Growing up in Colorado as a nerdy violinist, I was used to being the only black girl—and often, the only black person in any given room. As a result, I learned how to walk through the world as the exception to the rule. I learned how to answer people’s awkwardRead More

The food gets better, students are told to follow the dress code, teachers start smiling more, the hedges are groomed and the grass cut, and white linens are topped with coffee and donut holes. What do all of these occurrences have in common?  They all come about when parents, grandparents,Read More

I remember tattling on my younger brother to our parents when I was around eight.  He had insisted that our baby-sitter remove a brown bit from the banana he had been eating, so she cut off half of the banana and threw the perfectly edible part of the fruit into theRead More

Over a month ago, during his Convocation speech, School President Tomi Lawal ’16 called for inclusion at Choate. In one obvious way, however, we do not live up to this standard. Lack of community togetherness at Choate is undermined by negative feelings that some Choate students have towards recruited athletes.Read More

For the longest time, I thought Asians existed in a special realm of racial identity. Asians weren’t white, I knew that. But I also knew that they weren’t black, Hispanic, or Native American. As a Korean in the United States, I was a minority, sure, but I was never askedRead More

It’s the season for freezing faces, excessive pie-eating, crackling fires, and unwarranted caroling. But, as usual, our annual holiday cheer is accompanied by the college decision season, which brings both gleaming smiles and tear-filled hugs. Some treat the process well, making it constructive, supportive, and relaxed, while others turn itRead More

After last week’s Choate talk by Henry Marshall ’16 about the suppression of conservative viewpoints on campus, I remember walking out of the PMAC and grabbing a friend. He happened to be a conservative. “Do you feel like I shut you down?” I asked. If you’ve ever had a conversationRead More

We live in a world teeming with sound. We create sound everywhere, whenever we can, as if our lives depend on it. At this point in life, sound is something we cannot live without, something we would protect with our lives, and even something we would never let go. SoundRead More

I know there is someone out there, reading the headline above and sighing, “Why, Esul, why? Gender, race, political correctness–come on. Can you please talk about the Iran Deal or the Pope or the Syrian refugee crisis? Something that doesn’t concern identity politics. Please, Esul, I beg you. Talk about realRead More