During the winter break of my first year (Winter 2021), I stayed on campus. Break gave me the time I needed to listen to my own needs and goals instead of getting caught up in the busy-ness of the semester. Most importantly, it gave me the space to be more intentional about self-care. I slept in more often, hung out with other on-campus friends regularly, started a new TV series and got back into crocheting.   

In addition to participating in a few Wintersession workshops–one on knitting, one on embroidery and one session called "Founding Your Deep Tech Startup"–I also was fortunate enough to attend the first Black Women Wellness Retreat hosted by the Our Health Matters (OHM) Club. The OHM is a club focused on the health and wellbeing of Black women on campus. In a world that expects Black women to be endlessly “strong,” this all expenses paid retreat gave me the room to be honest about how I was honestly doing and what I needed:

After tasty breakfast pastries provided by The Gingered Peach, a local Black woman-owned business, we took a chartered bus to Skytop Lodge, located in the Poconos Mountains. The Lodge itself was stunning, it had rich, velvety carpets, tall windows with lots of natural sunlight and really unique furniture. The room I stayed in had ample space, as well as its own walk-in closet, full bathroom and outdoor patio. During the retreat, our time was spent doing everything from playing ping pong to making vision boards, to talking about our experiences with dating on campus.

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I do not share any of this to brag. As a lower-income student, I’d never stepped foot near a ski lodge before, yet this retreat afforded me that experience as a means to promote my self care. I share this experience with you, because it is important that Black women are seen engaging in self-care, indulging in high-quality experiences and supporting each other.  

At the end of the day, I am reminded of this quote from Audre Lorde, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” As a Black person, I must remind myself of this every day. As a woman of color, I must remind myself of this every day. As all of the the things I am–lower-income, first-generation and a Black Muslim woman trying to navigate an elite institution–it is imperative that I strive closer and closer to a future where my self care is no longer negotiable in my schedule but the norm. 

What about you? How has your self-care journey been going? I’d love to know!

One of the first things I promised myself before going to college was that I was going to try new things and step out of my comfort zone. What better time than now to explore all the things I had never had the opportunity to in high school? 

Thus, first-year fall, despite my many reservations about doing so, I tried out for the Princeton Debate Panel. While it was one of the most terrifying things I had ever done, I am grateful to have found some of my closest friends and a tight-knit community that single handedly helped me through my first semester at Princeton. 

I kept (and am keeping) my promise to myself as I entered the second half of my sophomore year. I ended up auditioning for an a cappella group, a decision I made a day before auditions were to take place. My reservations for doing so stemmed from the fact that as much as I enjoyed singing in my free time, I never thought I was good enough to sing in a more structured setting. 

I was saved from making one of the worst mistakes of my Princeton career when one of my friends, after hearing my plight on whether or not I should audition, told me just what I needed to hear. “What’s the worst that could happen? You’re nervous for 15 minutes, maybe embarrass yourself in front of a few people. But the best case scenario? You get ten new friends, and get to do something you enjoy.” The answer then became pretty clear in my head. 

I went, sang in front of a group of people I didn’t know, and left shaking from nerves, but relieved I had gone through with it. That night, I found out that I had been asked back for callbacks, and went to callbacks the day after, where I (still extremely nervous) mingled with members and got to experience what it would be like to sing as part of a group. I left callbacks daydreaming about what it would be like to perform with these amazing collection of singers, and once again, thoroughly glad I had gone. 

Now, I’m a proud member of the Princeton Tigressions, one of the many a cappella groups Princeton has to offer. Each group is unique in their sound, their members and their personalities. The Tigressions are known for a bold sound, and our repertoire ranges from classics such as Moon River and more contemporary arrangements such as When We Were Young. We also go on an international tour during fall break, though a cappella groups on campus mainly sing in one of the many arches on campus. Also unexpectedly, my first performance happened to be at McCarter Theatre in front of a crowd of more than six hundred people. As terrifying as that was, it was one of the most fun (and memorable) moments at Princeton so far. 

So go for it. Try something new. 

I have always been fascinated by languages. I grew up bilingual, speaking Haitian Creole and French. Then, at the age of twelve, I realized that it would be cool to actually understand the songs of Akon which I was a big fan of: that's how I decided to start learning English. Later, in high school (coincidentally around the time Akon had hit pause on his musical career), I decided to move on to new horizons and started studying Spanish, followed by German. I think languages are cool, especially at Princeton.

At Princeton, every A.B. student has to pass the language requirement (i.e. demonstrating proficiency in a language other than English) before they graduate. There are many ways to fulfill this requirement. I, for example, took a French Placement Test the summer before I came to Princeton, which allowed me to place out of the language requirement. That meant I did not have to take any language classes at Princeton. But I still did! Why? Because languages are cool! Rather than starting with a completely new language at Princeton (which I might still do later on), I decided to keep learning Spanish for a while. I took the Placement Test for Spanish a couple of days after the French one and got placed into Spanish 108 (for Advanced Learners). 

I took the class last semester and it was amazing! My instructor was extremely kind, supportive and knowledgeable. My experience in that class was nothing like what I had seen in language classes before. Not only did the course focus on the development of the students' oral and written expression, but it also did so by engaging with interesting and thought-provoking material that explored the cultures, histories and politics of Spanish-speaking communities in the United States as well as the larger Hispanic world. The regular writing and speaking exercises encouraged me to frequently engage with the language beyond a superficial level in order to become comfortable expressing complex ideas in Spanish. All this in an encouraging and low-stress environment. I ended up doing very well in the class thanks to the incredible support I received from my instructor and my peers.

This experience reassured me in my decision to pursue a Certificate in Spanish, so much so that I am taking another Spanish class this semester: Spanish 209. In this course, we learn to analyze films in Spanish, which is a great way to improve my writing and speaking skills. It's also a great excuse to watch TV on the weekend without feeling guilty! I am only a few weeks in and I already love it! In addition to the language courses, Princeton offers other opportunities to get better in languages such as speaker events, internships abroad, summer language courses abroad, etc…

I truly feel that Princeton is one of the best places to brush up your skills in many languages or acquire new ones. Plus, you will want to take a class in East Pyne (the building that hosts most of the language departments): it is absolutely stunning! If you don’t believe me, come see for yourself!

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P.S.: If you have questions about any of the things mentioned above, do not hesitate to send me an email!

The first day of classes always brings a contradictory mix of emotions. Everyone feels a little nervous regarding the uncertainty of new courses and professors: Will I be able to handle the problem sets? Do I know anyone in my classes? Can I really make it from the Neuroscience Institute to the Friend Center in ten minutes? There's also, however, the excitement and promise of a fresh semester. You look forward to learning from some of the best minds in their fields, pushing yourself to improve your critical thinking and problem solving skills, and working with your friends to tackle challenging yet rewarding assignments. To capture some of this excitement and help calm any first-day nerves, our Undergraduate Student Government (USG) traditionally hosts a bagel and coffee stand on the first day. Princetonians will gather on McCosh Walk to eat breakfast, catch up on how they spent their break, and have first-day photos taken. Due to Covid restrictions this year regarding gatherings with food, Student Council decided to host a scarf distribution instead. In my opinion, this was far better than bagels! Not only does a scarf last, it proved very useful on the chilly January morning that marked the first day of the spring semester. Students lined up for their scarves and took photos together (with the Tiger mascot appearing at some point during the morning), and then they wore their new gear to their first classes of the new year. 

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After bundling up in my scarf, I continued to the Neuroscience Institute for the first lecture of Probability and Stochastic Systems. Professor Ramon started by giving us an intuitive definition of probability, and then he computed the probability of an event in two different ways. He asked us which computation was correct. The catch, though, is that with the intuitive definition of probability he gave, both are correct! This first lecture established why we need a rigorous mathematical definition of probability, and it made me excited and motivated for the course. 

Next I went to my lecture for Environmental Engineering Laboratory. This is my first lab course in person, and I'm really looking forward to the hands-on data collection we'll be doing. Professor Jaffé introduced the topic of our first lab and explained how we'll write our reports. I didn't know anyone in that class, but at the end I introduced myself to the people around me and formed my lab group.

While the first class doesn't usually cover the complicated derivations or deep discussions that take place in the heart of the course, it can nonetheless be a little overwhelming. Navigating campus to find unknown buildings and classrooms, introducing yourself to your new professors and classmates, and hearing about the upcoming expectations and assignments of your course load can be a lot to take in. Getting back into the flow of courses felt nice, though, as I'd begun to get a little bored towards the end of winter recess. By the second week, I was beginning to feel more confident in managing the workflow of each class, and I'd arranged study groups for most of my courses. The first day marked the beginning of a promising new semester, and I'm looking forward to what's to come.

The last time I was in Haiti was in August 2019, before I moved to Germany to attend boarding school. Since then, either the health situation in the world or the socio-political situation in Haiti has prevented me from visiting my native land. This winter break was no exception. Following the surge of the Omicron variant around the world, which came in addition to the worrying political instability plaguing my country, I had to make the difficult decision to indefinitely postpone my trip to Haiti. After moping for a few days and complaining to my family, I had to take on the arduous but necessary mission of figuring out how I was going to spend my winter vacation in the United States.

One thing was sure, I was going to find someone, somewhere, to host me for the duration of the vacation. For one, Haitians are everywhere! For two, I know people… I think? Anyway, I was going to be fine! Asking family and friends to host me remained the last option on my list. After all, no one wants to be a visitor who abuses their host's hospitality. Four weeks is a lot of hellos, good nights, have you eaten already, when are you going back to Princeton again? Four weeks is a long time under the care of barely known strangers or distant relatives. For the most part, no one will tell you it's time to leave, but there is always an underlying discomfort that intensifies over time. Even when the host's hospitality doesn't seem to waver, after some time, one always ends up feeling uncomfortable. Out of place. Like a burden.

Fortunately, I did not have to burn my brain cells overthinking or interpreting the over-enthusiastic hellos or the not-genuine-enough smiles from any host. Sometime after Thanksgiving, Professor Hakim of the SIFP Office (Scholars Institute Fellows Program) shared an email from Dean Dolan regarding a request for continuous accommodation over the winter break. Essentially, students who could not return home during the holidays had the option of applying for continuous housing in order to be allowed on campus over the break. That was a breakthrough in my mission!

A few days after submitting a request in which I explained my situation, I received a confirmation from Princeton: I had qualified for continuous housing. Yay! After the immediate relief wore off, I felt bittersweet. I was grateful that I had a place to stay where I would be looked after. The testing program would continue throughout the break and food would be provided to me. Yet, despite having everything I needed to make it through, I was also very aware of the needs of the heart. The end of the year is a time most people spend with family and friends; I was staying on my college campus. I did not know how I would feel on Christmas Eve. Alone in my room. Or on New Year's Eve. Part of me was incredibly anxious.

The truth is, I really enjoyed my time on campus over the break. Don't get me wrong, there were some difficult times when I thought about where I could have been and what I could have been doing. However, I was constantly reminded that I had what I needed. I used the time away from distractions to reflect on my semester and my year in general. I realized that caught in the frenetic rhythm of my first semester, I did not spend enough time thinking about how I was doing, my goals or about the ways in which I was reconnecting with friends and family from back home. This downtime was incredibly helpful and rejuvenating. 

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I also explored the campus and the surrounding areas on my bike. I spent time with the many other international students (and a few domestic students) who were also staying on campus. We had a lot to think about, a lot to share and a lot to laugh about. On January 7th, we had our first snow! The campus was magnificent, shining beneath this thick immaculate white sheet which, when it fell upon the old buildings and the remaining greenery created a magnificent contrast. I fell asleep that day with the windows open, lulled by the sight of the flakes that landed majestically on the grass in the Forbes backyard, on the other side of my room. The next day, the intensified sunlight reflected on the snow woke me up. I got ready right away for a full tour of campus, as I did on my first day at Princeton back in July 2021. Indeed, it was as if I was discovering the campus for the first time. 

After the first snowfall, the campus slowly came back to life. Student-athletes, staff and faculty eased back to work. I started feeling the excitement about the Wintersessions I had signed up for and the winter internship I had secured through Princeton. I will probably write a blog post about them: Designing a Photo Exhibit (documenting the experience of black students attending the first-ever residential summer program at Princeton in 1964) and a discussion on forced migration. I am also very excited for the Spring semester!

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P.S.: The Spiderman reference in the title was involuntary!

My Princeton dorm can be identified by my building, floor and room number, but it's not a mailing address to which the postal service can deliver. How do you receive mail and packages in the Orange Bubble? The answer is Frist Campus Center, the hub for student life located in the middle of campus. Every student has a mailing address at Frist that remains the same throughout your time here, and you can ship to that address just as you would ship to your home.

When a letter or package arrives for you at Frist, you receive an auto-generated email notification. Somehow the notification that something is waiting for your pickup is always incredibly exciting, even when you know it's just a pair of socks you ordered.

Letters can be picked up at the mail desk during normal business hours, and packages can be picked up anytime from the package kiosks. Using the package kiosks feels a little bit magical, in my opinion. You approach a wall of package cells with a touchscreen in the middle, but you don't know which cell contains your package. When you scan your Tigercard at the touchscreen, one of the cells automatically pops open for you to take out your package. This grand reveal truly does add pomp and circumstance to the moment, even for the reception of something as mundane as that pair of socks.

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There are also specialized email notifications for specific deliveries, like oversized packages (for which you have to go to the oversized mailroom) or perishable items. My parents sent me flowers for my birthday, and I received 3 emails in the course of about 20 minutes asking me to immediately come and fetch my perishable delivery from Frist. Never fear that you will not be made aware when you have a perishable delivery waiting for you, but do fear that your inbox will be flooded.

As for shipping out of the Bubble, there are numerous mailboxes and UPS drop boxes located around campus (the mailbox closest to my dorm is about a 5-minute walk). The U.S. Post Office is located on Nassau Street just a few minutes past the E-quad, and there's a UPS store near there as well. In summary, the walls of the Orange Bubble are quite permeable for sending and receiving whatever you need.

The last time I wrote a blog post about The Daily Princetonian, I had just become an Associate News Editor. Now, almost two years later, I am done being an editor after serving two terms. Editing for the ‘Prince’, as we commonly call it, has been my favorite part of Princeton by far.

Every week, I spent two nights “on shift”. This means I would spend several hours in our wonderful newsroom at 48 University Place editing the news articles that were due that night. I made suggestions about structure and edited for word choice and clarity. I loved when writers came into the newsroom to work with me on their article. The newsroom had a real camaraderie each night as it filled up with editors and writers as they made contributions to their respective sections. It helped that the newsroom was always well-stocked with snacks, from every type of chip you can imagine to fresh waffles made on the newsroom wafflemaker. The newsroom really feels like home to me now.

Even on days I wasn’t on shift, I still had various other responsibilities for the Prince. For example, I was the assigned editor for a few articles each week. I would check in with the writers for those articles and answer any questions they had. I helped them think of people to contact and develop questions for their sources. Interacting with our writers one-on-one was a truly rewarding experience because I felt like I could help them improve their reporting skills, and I learned from them as well. 

While most of my contributions to the Prince were within the news section, I also attended full masthead meetings, where I contributed to discussions about the Prince as a whole. I served on various committees, like our accessibility working group, which focused on making sure that students with disabilities could access all of our reporting, and the speaker series team, which planned regular Zoom events featuring established reporters. I also worked on efforts to make the Prince more diverse and welcoming to writers of all backgrounds as a member of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Board. I love that the Prince is a place that values the opinions of all staff members, from people who just joined the organization to the most senior editors.

Even though I’m no longer an editor, I’ll continue to attend news meetings and social events this spring because of how much I care about the amazing Prince community. I’ll have more time to write news articles, and that’s why I joined the Prince in the first place. I have grown immensely by being a news writer and editor and I’m so incredibly grateful for this experience.

It’s crazy to me that I graduate this year - and there’s still so much I want to do at Princeton. Here’s a bucket list of everything I have to do before I leave (sob).

Go to the top of Cleveland Tower. The grad school tower is a Princeton landmark, and it’s right across the golf course from Forbes College, where I live. In fact, in sophomore year I’d see it every morning from my window when I woke up. But most people don’t seem to realize that you can actually visit the top of the tower and take in crazy views of campus

Explore Firestone’s extensive collection. I recently discovered rows of graphic novels and comics from my childhood deep in its lower levels, and spent an afternoon flipping through pages rather than studying for my exams. Firestone Library may be a great place for studying and research, but there’s so much more - odds are, they’ve got stuff on anything you’d be interested in reading. And the library itself is so sprawling that there are so many out-of-the-way nooks and crannies. 

Explore all the buildings on campus. Firestone is just the start of it - there are so many buildings on Princeton’s campus that I’ve definitely not fully explored. There are dinosaur skulls and hidden cafes and sixth-floor rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows where you can watch the sun set over campus. Apparently, there are tunnels connecting some of the science buildings…

See a Triangle Show one more time. Every year, I’ve made sure to watch the student-led theater production put on by The Princeton Triangle Club. My sophomore fall, I was actually off campus during opening weekend, and Ubered specifically back to campus just to catch the show. It’s a tradition. Last time I heard “Old Folks Home,” I practically cried. 

Eat at all the dining halls again. Each residential college has a dining hall, and during our first and second years, everyone pretty much eats in one or the other - whether it’s which is closest after class, or which has the best looking menu, or which is closest to the lazy friend you’re meeting for dinner. As an upperclassmen, however, most people begin to eat in their eating clubs, co-ops, or independent plans. But everyone still gets two meal swipes per week at the dining halls of old - I’ll make sure to give each of them a go around for old times’ sake.

There's a lot I'll be doing for old times' sake this one last spring - but I think as always, Princeton will throw new and unexpected experiences my way. The bucket list will probably be a lot bigger - and more checked off - in just a few months. As they say in "Old Folks Home," Princeton is truly first rate.

While preparing for university applications and alumni interviews, I wanted to find out more about what the schools I applied to were really like. Now that I have attended Princeton for a semester, I hope I can share with you some of the things you may want to look out for in your research as well as some resources you can use to learn about student life.

Obviously, your first stop should be either the University website or the admission website.

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Here, you can browse the tabs that catch your attention and allow interesting links to lead you on a trail. For example, I noted the concentrations (majors) and certificates (minors) that interested me, perused the research interests of professors in the molecular biology department and checked out the social media pages of extracurricular activities and student groups such as Triple 8 Dance Company (where you can now find an introduction of me!) and Manna Christian Fellowship. At the time, I got so excited that I noted down 25 activities I would be interested in participating in. As a vegan, I also looked for more information on the dining halls and found this guide written by the Greening Dining Club to be a wealth of information. We also have a student blog on being a vegan at Princeton.

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To learn more about the astounding breadth of past, current, and new classes, head to the Office of the Registrar. It was here that I first found MOL460: Diseases in Children: Causes, Costs, and Choices in January 2020, and I still can’t wait for the opportunity to take this class in the future.

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Another useful resource is what you’ve already found: the admissions blog! The blogs provided me with stories that put color and faces to the information on the website. There are also 13 current students who are more than happy to answer any questions you may have, whether you are a prospective student, an anxious or curious applicant, or a deferred or admitted student. Please don’t be afraid to reach out by email! I wish I did when I was in your shoes, even if just to hear more about what college life is like.

Princeton also has an incredible student-run daily newspaper, the Daily Princetonian, also referred to as the ‘Prince’, where you can get an inside scoop on what is happening in the Princeton community. I turn to the ‘Prince’ for University news, opinions on current topics, and funny cartoons. In true New York Times-style, the ‘Prince’ also features a crossword, podcasts, photos, and videos.

For some more insider information, you can head to YouTube to see the beautiful buildings, numerous libraries, and various styles of dorms, as well as hear more about classes and what students do for fun. The University also makes a Year in Review - this year’s features the bonfire we had in celebration of the football team beating both Yale and Harvard - and provides more information on our Nobel Prize winners.

Don’t hesitate to chat with friends, family, and your high school counselor about your college plans - you might be surprised to find they have a friend who attended Princeton and would be more than happy to speak with you about their experience. I also learned a lot from asking my alumna interviewer about her time here.

Finally, you can take advantage of social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook to find people in your area affiliated with the University or message someone who studied in a field that interests you.

Happy researching!

I’d just gotten home for the holidays this year when the Instagram posts started flooding in from my fellow Class of 22er’s - “Semester 7/8 done! One to go!” etc etc. Which of course wasn’t the first time this had crossed my mind. I’ve had a few late nights this semester thinking back to how it all began, reliving memories of the past three years, and wondering how on earth it could have all happened so quickly. I’m not kidding anyone, least of all myself. I knew from day one that these four years would move by fast.

People like to say at Princeton that the days are long, but the weeks are short. Every day, between the random encounters, the meetups for meals and studying, the trekking around campus from McCosh Hall to Firestone Library to Dillon Gym to Frist for Late Meal; between the plans you make for clubs and classes, and the hours after dinner you didn’t intend to spend playing pool or hanging out in the dining hall - every day you go to bed and think, how could I possibly have done all that in just one day?

Every day happens like that, and then you wake up and - wait a moment - that dinner in Whitman was a week ago? That dance performance was two? It’s been a month since that fall break trip and your fifteen page paper is due in like a week?

Wait a moment - it’s been three years already?

I tried to steel myself very early my first year for these thoughts. I knew the time would go by fast. But knowing only does so much. And I think what has helped me more than anything is trying as hard as I can to stay rooted in the present. To enjoy everything I have today, and to allow that to be all that matters. And when I sit down to think about all the experiences I’ve had, big and small, over the past week, or month, or year, I feel full, if that makes sense. 

I’m heading into my last semester. A couple weeks ago I woke up early one morning to do my last round of course selections for the upcoming semester. And it’s hard not to start thinking of things as the “last.” As a Residential College Adviser, I look at my first-year advisees and can’t help feeling a touch of melancholy at just how much time they have left. 

If any of you are looking at Princeton - heck, if any early action admits are reading this blog - I’m wishing you all the best. These years in college aren’t a cake walk, and sometimes things won’t seem the greatest. But look for and cherish the good moments. They go by fast.