My stand partner and I look out over the piazza – somehow, it’s become even more packed since the last break between pieces. We glance at each other and smile nervously as our conductor announces the next song: “All I Ask of You.” My hands are sweating, and I have butterflies in my stomach as our conductor introduces us - me as the arranger, and both of us as the featured soloists. I take a deep breath, glance back at...

The brain is trying to uncover its own secrets. It seems counterintuitive, even paradoxical, but it’s the heart of cognitive science—we, as humans, are trying to discover the mysterious mechanisms that allow us to become us. Reading This Is Your Brain on Music was a revelatory experience. Beyond the brilliance of the book itself as an examination of our relationship with music, it was my introduction to cognitive science—a discipline that has shaped my academic choices and...

In first grade, we were told to draw something that comes in pairs. Most kids drew shoes, scissors, pants—all perfectly acceptable responses. I drew a pair of lungs. Today, I couldn’t say what seven year-old me was thinking when I drew them, but I can say this: I haven’t changed much. I’m still an unconventional thinker, and I still try to break whatever molds I’m placed in. Growing up in the South, especially with an...