4. Galapagos Sea Lions 2026

Madison Ho Week 1: My Achilles Heel - 08/26 [9:15PM] Cheeky smiles that dissolve into fits of giggles and a notorious lack of awareness when it comes to volume level are arguably my most notable traits. That has been the facet of me other people have perceived for years —egregiously loud and wildly unfiltered in nature —and really, I find it hilarious. There is no doubt that I am, in fact, shameless ;  I would even go as far as to say that it is a source of pride, and I flaunt it proudly! After all, being loud is second nature to me. It always has been. But just like how Achilles’ heel was his sole weakness, speaking Mandarin Chinese was mine. To this very day, there is still NOTHING more mortifying than speaking that accursed language. I dropped out of Chinese school in third grade on account of feeling my life force siphon out my body every time I was greeted with those matted floors and dim, flickering lights. This isn’t to say I hate my heritage, but it was a point of ridicule...

  A language can be a divisive feature of a nation's identity. For example, Hindi is a major language of India and a hallmark of the nation's identity. However, the inhabitants of the Southern state of Tamil Nadu speak Tamil. There have been many incidents of violence in this state of India as a result of the Hindi language's rising authority. The first incident began in 1937 with the Indian National Congress making Hindi the offical language of Madras. After winning the Madras election the Indian National Congress created legislation that mandated the teaching of Hindi in secondary educational institutions. This prompted pushback from the Tamil people as they felt that Hindi didn’t represent them as a language. They felt that, similar to Bangladesh in 1971, the northern Indians were trying to dominate and imperialize control over South India. Together the Self-Respect Movement and the Justice Party capitalized on the pushback against Hindi. We also saw women’s organization...