academic

Blog posts specifically discussing academic concepts/thoughts. Includes essays, writing, philosophic ramblings.

academic

Literary Commentary

Psychology
writing || Flying Purple People Eater: Spiritual Regression in “My Father’s Garden” | IB HL English Paper One Commentary
This was my [IB, HL English, Paper 1, mock-exam] commentary essay on the poem “My Father’s Garden” by David Wagoner. In my class, we wrote this as our official midterm exam, and were given two hours. I was proud of the product so I decided…

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Literary Commentary

Psychology
writing || Charisma, Love and Psychology | 4AM Coffee-Induced Thoughts
Couldn’t fall asleep Friday night because I drank a Brazilian Hazelnut Latte Espresso (gotta try new things right?) around 5pm so… this happened. If you want to skip to the good stuff: Lots of me talking about things and getting distracted by other things (1:00)…

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academic

Philosophy
writing || The Postmodern Problem: A Critique of Postmodernism in Politics
This essay was largely inspired by Jordan Peterson and the many controversies happening recently in Canada. It was written for my politics class, but when I started working on it I realized that I wasn’t producing or saying what I wanted to given the format…

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academic

Philosophy
writing || The Problems with Affirmative Action
This was a short essay for my grade 12 politics class. It had to be about a controversial topic, so I chose affirmative action and argued against it. Equality for everyone – regardless of race, sex, appearance, ability, and social status is perhaps the largest…

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academic

Literary Commentary

Psychology
writing || Human Virtues and the Meaning of Life: Rousseau vs. Frankl
I’ve had “Discourse on the Arts and Sciences” by Jean-Jacques Rousseau on my “currently reading” shelf for the longest time, and just a few weeks ago I had a little reading inspiration so I decided to finish it. Turns out I only had several pages…

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academic

Philosophy

Psychology
writing || Wow: “Nation” by Terry Pratchett
Just finished reading “Nation” by Terry Pratchett! It’s a 5-star in my Goodreads! But before I start talking about it, here’s its Goodreads synopsis: Synopsis Alone on a desert island — everything and everyone he knows and loves has been washed away in a storm…

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academic

Philosophy

Psychology
writing || The Media and our Mental Health: Solutions to our Consumption Culture
A few weekends ago, I decided to try a social media blackout. Not for any particular reason but to see how it’d feel. Like many others, I too am addicted to my phone, social media, the constant pings that reach out to me from distances…

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academic

Literary Commentary
writing || Thoughts on “My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King” by Reymundo Sánchez
Synopsis Looking for an escape from childhood abuse, Reymundo Sanchez turned away from school and baseball to drugs, alcohol, and then sex, and was left to fend for himself before age 14. The Latin Kings, one of the largest and most notorious street gangs in…

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academic

History
writing || The Question of Government: The Case for Parliament
(Written last year, re-published here) Last year, we learned about World War 2 in my Canadian History class, and had an assignment to write an argumentative essay on a chosen topic. I chose one that was both interesting and could provide me with lots to learn…

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Writing 50k words in ONE month: National Novel Writing Month 2022 Prep Vlog + Goal Setting + Events

I’m participating in NaNoWriMo this year! National Novel Writing Month is a worldwide, virtual writing event during the month of November during which hundreds of thousands of people around the world set one goal for themselves: to write 50,000 words (a novel) in a month. That’s 1,667 every day. I first did Camp NaNoWriMo twice…

by Ioana November 1, 2022November 1, 2022

“Company” on Broadway in NYC

We decided to make our first night in New York City a Broadway night. I’m so glad we ended up choosing the musical “Company”… it completely blew me away! The story opens on the 35th birthday of Bobby, a bachelorette whose friends are all married couples. We then get to see vignettes of each couple’s…

by Ioana July 25, 2022October 22, 2022

what it means to be your own friend (feat. my last bathroom selfie in Goodes Hall)

Earlier today I took what will likely be my last bathroom selfie in Goodes Hall. (Hopefully in equal part because I’ll grow out of it and because I’m about to graduate from undergrad. 😋) Isn’t it an amazing feeling to be fascinated by an area of study? The utter excitement that comes along with it!…

by Ioana April 26, 2022August 17, 2022

ioana.pitu