*This article was originally published on Dec. 22, 2025 in Reporter Magazine Since arriving at RIT in August, most people I’ve met have taken a “mental health day” of some type. These have ranged from missing class to focus on restorative sleep to being unable to leave bed due to depression. No matter the severity of the situation, mental health is something on the collective radar of college students. According to a 2024 survey conducted by U.S. News, 70 percent of college s

* This article was originally published in the November issue of Reporter Magazine. This year’s Hugo Award for the Best Short Story went to “Stitched to Skin like Family Is” by 2021 Hugo winner Nghi Vo. The story follows an unnamed Chinese seamstress with the magical ability to sense the memories of clothing as she travels 1931 America in search of her brother, Yongjun. In the beginning, the protagonist arrives at the inn where Yongjun had been staying, and she quickly realiz

*This article was originally published on April 25, 2025 on Shorewood Ripples . My grandmother, Kimiko, was so beautiful. I have a specific photo of her in mind—she is in her ‘50s nurse uniform which accentuates her slender features. She leans against the bathroom sink and her hand slopes over it elegantly. Her black hair is piled into a bun, with one strand youthfully swooping over her forehead. Her almond eyes gently gaze someplace out of frame and her lips form a delicate

*This article was originally published on Sept. 20, 2024 on Shorewood Ripples. Things knocked over are bound to fall, chimpanzee owners are bound to be mauled, and pop-stars are bound to be harassed a little. Isn’t that right? It feels so normal to want attention from celebrities. It’s considered a treat when they are seen in normal places, and selfies with celebrities can easily become prized photos.  However, “HOT TO GO!” singer Chappell Roan finds this strange, asking her

*This article was originally published on June 8, 2024 on Shorewood Ripples . Writing can be exhausting sometimes, which is why I like to eat a “back-multiplying,” or, in other words, fattening meal before I start a new project or article. The meal in question? A sandwich, with maybe a pickle on the side. I know that this is a lot, but I know that other people on the internet eat just as much as me.  A few months back, a trend emerged where TikTok users would post pictures of

* This article was originally published on Feb. 11, 2024 on Shorewood Ripples. Not every television show warrants a quirky adaptation. In fact, my general quality of life would probably be better if most shows stopped getting quirky adaptations.  Squid Game is a South Korean drama series released on Netflix on September 17, 2021. The thriller show follows a financially destitute gambler who competes against hundreds of people in similar financial situations, in a twisted game

The illusion of musical authenticity in the season of Wrapped * This article was originally published on Dec. 23, 2023, on Shorewood Ripples . Anybody who is invested in a music based subculture would be very quick to call me a poser. They’d be right. Yes, it’s true. I’ve been caught on more than one occasion saying that I “don’t listen to mainstream music,” and I’ll be the first one to brag about how underground my favorite artists are. What is a poser, though? Of course, we

The singer-songwriter highlights themes of love, hope, and introspection * This article was originally published on Oct. 27, 2023, on Shorewood Ripples . It would be strange and hyperbolic of me to open this review with “Everybody loves Mitski!” but the numbers do not lie. With over 19 million monthly listeners on Spotify and countless videos featuring her music on platforms like TikTok, Mitski is a global sensation. Despite this, she did not originally dream of creating musi