Dear Reader, This year, I was fortunate enough to spend Thanksgiving in the company of some very interesting people. Growing up, for me Thanksgiving has always been about spending time with family— clearly my upbringing on this front was not unique. However, times change, people move away, and others pass on. Now, as a twenty-something-year-old... Continue Reading →
A Case of Misplaced Expectations
Dear Reader, Murder-mystery dinners look a whole lot classier on TV. Not too long ago, I had the great dis-/pleasure of experiencing one of these classic events in person. To understand the mixed feelings that I’m hinting at, allow me to premise with the following. When I hear the term “dinner show,” images of people... Continue Reading →
500 Posts and Counting!
Dear Reader, This is my 500th post on CuriousWordsBlog.com! That is all. Love, Raven Kidding! But wow! 500 posts — what a journey it has been! For those of you who don’t know, CuriousWordsBlog.com was born out of a personal challenge, simply — publish one blog post every day for 365 days. At first, this whole... Continue Reading →
When in Suburbia
Dear Reader, Are you a city person? Although I grew up in the suburbs, when I moved to Boston for grad school, I found my new urban surroundings to be a natural fit. Now, having lived in a city for 5+ years, whenever I go home to visit family, I low-key experience culture shock. There... Continue Reading →
The Myth About Alcohol
Dear Reader, I'm going to let you in on a little secret — they want you to think a few after-work drinks is normal. There is practically a TV trope of the working adult coming home in the evening and cracking a beer/ sipping a glass of wine/ mixing a martini. Our culture is low-key in... Continue Reading →
After the Best Four Years
Dear Reader, Just shy of a decade ago, I was in college taking classes. Today, I’m in graduate school taking classes. Not much has changed, right? On the contrary, so much has changed! I feel great now and am (kind of, probably) “better” now than I was as an 18-to-22-year-old. Some things just get better... Continue Reading →
A Morning Creature Once More
Dear Reader, There is something magical about the early morning. In Spanish there is a curious word that describes the period of darkness in the wee hours before sunrise. This word “madrugada” does not have an exact English translation but means “early morning.” Back in 2019, I wrote a similar post about the perks of... Continue Reading →
Off to the Races (Part 2)
Dear Reader, I write this post to you in a mild state of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), as I have just completed my first (and last) half marathon the day before. (See here for part 1 of this post.) If a half marathon is an iceberg, the training is everything beneath the water and... Continue Reading →
Off to the Races (Part 1)
Dear Reader, As a child, writing and running were two things that I despised. Today, in apparent betrayal of the small human I used to be, I will blog about my half-marathon journey. Have any of you run a half-marathon? I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that… it’s a (half-)marathon, not a sprint….... Continue Reading →
Keeping Beauty, New England
Dear Reader, Photos capture memories. Once when I was studying abroad, a friend of mine said “let’s not take a picture, let’s just live in the moment.” Maybe he was just annoyed with all the camera clicking or maybe he really thought a moment not documented was richer —I’m not sure, however, I did not... Continue Reading →