The most impactful $20 I ever made
When I was 13 my mother paid me $20 to read Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. This was nothing unusual at the time — she often tried to vest me with her love of reading, especially when it came to the literary canon. To a large extent, my childhood growing up in Argentina consisted of monthly theatre visits, museum tours and countless hours spent reading. I loved having my nose buried in a book and the fresh smell of old pages quickly became a comfort.
Yet as I grew older, moved halfway across the world and entered high school, that love of…
Blurring the lines of gender
In recent times, pronouns that indicate gender diverse and non-conforming identities have become increasingly popular and accepted. Yet just when I thought I had gotten a solid handle on the singular use of “they” (seriously, it’s not that hard), a whole new set of pronouns—neopronouns—have emerged. Like a large proportion of Gen Z, I first came around the term “neopronoun” on TikTok, but as it turns out, identifying outside of the gender binary is really nothing new.
What are neopronouns?
As we all know, pronouns replace names when talking about someone. For example, she/her, he/him and they/them. Neopronouns refer to new pronouns that…
What’s not to love about Rainbow Capitalism?
Remember when kids labeled anything remotely uncool as gay and queer was the worst thing you could be? Seriously, in fifth grade one of my classmates got picked on because he crossed his legs ‘like a girl’. I never got that, because I’m a girl and cross my legs with all the elegance and grace of an elephant on wheels, but I digress.
Ah, how far we have come! Now, straight people wave rainbow flags around and gay best friends are the latest fashion accessory. We have come so far, in fact, that even Target is celebrating Pride Month.
As…
It only takes a few moments to learn
Depending on where you live and who you talk to, you might have heard of the word “Latinx”. As a gender-neutral alternative to “Latino” or “Latina”, the term has quickly gained traction amongst progressive circles. Back in 2018 the University of San Diego announced it would begin to use “Latinx” instead of gender-specific language to be more inclusive, and Google searches for the word have spiked in recent years:
From Mozart to Beethoven to Liszt
What‘s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “Economics”? If the answer is “interest rates”, “inflation” or “growth” I don’t blame you, that’s what I thought too when I began my degree back in 2018. The idea that economics is limited to, well, the economy, is a common misconception. At its core, the field is about understanding people, how society functions, and distinguishing what is causal from mere correlations.
Unsurprisingly then, there are rapidly evolving subfields like cultural economics and the economics of happiness. …
Don’t call me exotic either
I often feel uncomfortable when somebody asks ‘What are you?’
First of all, a bunch of raccoons in a trenchcoat posing as a human, obviously. Second, that answer is a lot more complicated than it seems— do I describe myself by my nationality? Where I grew up? Where my mother was born? Where my father was born? All of those are widely different.
However, there is one identity I’m undoubtedly most comfortable in, perhaps because it reflects where I was born and spent my most formative years: I am Latina.
And yet, that term feels foreign. Sometimes, it’s enough to…
“I really wonder what gives us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours”
Let me begin by apologising for my tardiness in writing this article. Yes, I know I’m late for Earth Day. In my defense, I think every day should be Earth Day, after all, Mother Earth works 24/7, 365 days a year, and, we actively work against her all the same. But that’s a discussion for another time.
Where our story begins…
On the first Earth Day, April 22nd, 1970. Kurt Vonnegut speaks outside New York City Public Library:
“The Environmental movement is a big soppy pillow,” he says, “Nobody’s going to do anything.”
… We can surely look forward to some great advertising campaigns.……
How a lack of representation fuels inequality
Growing up, I was the quintessential bookworm. There was nothing I loved more than curling up on the living room couch with a thick book, a soft blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. Some of my favourite series included Judy Moody, Dear Dumb Diary and, as I got older, Harry Potter. What do these books have in common? They all in some way follow the struggles of school-aged, sarcastic, ambitious girls— Judy, Jaime and Hermione—much like I was at the time.
Still, there was a part of me that struggled to identify with said stories. …
I’m not ready to come out yet — and that’s okay.
My first inkling that I wasn’t completely straight came when I was around thirteen. This was the era of skinny jeans, scene fashion, and bangs so long you could barely see, so it was only appropriate that the realisation came to me whilst browsing Tumblr one night. Suddenly, I couldn’t tell if I wanted to be the neon-haired girl on my screen or be with her.
At the time, I repressed these newfound feelings, at least in real life. …
Why the “green space” needs more diversity.
As a university student, I fill my free time (and resume) with volunteering. When I’m not studying, writing, or at work, I can be found walking the university gardens, attending Vegan Club, or exploring environmental workshops. I always feel a little uneasy entering these spaces, because— in my experience — they are almost exclusively white.
From the beginning, I thought this was an oddity. The people that attend these sessions are buzzing with discussions of climate change, global warming, and intersectionality. …
Sol
Artist, environmentalist and social economics student specialising in drinking too much bubble tea, getting no sleep, and crying in libraries. (She/Her/They)
