
Mental Health Matters: Issue #2
Prioritizing your mental well being in difficult times
This week we are publishing a second issue on mental health, with our first issue released in February 2020. In these difficult times for all of us, we believe that it’s especially important to know that it is okay to reach out for help and support – whether to a trusted family member, good friend, […]

You mean, it’s not unhealthy?
Recovering from an eating disorder at MIT, and how we can make our Institute a healthier place
TRIGGER WARNING: eating disorders The road to kale is paved with good intentions Many students select their college majors because of inspiring teachers, envisioned careers, or particular interests. I was motivated to study Biochemistry for another, somewhat unusual reason: an eating disorder I’d developed at age sixteen. That year, I watched “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” […]

Piruksraurugut!
We have to do it!
For thousands of years, Inuit women celebrated womanhood and rites of passage by giving and receiving traditional markings. Two years ago, I received my tavluġun (chin tattoo) through a traditional Inuit hand poke method, where a needle is dipped into ink and then poked into the skin. Part of the meaning behind the two thinnest […]

Doing a PhD is a solo trip
It’s time to buckle up and take off
As the plane bound for Switzerland took off towards my first solo trip, the feelings of fear in that 3rd-year PhD student gave way to excitement as I realized: I am alone! What was so different about it this time? I had already been living alone and regularly traveling to visit family for nearly a […]

My journey home
How I Came to Love Cambridge
I am a California girl. I love walks on the beach, wearing shorts in January, cultural acceptance of athleisure wear as commonplace dress, and every restaurant having a vegetarian option. As a result, moving to almost the furthest state possible for at least half a decade came with some concerns. What will the winter be […]