friendship
June 2012 The field behind the Warren library is quiet on 364 days out of the year, but tonight the lawn has been transformed into a wonderland of thrilling rides, carnival games, and dazzling rainbow lights. Middle schoolers hurl darts at balloons, young parents hoist grinning toddlers, and teenagers come just “for the vibes” to eat nostalgic fried Oreos. Thick barbecue smoke entwines with chatter … Continue reading friendship
time is the medium in which we live our lives
Time bursts with color, emotion, and energy. It is where human existence unfolds and it is the very medium in which we live our lives. Continue reading time is the medium in which we live our lives
college is not for the nosy introvert
It’s Sunday morning, and Family Weekend is over. I spent two and a half loaded days with my parents cheering for the Duke basketball team, performing my first live band concert since February 2020, and taking pictures. Lots of them. Now I stand by the curb and watch as my parents drive out of my dorm parking lot to head home, my heart hollow. Take … Continue reading college is not for the nosy introvert
(Young) Adult Reckoning
I thought high school would last forever. The girl who was swept along by a mob of tall scary teenagers on her first day of freshman year couldn’t comprehend the breadth of four years in that huge unfamiliar place. Yet, the four years zipped by at light speed and she graduated. I graduated. In hindsight, high school felt like a coloring book. The outlined shapes … Continue reading (Young) Adult Reckoning
Second Semester in 22 Sentences
I recorded a dream
It was a quaint little village: crowded wooden houses with tiled roofs and narrow dirt roads winding in between. The place was perpetually awash in a shade of dusty gray; infinite layers of dense clouds clogged the sky and encircled the village in a sphere. The village was its own little cloudy microplanet, a dreary snowglobe floating through a mysterious void. One day, the clouds … Continue reading I recorded a dream
First Time Home
November 24, 2020 My family and I haul my belongings from the car into the house. When we’re done, a haphazard mound of duffels and totes is piled along one wall of the kitchen. We let out a collective sigh of weariness and relief. I am finally home after three months, and we are all safely back together as one unit. Unpacking can wait until … Continue reading First Time Home
Finding Community
One of Duke’s supplementary essays asked me to share an experience of mine related to a community I belonged to. Sixteen year old me presented herself as a lofty, wannabe poet; I touted myself as being an “explorer and a seamstress.” I wrote (and I both smile and cringe as I read this now), “Scouring all that my school has to offer allows me to … Continue reading Finding Community
College // First Month
Fifth weekend Continue reading College // First Month
Musical Memory
They say look to the future and don’t dwell on the past… well sometimes I think it’s good to wallow in memory for a bit. I miss the presence of people. More specifically, making music with people. I miss being in the same room with one hundred other instruments with one hundred other people, all breathing the same air. We’d all breathe in together at … Continue reading Musical Memory
Katie Tan 