Yearly Playlists and Yunasa

Every winter, my dad and I send an invitation to over 50 exclusively selected music-loving family and friends. The challenge: pick one song released from the current year for our collection: Project Mixtape.

My Natural ‘Mom Vibe’

Apparently, I have a natural “mom vibe.” On my volleyball team, I am team mom in every way. As a natural worrier, I like to make sure that everyone has all of their necessities: knee pads, water bottle, hair elastic, uniform.

Being Small

February 4th, 2015: one of the happiest days of my life.

Greek Culture

Efstratios George Papageorgakis. My name comes from an ancient and tranquil Greek island in the middle of the tempestuous Aegean Sea.

Relationship to Japanese Identity

The new name I want to give myself is the Japanese name, Ryou. Japanese names can have a variety of meanings, depending on the kanji one chooses, but the meaning I like for the name Ryou is “dragon.”

Introversion

Here’s how most conversations used to go for me: Just say something. Now. Wait, nevermind. Now. Come on, just say it! And when I finally gathered enough courage, the conversation was over.

Superpowers

When I was a little girl, I imagined I had superpowers. Deadly lasers would shoot from my eyes pulverizing the monsters hiding under my bed. Mom would wonder where I had magically disappeared to after I turned invisible as she forced me to eat that plate of broccoli. It was the wish I made on every birthday candle and upon every bright star.

Competition Trish

For the first three years of high school, I spent most of my time being Just Trish.

I Swear I’m Hispanic

For some reason, most people associate “Hispanic” or “Latina” with thick-accent-bearing, huge-family-having, fiery bombshells. With English that easily passes as American and an aversion to anything Spandex, I am the opposite. I am an introvert in a family of three who was born and raised in Argentina.

Bangladeshi Culture

January, 2003: A labor of love in foreign, unfamiliar territory. I am born, a culmination of my parents’ hopes, dreams, and aspirations. A culmination of the growing Bangladeshi diaspora.

Silence

I like science. When everything is quiet, I am able to organize the waterfall of thoughts of which, using simple words, I rarely can express a droplet.

Economics

My grandparents fled Pakistan to India amidst the joy and mayhem of the 1947 partition. As they created new lives and pursued educations in engineering, they found stability and hope. Ever since, all twenty-two members of my father’s family inherited the gene for studying engineering.