Circumspecte

For some time now I've been trying to find a word that describes the magic of youth - the unspoken energy that makes youth so fearless and non judgmental about themselves and their dreams. This morning I had a discussion with someone who has become a mirror of sorts for me; forcing me to look within and back on my journey thus far - and she doesn't even know that she challenges me to question things about myself, ha! - and I realized what that magic is. It's exuberance. A love of life and perhaps more importantly, of learning. It's placing all bets on yourself when you don't even know how things will work out and simply trusting that it will. It's placing your request to God, and sitting back to let the universe conspire on your behalf.  The moment you start thinking you are deserving is when you lose it all. Don't get me wrong, you are deserving. But when you start dwelling on that fact, you subconsciously categorize things as worthy of  you, you...

Dear Prospective Graduate Student, After "officially" completing my first semester at JHU SAIS in Bologna, Italy, I figured it might be helpful to share some of my insights with you, especially since quite a number of your counterparts have already approached me in that regard. So, what are the bolts and nuts of opting for graduate school? Well, I don't have all the answers, and I'm certain responses differ with each person but here are some of the main things I have to say. 1. Know Your Status By your status I'm not talking "HIV/AIDS". I'm talking know your legal status in the country you'll be studying in and the corresponding do's and don'ts. Knowing your status should also make it easier to figure out what financial options you have, whether you qualify for certain scholarships, if you can undertake an internship or do some work while studying, all of that. The ideal case would be to know your status before you apply to a gi...