Raven Sinclair's Blog
March 2, 2023
[Review] Adultery by Paulo Coelho
Dear Reader,
They ask what the problem is. We say that everything is fine, but it’s not … Everything is awful.
Have you ever found your thoughts miring in such a dismal place? These are the musings of Linda, a well-to-do journalist, wife, and mother in Switzerland. From an outsider’s perspective, Linda appears to have it all, yet she is unhappy. In fact, she is clinically depressed.
Paulo Coelho’s Adultery (originally printed in Portuguese) is a simple story — a woman considers committi...
January 28, 2023
Who Shot Alexander Hamilton?
Dear Reader
I recently saw the musical Hamilton and naturally, I’m chockablock with opinions. I had, of course, heard of Hamilton long before Lin Manuel Miranda’s brainchild exploded onto the scene in 2015 (I mean Hamilton is on the $10 bill after all).
My first real introduction to Alexander Hamilton was in my eighth-grade U.S. history class. In the discussion of the Revolutionary War, our teacher introduced the country’s first Treasurer to us through a piece of now-historical pop culture...
January 14, 2023
Should I Travel to Europe in the Winter?
Dear Reader
If you’re looking for flight deals to Europe, a good bet would be to check out dead-of-winter, not-around-the-holidays dates. However, as you hover your cursor over the “buy now” button, you may think to yourself — is it even worth it to travel to Europe in the winter? The answer, as it is for most subjective matters in life is — well, that depends.
Paris, FranceIn weighing the costs and benefits, traveling to Europe in the winter does indeed have many pros.
Pros:
...January 7, 2023
I Actually Went to My 10-Year High School Reunion
Dear Reader
How much does 10 years really change a person? I just had the pleasure of attending my 10-year high school reunion, and while life situations have changed in a number of ways, the people — have not.
I was quiet and awkward in high school, but I benefited from a close friend group and participation in a handful of engaging extracurriculars. I knew from the issuance of the first Facebook invitation that the 10-year reunion was something that I would attend (even though the prospe...
December 24, 2022
Hello Again
Dear Reader,
I haven’t written here in a long while and there isn’t a very good reason for this unexpected pause. To put what I’m saying into context, I should first explain that I started this blog in 2019 and published posts daily for a full year. After that, I slowly tapered off in intensity (writing every other day, every two days, three, etc.) until just a few weeks ago when I just stopped….
The reason that I say I stopped blogging for no reason is because all the “reasons” that I sto...
October 29, 2022
[Review] The Psychology of Money
Dear Reader,
There is a short list of books that made my head spin in the best of ways (listed at the bottom of the post) — The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel is now on it.
The beauty of The Psychology of Money is in the way that it’s told. Upfront, Housel informs the reader that the main points of the book come from an article. Housel takes the core lessons and tells them through a series of short stories. I would recommend this book above other popular finance books because the sto...
October 24, 2022
El Salvador: The Good, The Bad, and The Complicated
Dear Reader,
El Salvador is a beautiful country but, I’ll be straight with you, it’s not in the best shape. By learning about Latin America in my college courses, I have become familiar with the migration situation, drug trafficking, and poverty. However, actually visiting a location is a whole other education.
I recently took a long weekend solo vacation to El Salvador. I experienced a few bumps along the way with my trip (more here) but altogether, I had a good time. Regardless, I was le...
October 19, 2022
Wait! You’re Going All By Yourself??
Dear Reader,
Today, I am writing to you from the “small but beautiful” Central American country of El Salvador. I use quotes here because that description was provided to me years ago by a maintenance woman at my graduate student dormitory, as she discussed her home country with me.
I am in El Salvador on my own, which has given me time to relax (the intended purpose of the trip) and ponder my life and happiness (the unintended coincidence of inhabiting my brain and being left alone in a f...
October 15, 2022
El Salvador? I Hear It’s Beautiful This Time of Year
Dear Reader,
As I approach the immigration line at the Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador, a man with a migración badge asks me for my pasaporte. I pat my crossbody bag (read: my fanny pack worn as a purse) and to my dismay, I realize that the hard, familiar rectangular presence is there no longer. Mierda.
I quickly do an about face and take the elevator up one floor to where passengers are still disembarking from the plane. I attempt to reboar...
October 11, 2022
Arcade, Bar, Speakeasy Dreamboat
Dear Reader,
Is it worth the hype? That’s the question I kept asking myself as more than one person talked up Cambridge’s A4cade. What is A4cade (probably pronounced “arcade”)? It’s a speakeasy-style, club-bar, arcade joint that has fancy cocktails and gooey grilled cheese sandwiches. That sentence alone is enough to entice me, but what is A4cade really like?
A stone’s throw from Massachusetts Institute of Technology lies a little grilled cheese joint called Roxy’s. Roxy’s started out as a...
