Having finished a book that addresses my cultural identity crisis, I am now in the midst of my ‘quarterlife crisis’ as a twenty-something in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I have settled for the time being. This practically means that I am learning to make grocery lists instead of homework to-do lists, and thinking about how to manage my finances so I can make rent and also go out to dinner like a college kid again. (So far, not possible.) Most of all, my quarterlife crisis features the schedule adjustment whereby my to-bed and to-rise times are pushed up about six hours each. Oh, early to bed and early to rise makes Arar Han confused, groggy, and blind in the eyes.

I am spending my freshman year of the Real World as a Research Associate at the Harvard Business School. But before this year began, I was an senior at Boston College, where I graduated summa cum laude with one B.A. in Philosophy and Human Development, some experience in organizing student movements for choice causes, and a bit of notoriety for pushing the envelope in race dialogues. Before college, I attended high school in Cupertino, CA with my co-editor John Hsu. Before high school, I was a middle schooler in Rochester, NY. Before then, I was an elementary schooler in Henrietta, NY as well as Athens, GA. Finally, I was born in Seoul, Korea and lived there until I was five. From having a charming southern twang (now lost, unfortunately), having Jewish holidays off from school, and having AP Chemistry with some 34 other Asian Americans (all the while having kimchi for dinner), my American experiences have been multifarious and have shaped my Americanness in ways I continue to discover now.

My current preoccupations include mulling over theories of negotiation, learning to slow down my thoughts and conversations, Nelly Furtado’s song “Powerless,” formulating arguments for education reform, developing ways to demonstrate the hidden face of modern racism, and the quote “The strong do what they can; the weak do what they must.” I still manage to plunge into the latest copies of The New Yorker and Vogue, but my piano practicing has fallen to the wayside and sometimes I forget to breathe deeply… When all is said and done, though, I’m enjoying the things I love most, – good conversation, good food, and good problems – happily squeezing away at life’s lemons in the beautifully chaotic whole called life.

Current: October 2007
Archive: May 2006
Archive: April 2005

Contact Arar at arar[at]asianamericanx[dot]com