“Muy, narod Soyedinyonikh Shtatov Ameriki...” Spoken in Russian, especially to American students, the US Constitution sounds little like the original refrain. But to E, my classmate from Moscow, those words meant everything. The day she recited the Preamble in her native language in front of our eighth-grade history class, I found myself captivated by her speech. The foreign rhythm mesmerized me: As I attempted to decipher the whirlwind of E’s rolled r’s and cryptic expressions, I craved for...

From my first time leafing through Judith Dupre’s book Skyscrapers to my frequent trips to San Francisco’s perpetually-under-construction Financial District, I have always imagined myself becoming an urban planner. Such a position would put me at the forefront of change; first and foremost, I would commit to a lifelong journey of creating, protecting, and improving our cities. As a “working university,” nowhere can I better realize these dreams than at Penn. Not only will I be able to...

“Hey, you eat spiders, right?” It was my first day at my new middle school near Memphis, Tennessee. Miraculously, my brain had survived several hours of icebreakers and my wiry arms hadn't collapsed under what seemed like five tons of textbooks and worksheets. This oddly-directed question about my eating habits, however, drove me to the edge. “No, I don’t eat spiders.” As an Asian kid growing up in an obscure corner of the South, similar questions greeted me at...

Before I knew it, my dollar store adventure was over. As I looked out the window and the familiar sights and sounds of suburban Memphis flew past, I had the vague idea that we were heading home. Even so, that didn't stop me from whining when I recognized the approach to Canna Hill Court-- the street I grew up on-- since I’d already be waiting for the next "adventure.” These early trips were a formative part of my childhood,...

Staring in disbelief at the email on my screen, I am devastated to learn that I have been rejected from the Editor-in-Chief position of my school newspaper. But as I pore over my new title, Humor Editor, I realize I can instead make my mark through laughter. Now a year later, I couldn't be happier. My satires about the academy’s cafeteria food, athletic teams, and dorm conditions are shared widely among students and alumni, and classmates regularly pester me...

Friends who eat together, stay together. Nowhere has this mantra proven more true than at my boarding school’s cafeteria, where burnt toast accompanies debates on affirmative action and philosophical questions are just as ubiquitous as complaints about the (still broken) ice cream machine. These meal-time discussions are where I have made some of my best friends and had my best laughs; most importantly, they are a place for me to share the topics I love with the people I...