Ignorance is all around us, but some have the privilege not to look for it. What happens when you don't get that privilege? For starters, little things like people calling me Maya instead of Maylah stick out to you, but you also notice bigger things like someone being treated differently because of their race. In this episode, I cover where ignorance originates from, what it looks like, why it's so dangerous, and ways you can change your behavior and help end the cycle.

Over spring break, I took a trip to breezy Massachusetts instead of going to the beach... But I still had fun touring colleges (including Harvard--whattt?!). While touring colleges, I thought about how competitive college admissions are this year, and that became the inspiration for this episode. I discuss my takeaways from touring colleges, the admissions cycle, and the self-comparison and academic validation that arises from competitive college culture.

(English starts at 1:42) In this week's episode, I go into a deep dive on my stories and experiences learning German, as well as my personal opinions on the difficulties of the German language and similarities between German and other languages. I also share tips for increasing fluency in a foreign language. Speaking German for a few minutes was very fun, and hopefully any German-speaking listeners can understand me!

All of my people-watching experience combine into this episode. What are signs someone likes you (or doesn't), is engaged in a conversation (or isn't), or is annoyed with you? I list all of these things as well as some of my favorite --and funniest--stories relating to people.

I need a glass of water after making this episode, but I don't regret it because this topic was super interesting to talk about. I basically give my two cents over everything relating to influencers-- the appeal of it all, pros & cons of being an influencer, my 5 second claim-to-fame, and what sets an influencer up for success. 

Education: the most important thing a person can have. Today, I cover everything related to education, including why education is so valuable, the impacts of adding a price tag to knowledge, and how everyone--even you listening--has a secret passion for something in the arts. 

The movie La La Land has made me fall in love with playing piano again, and I've recently realized the benefits of playing an instrument, which I share with you in this week's episode. I also discuss the phenomenon of "muscle memory" when playing an instrument, my personal piano journey, and my very own theories on La La Land. (PS: the AEIB website is coming soon!)

I'm back from a well-needed break, and in this episode I expound on the idea that it is impossible to have just one passion, even if we think we do. Accepting there is no set path or perfect occupation that encompasses all of our passions is a valuable lesson to learn. Additionally, I touch on careers: reasons for choosing one, and how our passions change with time-- and our careers should too. (I didn't think to mention this during the episode, but the movie The Intern is a good example of this belief!)

Welcome back to this mini-series, "A Collection of Thoughts", where I speak about a plethora of topics on my mind. Topics included in this episode are pretty privilege, the butterfly effect, long term exposure to social media, the look good, feel good/feel good, look good mindsets, and what if mirrors never existed? (not in that order). As always, enjoy the variation in subject matter!

I've made an episode discussing the addictive side of technology and our phones, but I've never really talked about the other, more indirect ways technology impacts our lives. That was my goal of today's episode. Technology affects aspects of our lives we don't even think about-- like recording a concert or using our phones at a family dinner-- because of how normalized it's become. The 21st century and 20th century may be close to each other in terms of time, but in terms of how people's everyday lives were, they are very different. Who is (in part) responsible? The very device you are listening to this episode on.