Shuge Luo

I was in limbo: My pre-college friendships had drifted, while my college friendships were still young seedlings, emergent and growing.

But now, I know that what is more important than being a good writer is to just be real. This is my mind and life: choppy, raw, inundated with detours and frolics, laughter and tears.

I’ve never thought of design as an organizational process, but it makes sense when I stop to think about it. We need to place elements in the most intuitive space so that they can be the most functional.

That is how I'm thinking about art more and more nowadays. An audience of a few, even if it’s just me, is enough.

I forgot why I bought a $79 bike at Walmart in spring 2018. Nobody knows what prompted that decision, but something in my heart just said, “Let’s give it a try.”

In my Osprey backpack, I spot a journal filled with my messy scribbled notes and the trace of a squished mosquito.

It’s not always about going faster. Slowing down meant I heard the swaying grass, noticed the colorful beetle and had ample breath to converse with my crew.

For me, food is so much more than nutrition that fuels my body. Food is sensuality, it’s home and belonging, it’s community and gratitude, it’s textures and play.

You don't just hear the drumming; you feel it viscerally through your body. The vibrating gym floors dance in cadence and you feel the music spreading through your feet.

Reading closely is about creating a more pleasurable experience for yourself. I compared it to eating more mindfully — chewing slowly, feeling the texture, noticing the colors and smelling the scent.