Reflections on returning after living abroad

"It's time for me to stop making 13-year-old Charlene wait in the library, hoping that her future self will publish the damn piece she's been imagining since the first day she was praised for her work, and instead, do the damn thing."

Life is political

On the culture of no pasa nada in Spain.

Chronic pain in capitalism.

Reflections on 2025

To writing and wandering

Why the Fulbright program matters and the spaces between feelings of belonging.

Reflections on the stories we're told and leaning into a culture of connection and rest over hustle and grind.

A Doctor Who quote, some graffiti, and a flat in Spain; sometimes the universe whispers, “You’re exactly where you’re meant to be.”

With pen in hand and notebook open, I peer out the bus window, admiring the various landscapes in the many different neighborhoods. I...

Fulbright Scholars around the world are without money right now: Here's what we can do.

I woke up this morning and laid in bed longer than I wanted. Today, my seventh day in Spain, a thought crossed my mind: I have nothing to offer. This thought was not an existential spiral, nor should it flag concern. I have been up since 5:15 a.m., writing off and on since 7:30 a.m. My sleep schedule is nothing like that in San Diego, but that isn’t bad. My sleep is terrible in the U.S. I’m not sure what has primarily contributed to my sudden “normal-ish” sleep, but it’s been

Monday’s excitement was met by Tuesday’s trepidation.  Having to move my flight back several times - initially planning on leaving...

It’s been no secret that I juggle a lot. I always have. In high school, I worked 32 hours weekly at a grocery store while balancing...

These 10 tips are designed for graduate students, and potential graduate students, during their grad school journeys.

Reflections on adventure and travel after receiving a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award.

I wrote this in 2019 after a trip from Los Angeles to San Diego. I strumbled across it and felt it was fitting with the major changes in...

Music fills the air, and the vibrations tiptoe down my spine, Whispering loud reminders of who I was once, And am now, And will be. A...

The following entry includes two excerpts from a section of my memoir focused on my diagnosis of a pseudoaneurysm and how it influenced...