Kaliyah Dorsey

I realized that spending a lot of time alone, coupled with the stress of academics, can foster loneliness even in those who like alone time. This means you might not feel as happy as you might have in high school or on vacation. 

I am surrounded every day by high-achieving students at what is often coined “the social Ivy,” which means that vulnerability isn’t high on anyone’s list of priorities, though almost everyone has to have struggled juggling social, personal, and academic expectations. 

The art of being black at a predominantly white institution isn’t always pretty. 

I’ve experienced the stress, even in my first semester, of thinking about majors in terms of potential income first and passion second.

It is your right, and this is what Laymon teaches me, to own your life.

I’m not just saying that the people with the most power neglect the narrative of the black girl, though they do. I’m saying that we, as a society, fail to take black girlhood seriously.

On FaceTime with a friend from high school, right after an Instagram official couple post on my part, she teased me, “What happened to ‘I hate labels, relationships are a burden, freshman year is for the girls’ Kaliyah?”