton, spoke on conservatism in a 2017 lecture, describing a conservative as “someone who has found something to love and wants to retain it.” He then went on to define it, more generally, as a “philosophy of love.” Although I’m sure this will be perceived as controversial, especially on […]
Man was not made to inherit the stars but to be stewards of the Earth. “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” These words, spoken by President John F. Kennedy in […]
Describing my gap year as an annus horribilis is cruelly ironic, but given the circumstances surrounding it, it is an accurate reflection of what was the most tumultuous year of my life. The phrase annus horribilis itself was brought to prominence by Queen Elizabeth II in her own reflections on the year 1992, which she […]
Sports are often idealized as a great unifier, existing in a vacuum away from the noise of politics and the stressors of everyday life. To an extent, I agree. There is something sacred about turning on the television or going outside with a ball in hand to escape the seemingly collapsing world around us. That […]
In February 1998, Tony Benn, then over 40 years into his career as a Member of Parliament, rose in the House of Commons and delivered a legendary speech in opposition to the proposed bombing of Iraq. His words that day left no shortage of memorable lines: one in particular has never left me. “Are not […]
“Where are you from?” I gave my answer, as one does, and they looked at me, confused. I looked back at them, also confused (I was only a child; I hadn’t realised that this was a canonical “living while Black” moment). Like two dueling cowboys who both missed their first shot, we stood feet from […]