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Cooking/Baking
Spending much of my day in front of a desk and computer makes me appreciate hands-on activities. Cooking and baking give me that creative outlet. I love challenging myself with new recipes—often ones I discover on YouTube—because it’s exciting to experiment and learn through trial and error. I’m especially drawn to East Asian cuisine—Chinese, Japanese, and Korean—but I’m also open to Western dishes. One of my favorite moments is when friends taste my cooking and tell me it’s delicious.
Biking/Hiking
I’ve been riding a bike regularly, whether for commuting to school, getting to work, or simply running everyday errands like grocery shopping. Even when traveling, I enjoy renting bikes—like Citi Bike—to explore new places at my own pace. It’s been both a regular form of exercise and a way to clear my mind. A complex problem has found its solution—or a fresh idea has popped into my mind—during or after a ride.
On the other hand, hiking is something I turn to when I need a reset. Standing at the peak and taking in the view always puts my worries into perspective, reminding me how small they are in the grand scheme of things.
Blogging
As a researcher—and a writer—I record brief reflections drawn from conversations with others, observations at conferences, insights from books, or random ideas that pop up during the day. Since my first year of graduate school in 2019, I have maintained a blog on the Korean portal Naver. This practice has resulted in more than 400 posts, serving as a personal archive of ideas and moments that might otherwise be forgotten. Looking back on them reminds me how much I’ve grown.
In my blog, I also share knowledge from my coursework and provide practical information on topics such as graduate school applications, moving abroad, and daily life in the United States. One day, I hope to turn these pieces into a book—part advice, part stories—about surviving (and even enjoying) the PhD journey.
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