Blog

Look At Me When I’m Talking to You”: Why Phone Bans Fail and What to Do Instead

I get why some people roll their eyes at yet another adult talking about phones. So let’s start with music, not school. Artists from Adele to Bob Dylan have tried “no-phone” shows, and Sabrina Carpenter recently said she’s seriously considering it after experiencing the difference at a Silk Sonic concert.……
From Passive Consumers to Active Shapers: Technology’s Second Chance

We’ve made so much “progress” that we can now order food, learn, and work without ever seeing another person. But is that really true progress or just convenience that erodes our humanity and quality of life? We’ve traded a handful of close friends for thousands of followers—and feel lonelier than……
Safe to Break, Ready to Ship

I hired a newbie handyman to replace five faucet fixtures. He and I both assumed he knew what he was doing. Nothing leaked before. That night, every sink he touched started dripping. Three callbacks and extra parts later, the total bill far exceeded what a licensed plumber’s—plus the time and……
If I’m Not a 4.0, Who Am I?

“Kids are so occupied with not disappointing anyone that they don’t have the luxury to find out who they really are.”— Caitlyn Wang, founder of the nonprofit curaJOY Asian tweens and teens—whether in the U.S. or abroad—are exposing themselves to mental health risk factors with lifelong consequences, often hidden behind……
Anxiety 101

Anxiety can be really debilitating. It’s all in your head, but you know what your head controls? Literally everything else. Want to know more about Read More about Anxiety 101
All In or Half Out? The Mindset That Shapes Your Life

What’s going right in your life, right now? It’s a question we asked at curaJOY’s full team meeting this week. The answers came with some hesitations. It was just an icebreaker, but I suspect that my audience was unsure whether the answer needed to be a indirect boast/pitch–as if scanning……
Optimizing Learning Outcomes and Career Pathways for Students with Learning Differences

For students with learning differences, the journey through education and into a fulfilling career can be daunting. While traditional educational frameworks often struggle to meet the needs of these learners, we have the power to change that. To optimize both learning outcomes and career pathways for students with learning differences,……
The Newest Buzzword (Part 1)

This story takes place several months ago back when school was still on going. So I was sitting with my friends’ friend group (I say this because although I was friends with some of the guys on the table, most of them were just friends of my friends), when the……
The Missing Middle

This July, during the launch of curaJOY’s Impact Fellowship, I had a sobering realization. These were some of the brightest high school and college students we had ever worked with—motivated, passionate, and full of ideas. Yet, many had never written a research paper. Few had been asked to conduct original……
curaJOY helps adapt behavioral healthcare to different cultures

“The real danger is not that computers will become like humans, but that humans will be treated like computers.” – Sydney Harris OR another one-liner I’d like to state – “The real challenge with AI isn’t making it intelligent, but making it understand people the way we understand each other.”……
Check In. Learn to See. Live Better.

To kick off the summer, I took my daughters to explore sprawling underground caves and dive into cenotes on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. The wildlife and natural beauty were surreal—hypnotic limestone caverns connected by clear underground rivers that Batman would envy—the eerie stillness of magnificence formed from meteorites when dinosaurs still……
Blobfish of Stress

Hello! Sorry for the long pause in between blog posts! I’ve been busy with AP Testing and SAT. Oh dear, the SAT. That was challenging. By completing the SAT, I had finally checked a major assignment off my to do list. I had prepared to take this test for months,……