The Cavalier Daily
Serving the University Community Since 1890

Life Column


Life

An open letter to the Rotunda

It’s been indescribably painful to be without you for this long. Since you’ve been gone, I‘ve had to follow random Instagram accounts in order to make up for my incredibly dull feed.


Life

Personal meaning behind the hijab

Recently, there was an article in The Cavalier Daily describing how fellow student Attiya Latif brought World Hijab Day to Grounds. While it was a well-written article, something about it bothered me — the hurtful comments.


Life

Resisting adulthood

While several people are panicking over the unforgivable sacrilege of being single on Valentine’s Day, I am panicking over turning 21 shortly thereafter.


Life

Open hearts, empty shoeboxes

Valentine’s Day in elementary school is blissfully simple. You spend one afternoon covering a shoebox you brought from home with lopsided red and pink construction paper hearts, then circle around the classroom stuffing one Peanut’s themed slip of paper — with a Hershey’s Kiss taped to the bottom if your mom was feeling really generous — into each classmate’s box, no questions asked.


Life

The Duke of death

Nothing reminds me there’s still evil in the world quite like the Duke game. This year’s lineup, in particular, embodied everything despicable about Duke.


Life

Road tripping

Last week I embarked on a grand adventure to the land where dreams become reality — no, not the Corner following midterms — Walt Disney World.


Life

Where do we go from here?

Last Thursday night, 150 Charlottesville community members and I attended a panel on race relations and community development, held in reaction to the events in Ferguson, Missouri.


Life

Choosing happiness

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when I began to singlehandedly dismantle my own self-confidence. Beginning somewhere near the beginning of fall semester, I fell into a debilitating routine of insecurity and systematic self-doubt—triggered by no one specific event, I somehow convinced myself I was failing as a student, as a friend, as a writer and person. It’s strange how no one really talks how transitioning into your second year at the University can be hard.


Life

Stop building me up, buttercup

One evening at the end of summer, my three best friends and I were parked in our usual spot outside the ice cream parlor, listening to the final notes of “Build Me Up Buttercup” fade into an uncomfortable silence.


Life

Faux-paw

How do you tell someone you have three cats without sounding like a lonely spinster? Not possible. These days, being a cat person is not trendy.


Life

Why the rush?

Because it’s over, I think I’m permitted to confess to the world how at the start of the experience, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when it came to sorority rush.


Life

The curse of the University

Yesterday, my suitemate walked into my room inquiring about unofficial transcripts. When I asked why she needed to know, she replied, “I’m applying for a couple of government internships and a transcript is required.” Shocked by her tone of indifference, my reply went something like, “So, you’re applying for a government internship...that would put you in the government...like the U.S.


Life

Tortured artist

I don’t read for pleasure nearly as much as I should. Last semester, most of my time was spent leafing through textbooks, course packs or required classics, so I could argue that I simply didn’t have the time.


Life

Learning to think

For a long time, I felt area requirements were a punishment for my incompetence—a painful reminder of my place at the bottom of the University’s food chain of intelligence—and deserved to suffer. During my first year, I spent a countless number of hours redrafting my schedule for the next seven semesters – trying desperately to find ways in which I could squeeze in all of the requirements without sacrificing the more “important” classes.


Life

The myth of preparation

I am thankful the lights are incredibly dim in Boylan; the darkness hides my crimson-flushed face after I was royally called out for being a know-it-all. I was catching up with friends on my first night back at the University, when the conversation turned to the Barnes Art Collection in Philadelphia and a class my friend took on Dutch Masters.

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Latest Podcast

All University students are required to live on Grounds in their first year, but they have many on and off-Grounds housing options going into their second year. Students face immense pressure to decide on housing as soon as possible, and this high demand has strained the capacities of both on and off-Grounds accommodations. Lauren Seeliger and Brandon Kile, two third-year Cavalier Daily News writers, discuss the impact of the student housing frenzy on both University students and the Charlottesville community.