Wine Not? A Tour of Napa and Sonoma

An email appeared in my inbox mid-afternoon. I’m an inbox-0 kind of person, so the white bar across my perfectly grey screen was jarring. It was a forwarded message, sent by a good friend who was across the country for her summer internship. Stanford was organizing a wine tasting trip, first-come-first-serve, supported by the Riddle… Continue reading Wine Not? A Tour of Napa and Sonoma

Design Thinking for Social Innovation

This spring break, instead of jetting across the world, I decided to stay and volunteer for one of Stanford’s ‘Alternative Spring Break’ programs. In collaboration with VIA, Volunteers in Asia, the Design Thinking for Social Innovation program worked with 14 exchange students from various Japanese Universities to tackle sustainability issues in the Bay Area. My… Continue reading Design Thinking for Social Innovation

Kindness

Kindness is one of the best gifts. It’s wonderful to receive, and oh-so satisfying to give. It’s something we don’t think about on a daily basis, but there’s a lot that goes on behind kindness. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. – Aesop Kindness:  acting with a quality of being… Continue reading Kindness

Top 5 Most Useful Russian Words

This list skips general terms like yes, “da,” and no, “niet,” (aka. Words you should know before you go to a foreign country). Russian is certainly not an easy language to learn. However, the cyrillic alphabet is not difficult, and if you spend just a few minutes learning it, you can phonetically read everything. Unlike… Continue reading Top 5 Most Useful Russian Words

Why Is It So Hard To Finish What You Started?

Inspiration is everywhere. Go to an art exhibit, see a show, or read a new book. Suddenly, I’m inspired. “I’m going to learn a new language!” “I’m going to write a book!” “I’m going to start my own business!” And maybe I do start. I buy a notebook dedicated to my new project. I read… Continue reading Why Is It So Hard To Finish What You Started?