The pursuit of perfection
Heart trembling on tongue, I shatter the still silence of perfection, admitting aloud for the first time what I had never dared to say.
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Instructions on Building a Home: A personal essay
An Armenian diasporan reflects on intergenerational trauma
I have been ripped out of nothing and tossed into a new world. The smooth arch of my eyebrow, the bump of my nose, the earthy tones of my skin proclaim a wealthy heritage of people crossing rivers and oceans to reach America. Their beauty is mapped onto my body
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‘Agents for change’: The intersection of Armenian feminism and Instagram
Translation note: The image above reads “My love shall break your patriarchy” in Armenian. While feminist strands of thought have always existed in the Armenian community, the stigmatization of feminism that I have witnessed within Armenian culture has barred feminist ideas from mainstream dialogue. As an Armenian woman growing up
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Love, Actually: A Valentine’s celebration of friendship
My time at UC Berkeley has slowly chipped away at this vision, of the lover with the boombox who holds the answers to my life’s questions. Yet for me, the vision has been replaced with something more glorious, something I never would have dreamed of.
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To name a lily
Evolutions of my name and identity in the wake of the Armenian diaspora
My mother named me after her favorite flower, the lily. Hoping to blend the English word with an Armenian pronunciation, she invented a new name, “Lillian” (pronounced “lee-lee-yan”), an innovative manner of bridging together the two languages to create something new.
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Just in time: A personal essay
I am obsessed with time. The ticking of the clock is constantly in my ear, and I am always racing, always behind, fighting to fill up each moment with contributions and accomplishments and meaning.
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A liberated perspective: Armenian nationalism and the female body
While this essay will not catalyze global change or end the devastating Naghorno-Kharabagh conflict, it is a step in my personal journey to define my relationship with my Armenian heritage, to reconcile my desire for a liberated Armenian people with my fierce feminism.
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‘Speak…and be proud:’ On lesser-known language classes at UC Berkeley
Though these classes are incredibly important to cultural preservation and maintaining campus diversity, they have not been prioritized because of their low visibility and perceived lack of practical value.
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