Mirror Asks

Editors' Note

Dartmouth students live in 10-week cycles. The start of a term is always exciting — fresh classes and activities make Dartmouth feel new again, even if you’re in your fifth consecutive on term. By week three or four, club meetings, social events and midterms all settle into a steady rhythm. But in the blink of an eye, finals arrive. Weeks eight through 10 flash by, then the whole cycle begins again.

On Employability

This week in my Business French class, we have mock interviews with real French professionals. We spent last week learning how to craft our resumes and cover letters in French, and now our fluency is getting put to the test. I’m pretty nervous for the interview, for the obvious reason that it is in a language I’ve only studied for three terms. Beyond the language barrier, though, these mock interviews have me thinking about something else: what it means to be “employable.”

On Baking and Breaking Bread

“Et tu, Maggie?” I asked myself after taking my first batch of cookies out of the oven. Google searches for “bread” have more than doubled since the pandemic started. I’m sure that you, like me, have been flooded with Instagram stories of banana bread, friends’ new baking accounts or one of the 168,000 and counting #quarantinebaking posts on Instagram. And as with any good cultural movement, everyone channeling their inner Barefoot Contessa has spurred a counterculture of Twitter humor mocking quarantine bakers.   

Creative Workarounds: Students Plan Careers in Crisis

I hesitate before I open DartBoard. Navigating the present is hard enough, and grappling with an uncertain future is daunting. Clicking the center of the DartBoard bullseye, I see “Attention!” written in bold, bright red letters at the top of the screen. I brace for bad news. We all know these announcements too well now: The COVID-19 notices on Instagram and Facebook and the popup panels on websites always bear unsettling information. But this one is different. Beneath “Attention!” I read, “Seeking a job or internship? These sites are sharing new postings daily.”

Return, Departure and the Fear of Being Well-Rounded

It’s a little early in my academic career for me to be writing a reflection piece about choosing my major. I’ve only been a Dartmouth student for two-and-a-half terms, and I just submitted my first D-Plan. But strangely, it feels like I’ve been in the process of choosing my major for years. 

Oh, The Places You'll Stay

COVID-19 put an end to spring and summer study abroad programs. Dartmouth students who once dreamed of wandering through Tokyo or Toulouse now dream of leaving the house. For the Class of 2019, 42 percent of students participated in a language study abroad or foreign study program. In light of the pandemic, that percentage seems destined to go down for current students. But a handful of students already know that they will not be part of that statistic  — pandemic or not.

Editors' Note

Decisions we make in quarantine are very different from the ones we make in normal life. A question like, “What will I wear to class today?” has simplified to “Which old pajama T-shirt will I put on?” And deciding whether to wear jeans or sweatpants has become a no-brainer. On the other hand, quarantine has also made some of the most menial deliberations seem more important. Suddenly, the choice between eating cornflakes and Cap’n Crunch for breakfast has become a 20-minute debate, ending with you deciding to dish out both. 

On "Knowing Everyone"

Sometimes, it’s a question: “How do you know so many people?” Other times, it’s an exclamation: “You know everyone!” Whatever the exact wording is, it’s something I’ve heard again and again. I’ll be with a friend, perhaps passing through the library or getting food, and I’ll bump into some people I know. I’ll say “hi,” and afterward, the friend I’m with will inevitably make some kind of comment.

TTLG: The Way The Cookie Crumbles

Sometime around my Webkinz and Limited Too phase of the early 2000s, I developed a strong belief in the power of fortune cookies. I swore by them.

The Weight of this Time: Creating in Isolation

There is a small portrait of William Shakespeare stuck to my computer, mustachioed and smiling under the sunglasses drawn onto his face. “Today is the day,” I tell Shakespeare every morning when I sit down at my desk. “Today is the day I make you proud!” 

Mask On, Mask Off: Fashion in a COVID World

What do pearls, fake Gucci, Baby Yoda, Billie Eilish and Donald Trump all have in common? They’re all plastered across face masks, which — as more states mandate their usage — we can only assume are here to stay.

Max’s Declassified Quarantine Survival Guide

As I sprint down the untamed grassy hill, I take a nervous look at the road below — people are looking for me, and I don’t know where they are. I’m more anxious than ever, but I know my friends have my back. The sun is blaring, and I’m utterly exhausted. The intensity builds, and all the anxiety, nervousness and exhaustion comes closing in on me. Then suddenly, right when I reach the tipping point, all that weight disappears, and I get the best news I’ve gotten in a while: “Warzone Victory.”

Editors' Note

Well, here we are: week six of spring term, and week eight or so of social distancing. The curve of coronavirus cases may be flattening, but most of us are still exactly where we were a month ago — at home, alone. And by now, isolation feels almost natural. Amid talk of what the post-pandemic world will look like, it seems we’ve already arrived at a “new normal,” even if we hope this normal won’t last for much longer.

Students and Professors Reflect on Plans to Re-open the Economy

Most Dartmouth students deserted campus in mid-March, to the tune of provost Joseph Helble’s “Important Campus Updates.” It seems that almost as suddenly, pleas to re-open the economy have cropped up across the United States. With the nation in the throes of both a public health crisis and an economic and social disaster, Dartmouth students and professors are grappling with the question of recovery — and how to get the timing right.

Dartmouth Dreams of COVID: The Science Behind Vivid Quarantine Dreams

Right now, society is buzzing with talk of crazy dreams. Tales of “quarantine dreams” are all over Twitter, and “i dream of covid,” a blog that compiles submissions of strangers’ dreams, is gaining media attention. People all over the world are reporting more vivid and frequent dreams and nightmares, and Dartmouth students are no different.