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What word is un-translatable to you?

I’m not a native Japanese speaker, but I studied it for four years in high school and there is one word my teacher mentioned that has always stuck with me. Wabi-sabi. Simply put, wabi-sabi is the acceptance, often in the context of aesthetics, of both the imperfect and the impermanent. The etymology of wabi-sabi is difficult to translate. Wabi originally described the loneliness of living in nature but over timed has changed positively to describe freshness or quietness. Sabi, too, changed from negative to positive, originally meaning “withered” but now the word illustrates a certain serenity that comes with aging. Wabi-sabi can apply to the aesthetics of human-crafted objects, such as teacups or doors, or it can serve as a viewpoint for life overall. I don’t believe the word is completely translatable because of its ties to concepts deeply intertwined with Buddhism, which is itself based upon tenants that cannot be simply translated into English. Buddhism is centered around dukkha, of...
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Untitled

Many things over my life have sparked periods of personal growth, but one in particular stands out. Starting in December 2011, I started tagging along with my dad on his international business trips. My dad is an economist whose focus is food insecurity, so in addition to the typical places people visit, he also travels to more impoverished areas. On my first trip with him in 2011 we went to India, specifically Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Bangalore. Going to the other side of the world in a place so foreign at age 11 was definitely the biggest culture shock of my life. The cities were much more crowded and busy than any U.S. city I’d been in and poverty was more visible than here in the states. The traffic was a whole other story, with seemingly no order and a constant blaring of horns. But what made this trip especially meaningful was getting to see my dad do his work. Because I was just 11 years old, I had to stay with him at all times (besides once while he was...
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Kanye To The

Kanye. Yeezy. Mr. West. ‘Mari. Kan The Louis Vuitton Don. The LeBron of Rhyme. Whatever you want to call him, Kanye West is the greatest*. I wish I still remembered the first time I heard Kanye West as it’d make a good intro, but I don’t and it’s fine. Since around 7th grade I have listened to and loved Kanye West with all my heart. I first listened to sprinkles of his singles, just the a hit song or two from each of his albums, never delving further. At this time to me Kanye was a great, but just as good as my other favorite rappers I listened to, it wasn’t until I dug into his albums and listened to them front to back over and over did I realize his true greatness and began my fandom. Kanye is the greatest musician of all time* for his variability and range. Nearly every one of his albums have a completely unique sound. College Dropout sampled soul and R&B hits in his now distinct high pitch sped up fashion. Late Registration took on more orchestral themes, being able to afford a...
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Why Football

Ever since I was young football stood out to me apart from all the other sports. From my first memory of watching a football game, the Packer’s 2005 loss to the Carolina Panthers, to this year’s college football national championship, I have always loved the sport. Due to the depth and intricate strategies of football, throughout playing all kinds of other sports throughout my youth, football stayed closest with me. Football’s most defining factor is the depth of the game play. In sports such as hockey and soccer there is a pseudo-separation of offense and defense, but it is never actually defined in the rules or physically separated as it is in football. This separation in football increases the amount of specialization of the players themselves which is key in understanding the game. For every one of the several unique positions in football, there is a player that specializes and trains for that position only. With more specialized training the skill cap, for each position goes up tr...
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Music Over Time

Like most people, my musical tastes has changed a lot over my life. I’ve never been in orchestra or chorus like 70% of my class at Uni has, but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating music from a listening and learning perspective. This outlook has kept me engaged with music and I’m always listening and trying to find more. My dad always played music when I was young whether we were at home, in the car, or outside. There isn’t any specific genre he listens to as it ranges from rock to jazz to rap to music I don’t even know the genre of . As a result of this, I got exposed to many different forms of music to choose from and my brother and I clung to one genre much more than the others: classic rock. Almost all of the music I listened to through elementary school consisted of Guns N Roses, AC/DC, and other heavy rock bands as my brother and I would beg my dad to play in the car. My interest in classic rock has had the biggest influence on what instruments I have played. Rather than pian...
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Nostalgia

Nostalgia means something to different to everyone. Nostalgia can take form in many different ways, be applied to many scenarios, and range from being sought after by some while hated by others. It’s no wonder nostalgia is much better understood as a unique “feeling” rather than defined by words. As nostalgia is almost always based around pleasant memories, it makes sense to interpret nostalgia as always being a happy feeling. What I feel defines nostalgia the most however, and separates the feeling from simply happily remembering the past, is the bittersweetness of nostalgia. Nostalgia is made up the Greek words nóstos, meaning "homecoming" and álgos meaning "pain" or "ache", so from the etymology we can tell the feeling of nostalgia is inherently tied partly to a bit of sorrow. Personally, I’m always looking for ways to be reminded of my past whether its songs I used to listen to, stories from family members, or just events from my childhood I’ve seemed ...
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DogMan vs. ManDog

The question I hear often (as many of you can probably relate) discussed by nearly everyone from kids to those in academia: "Would you rather own a man in a dog's body, or a dog in a man's body?". Not which you would rather be but own,  due to the impossibility of imagining having a dog's mind. The amazing part of this question is many are quick with a seemingly correct answer to them, while their response may be the opposite from the person across from them, leading to lengthy discussions delving into and opening up this question to its fullest.  For those few that haven't heard this hypothetical question there's a chance one or both may seem appealing, but I'll be quick to make it clear this is one of those dually unpleasant "Would you rather's". For that reason, the stipulations follow that you are not allowed to give away (or even kill) the dog/man/whateveryouwanttocallit and to make the situations fair the life expectancy of each wil...
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