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-Reyna Lim | Thursday, April 20, 2023
In seemingly trivial exchanges, some words are etched into my mind and stick around for far longer than their speaker would ever expect. It’s more than just memorable milestones. It’s different from the way you’ll remember the words of a stinging insult behind your back getting back to you, or the first time you and
Reyna Lim | Wednesday, April 5, 2023
It’s gotten way too late and we’re somewhere in Frankfurt, Germany, sitting on a street corner, willing for the Uber app to get us a ride. This is so classic, you say. Classics never go out of style. We tiptoe up the stairs to your room but not before grabbing the ice cream. We’re still
Reyna Lim | Wednesday, March 22, 2023
When we are photographed, who do we pose for? A short while ago, in a lecture for an elective course, I was admittedly close to drifting into the haze of my midafternoon drowsiness when I was startled into reality by a comment made in class discussion. The topic was swimsuit photos on Instagram — deciphering
Reyna Lim | Thursday, February 23, 2023
Jeong is cosmic. Jeong is a silhouette. Jeong is an enchantress who follows us, just as much as we follow her — trust in her to guide us, protect us, comfort us. Jeong is my favorite Korean word, and it’s the one term for which I can never manage to pinpoint an English translation. I
Reyna Lim | Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Every year I say, “this will be my year.” Every year. Something about New Year’s Day and the bells ringing and the balls dropped and the tteokguk I eat with my family, convinces me that something is beginning anew, bringing an inevitable force of change by some astronomical power. But January 1st is just a
Reyna Lim | Wednesday, January 25, 2023
It’s that time of year in South Bend where campus freezes over and the permacloud chronically deprives us of sunlight. It’s all about perspective, really, because when the snow on the ground is still white, my morning coffee tastes just bitter enough, and my Spotify shuffles to the right track by The Velvet Underground and
Reyna Lim | Friday, December 2, 2022
There are a few words in my lexicon that have snuck their way into my lingo much to my woeful resignation. They say the way a person speaks tells you everything you need to know about them — I like to think that I can play at some meek facade of depth and intellect when
Reyna Lim | Friday, November 18, 2022
I have very little idea of what purpose means, but today I’m writing about it anyway. This is how I make sense of things. I’ve addressed it in this column before: purpose, meaning, being 21 and utterly confused. My dedication to seeming continually lost is less of an artistic choice, and more of a direct
Reyna Lim | Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Is it pink? Is it something I can wear? What is it? Frantically racking my prepubescent brain for what my eleventh birthday gift could be, I curl up next to my mother. She is just as adamant in her commitment to keeping it a secret. Happy twenty-first birthday. I’m so proud of you. Her voice
Reyna Lim | Wednesday, October 12, 2022
On the R train from Union Square to Prince Street, I sit across from a girl who seems to radiate the very signification of “cool”. Her red curls fall into place like puzzle pieces, a beguiling smile in her eyes underneath her mask. A seemingly careless outfit, yet its nonchalance manifests itself through all the