Keeping busy when you’re new in town. — Boston is a transient place. I must’ve been at a meetup trying to make friends when I said this. It was the best way I could think of to describe what I’d seen now at event after event: bright-eyed young people, usually brand new to the city, hustling desperately for…

On the unreality of pandemic time. — Crisis is current. Right now means something exhausting and expansive, engulfing us in what it means to exist in hyper-awareness of not knowing what comes next. Cases and deaths by hour, quarantine now, shelter in place today. As much as I love online media, breaking news stresses me out. It’s…

The soul-searching method of thinking skin-deep. — Sometime during middle school, I came to a decision. The sparkly days of childhood dressing up were over. Fashion was a frivolous pursuit, and I would waste no more time on it. For the next few years I put my money where my mouth was. I wore orange cargo pants…

Dating apps are easy. That’s what makes them so difficult. — Three months after college, I finally did it. It was another humid August weekend. Sitting on my bed, I deleted all of the dating apps from my phone. Four years. Four years of a relationship and odd dates, sloppy conversations and neat deletions later, I decided that I was done. …

I hate ghosting. Here’s why I still do it. — When I first downloaded Tinder, I couldn’t help but feel like my utopian vision of modern love was about to come true. …

Growing up Chinese didn’t prepare me to be American. — Like most American kids in my generation, I watched a lot of ads growing up. This was the early 2000s, when TVs were still the centerpiece of the household. Sitting on the couch with my legs hanging off, staring into the screen with my mouth hanging open, I watched advertisements…

Even after the worst kind of breakup, no one can fix you but you. — You’ve been in a relationship for a while. A year, two years, or even more than that, enough time that you’ve carved out a space for the other person in your own plans for the future. You have faith in the relationship. Your partner is positive, affirming. They say things…

What they are, why you should start one, and how to do it. — These days, everyone is busy. When it comes to work, it seems like everyone is hustling. Students, professionals, and everyone in between. Here’s the thing. I know life can get hectic, and you want to be able to have fun on the weekends. But unless you’re already one of those…