The University of Colorado Honors Journal is an interdisciplinary, student-run journal published annually by the Arts & Sciences Honors Program under the supervision of a faculty advisor and the Director of the Honors Program. The Honors Journal presents a collection of works that reflect the utmost talent, diligence, and creativity among undergraduate students at the University of Colorado Boulder. Each year, the Honors Journal combines undergraduate work from all academic fields including but not limited to: art, creative nonfiction, fiction, gender & ethnic studies, humanities, natural sciences, open media, poetry, and social sciences.
Authors whose work is accepted and who publish with The University of Colorado Honors Journal agree to the following terms: 1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all objects that may result in subsequent electronic or print publication or distribution. 2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work. 3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a non-exclusive license, which grants the Journal the right to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions: a. Right of publication in the print format of the journal; b. Right of publication in the online and/or digital format of the journal; c. Right to use in promotional or other journal-related activities, as defined by the journal. 4. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use. 5. The Author represents and warrants that: a. the Work is the Author’s original work; b. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party; c. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher; d. the Work has not previously been published; e. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and f. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter. 6. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content. 11-August-2014
Utilizing Aphantasia to Examine Embodied Cognition in the Visual Modality
This study investigated the role of mental visual imagery in language processing. Specifically, data was collected on participants with and without aphantasia – a condition wherein no mental visual imagery occurs – and their reaction times were compared in a property verification task. In the study, 39 participants (12 with aphantasia, 27 with mental visual imagery) answered a series of true/false questions focused on visual or motor modalities. Sentences were paired, with the Match condition being a visually-embedded sentence (e.g., coins can be metallic) followed by another visually-embedded sentence (e.g., grapes can be purple), and the Mismatch condition being a visually-embedded sentence (e.g., coins can be metallic) followed by a motor-embedded sentence (e.g., tires can be slashed). In the Mismatch condition, participants with intact mental visual imagery were expected to answer the second, motor-embedded sentence slower than the first, visually-embedded sentence (i.e. experience a switching cost). In the Match condition, participants were expected to answer with an equal or faster speed to the second, visually-embedded sentence. Both of these results would’ve been in accordance with past research in the field of linguistic embodied cognition (Pecher et al., 2003). On the other hand, participants with aphantasia were not expected to experience a switching cost in the Mismatch condition, nor a priming effect in the Match condition. Findings showed, however, that no switching costs or priming effects were observed for either group. That being said, a statistically significant reaction time difference overall was found between the Aphantastia and Visual Imagery groups, with the Aphantasia group responding faster than the Visual Imagery group in both conditions. Implications for differences in language processing between these two groups therefore merits further investigation, in order to better understand differences in how language is processed across the population.
Creating a Food Sovereign Maui: Indigenous Land Management and Agricultural Practices
This thesis analyzes individual and community land management strategies and their effects on food accessibility and food sovereignty in Maui County, Hawaii. Through interviews with Indigenous and Local Hawaiians, it strives to highlight their voices while raising awareness of the effects of colonization on food accessibility. Sugar plantations and colonial priorities diverted water resources and reduced access to land, therefore permanently altering the ahupua‘a system. Ongoing agricultural colonialism continues to affect food accessibility and sovereignty in Hawaii. The research finds that community engagement and access to land and water can help strengthen Native Hawaiian culture, language, and food systems and that these three dynamics are interrelated. Establishing community farms with Indigenous land management techniques increases food accessibility in Hawaii. Revitalization of Native Hawaiian culture and the traditional ahupua‘a system can benefit social relationships, environmental resiliency, and physical and cultural health. This research has important implications for food systems in post-colonial landscapes and emphasizes the importance of bottom-up activism for creating sustainable and resilient ecosystems and communities.
The space industry has grown exponentially since the end of the Cold War, and with it, the quantity and quality of commercial space companies. While past space enterprises were undertaken by national governments through joint and individual efforts, commercial space have permeated the industry. In this study, I research whether these commercial companies influence international cooperation in space, hypothesizing that increases in commercial space revenue will lead to fewer positive negotiations over space law. To research this, I analyzed changes in international legislation sentiment (hand coded to reflect sentiment towards international cooperation), dependent upon several variables to measure commercial revenue, including national space budgets, commercial infrastructure and support, commercial space products and services, launch attempts, and military expenditure. I included controls for international cooperation changes due to other causes via proxy variables, aggregate trade per capita and intergovernmental organization membership. The results found that commercial infrastructure and support industries often had a positive relationship with international cooperation, providing evidence against my hypothesis. This provides a foundational insight into the role of commercial space companies in international cooperation and the positive role that they may play.
Equine Assisted Therapy for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Addressing the Tension Between Food Sovereignty and Globalization by Ecological Zone in Bolivia
Through the lasting impacts of colonization, the food-sovereignty framework promoting food justice, has been severely threatened. While Bolivia has taken unique steps to address this concern, globalization has been a tricky system to work with. However, diverse ecological zones present region-specific challenges and opportunities to implement food sovereignty amidst the neoliberal strategies of globalization. This thesis explores the globalization impacts of food sovereignty in the altiplano and lowlands through a comparative case study approach. Each region has cultural and historical similarities, however their ecological regions make their agricultural production and strategies distinct. For this reason, globalization manifests itself differently in each region, and thus, the study highlights the need for region-specific strategies to advance food sovereignty. I argue that each zone’s unique environmental conditions, cultural practices, and historical contexts highlight a need for local context-based approaches to food sovereignty in both the altiplano and the lowlands of Bolivia.
This thesis investigates the governmental factors contributing to ecosystems of domestic innovation for specialized and emerging technology sectors in East Asian economies. The innovation metrics are compiled based on yearly patent data from 2012 to 2023 from the following industries: semiconductor components, digital advanced telecommunications, biotechnology, solar energy components, digital communications, computing technology, fuel cell technology, and artificial intelligence. By creating a viable comparison of multiple East Asian countries, the study employs Poisson and negative binomial regressions to analyze the impact of fiscal and institutional variables. These factors include VAT rates, corruption, business startup costs, and bureaucratic delays. This enabled a cross-model comparison that weighted the per capita data to incorporate smaller nations such as Hong Kong and Singapore. Findings indicate mixed significance for VAT rates and corruption, but highlight significant correlations between innovation outcomes and institutional factors such as startup days and per capita startup costs. The analysis categorizes government interventions into broader schools of thought: Tax and Spend, Market-Driven (Neoclassical), and the Chinese hybrid BT to VAT model, revealing how differing economic strategies influence technological advancement. Country comparisons yielded difficulty in comparing East Asian governments due to the lack of uniformity and China’s economic anomalies. Broadly, the results offer policy implications that underscore the importance of institutional efficiency and cost structures in supporting innovation. Read the full honors thesis: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/hq37vq414
Changes in DODEA: The Impact of Executive Orders
This paper examines DODEAs successes in student academic performance, arguing this success stems from a standard curriculum and college-and-career readiness initiatives, along with a sustained commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Drawing on social efficiency, critical theory, and humanist pedagogy, this analysis demonstrates how culturally responsive practices have supported resilience and achievement among military-connected students. Recent United States executive orders banning DEI-related content, cultural observances, and literature are explored as threats to the success of the DODEA system. By highlighting racial and gender-based achievement gaps, it is argued that educational restrictions stemming from recent executive orders risk eroding DODEA's academic achievements.
Oil on canvas 22" x 28" Heir is an intimate shrine-like arrangement conveying the moral dilemma of starting a family in the future. Rabbit motifs allude to the prototypical family fantasy versus the challenging realities created in the process by expensive and unequally accessible systems in place for parents and the burdens bestowed to some children by virtue of being born in the modern day. What will our children be exposed to and inherit? Does it mean anything if I decide to be the end of the line in my family, as the last member with the option to extend it? I'm not a nihilist, and despite the trials at any given point in human existence, I think it could be more relevant than ever to ask - how ethical will it be to raise kids in the future?
The lazy afternoon rays of the Southern Spanish sun paint the canvas of a street in Sevilla: people dine and sip casually, watching passersby, and the waiters duck in and out of the buildings with full trays, tending to the demands of those enjoying the sun.
This is an original 35mm film photo taken at the Erg Chebbi Dunes in the Sahara Desert of Morocco. The camels stand aligned, diligently carrying their precious human cargo over the golden sandy dunes.
2025 24 x 36 inches Oil on canvas I have been thinking about mothers a lot recently. One year ago, my mom's mom passed away after a multi-year long battle with dementia. Towards the end, there was very little left of my grandma. My mom grasped at anything that reminded her of motherly love — holding her hand, laying in her bed with her, making her laugh. My mom visited her every single Sunday, and occasionally I joined her. I watched my mom come face to face with what would be my worst nightmare. I watched mother-daughter roles reverse, my mom now having to provide care and comfort to her own mom as dementia hijacked her mind. But despite my mom facing this long, drawn out heartbreak, she still showed up every weekend, and sat with her mom and held her hand. This painting, This Look of Love, shows this moment of connection, a shared look between mother and daughter, captured through my eyes. By painting this moment, I contemplate the relationship between mother and daughter, and how that relationship changes as time goes on.
I did an art study of these beautiful (often silly) birds to raise awareness about their endangerment.
These works are a collection of photography of both tropical and North American butterflies. Butterflies have always been very important to me as they represent freedom. This portfolio is meant to represent the freedom associated with going to college.
An artistic interpretation of neural activation of a brain before and after treatment for depression, inspired by real PET scans, brain sketches from Renaissance textbooks, and cell creation during paint pouring.
Artist Statement This piece is titled "Running Out of Time.” I wanted to animate the pressure from society to achieve--which is called the social clock--that women receive unproportionally to men. As Yelnur Shildibekov, PhD wrote in his article Social Clock in Psychology: Definition, Origin & Impact, “The very definition of the social clock dictates implicit societal expectations and puts pressure on individuals to achieve these milestones within a specified time frame” (2024). The reference I used is a still image of Amanda Seyfried in the movie Jennifer’s Body, directed by Karyn Kusama. I used acrylic paint as my medium. The woman in the artwork symbolizes all women suffering under patriarchal societies. Surrounding her are four clocks, three of which are intentionally distorted—one with Roman numerals out of order, another with extra hands, and a third with its numbers flipped upside down. Her gaze is fixed on the only “normal” clock, which represents the pressure on women to conform to what society deems the perfect timeline. In my view, some of the most demanding expectations include marrying and having children relatively early, which often pushes education and career aspirations aside. The distorted clocks represent alternative life paths that diverge from these norms; although they still mark time, their confusing and unsettling designs reflect society’s scorn for those who don’t adhere to traditional gender expectations. The woman’s hair, wrapped and tangled around the clocks, symbolizes the struggle women face when trying to untether themselves from patriarchal constraints. The floating clocks suggest that these social roles are fabricated constructs—made real only through collective belief and behavior. The woman’s expression of apprehension, along with her drained complexion, conveys the emotional and physical exhaustion caused by the pressures surrounding her. Finally, the overlapping of the figures within the tight composition creates a sense of claustrophobia, mirroring the anxiety of feeling as though one is never moving quickly enough to meet societal expectations. There is no best path to choose in terms of this painting. No clock is broken, but the perception of how they’re portrayed clearly implies it. As this painting highlights the struggles of women in a patriarchal society, the change I’d want to make is to give women the same freedom men have to create a life for themselves. In the United States specifically, this is not a change that can be addressed through legislation--the oppression is purely social. Therefore, the only change that can address the issue is a reframing of expectations for women. A change in beliefs enacted worldwide would ensure women are given equal opportunities to pave their way in life, without the ticking clocks of expectations distracting them from their passions.
This was a still life painting, captured from a moment in the famous Nice market in France. Upon entering the market I was immediately struck with the vibrant colors and the eclectic atmosphere. The colors of the fruits, the trinkets, the jams and honey along with the fragrant fresh ocean air and the background chatter of passersby made for an indescribably pleasant moment.
Mechanisms of Transcriptional Regulation in Trisomy 21 and Their Contribution to Elevated Immune Signaling and Inflammation
Down Syndrome, a condition caused by Trisomy 21 (T21), the triplication of human chromosome 21, leads to a variety of phenotypic manifestations that impact human health. Ranging from neurodegenerative diseases to autoimmune conditions, inflammation is a shared factor associated with these comorbidities: trisomic individuals experience heightened, chronic inflammation throughout their development and life. As a means to explore how transcriptional regulation differs between those with and without T21, pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon-gamma (IFNg) was used to perturb T21 and non-T21 cells, and nascent sequencing data was collected after 45 minutes. By comparing gene expression changes and broader activation of pathways, it was concluded that distinct genes separate the T21 and non-T21 response after IFNg perturbation, suggesting that transcriptional regulation may play a role in the distinctive inflammatory levels and comorbidities associated.
The Potential for Pre-Laramide Fault Inheritance in the Livingston Fault, Boulder County, CO
This study focused on the structural geology along a section of the Livingston fault to assess its potential for pre-Laramide fault features. The Livingston fault is one of many northwest-striking faults in the Boulder County area known to be active during the Laramide orogeny (70-50 Ma), but no in-depth mapping has been done since the 1990s. Since then, the knowledge of deformation mechanisms has drastically expanded. A combination of fieldwork and work in the lab was used to map and assess brittle features attributed to the Laramide and potential older features along the fault. Fieldwork involved mapping the extent of brittle deformation and taking measurements of brittle and ductile features and recording kinematic indicators, as well as sample collection. Several samples were prepared into thin sections and analyzed under a petrographic microscope for microstructures. Multiple sites in the study area exhibit mylonitic (ductile) foliation that are older than 70 Ma and likely Precambrian in age. Several of these mylonite zones occurred directly along a north-northwest striking segment of the Livingston fault and are oriented parallel to cataclasite and fault surfaces. Both the brittle and ductile features display variations that cannot be fully explained by the data here, but opens the door for multiple paths of study that would assess regional sense of motion and timing of deformation events. Ultimately this study offers compelling evidence for pre-Laramide fault inheritance along the Livingston fault and highlights a need to revisit faults in the Front Range that have not been studied in depth since the 1990s and investigate the potential for pre-Laramide fault inheritance along them, applying modern knowledge of deformation. Perhaps additional findings may be found and help to answer questions regarding the history of the Front Range and the Rocky Mountains at large, on a variety of timescales.
Exploring the Moderating Role of Socioeconomic Status in the Relationship Between Inflammation and Cognitive Function
This study examines the interaction between inflammation, socioeconomic status (SES), and cognitive performance, focusing on working memory as a key cognitive domain. Using data from the Effects of Stress on Cognitive Aging, Physiology, and Emotion (ESCAPE) project, we investigated the moderating role of both objective and subjective SES in the relationship between C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and working memory performance. The sample consisted of 202 adults aged 25-65 (M = 46.46, SD = 11.08) from Bronx County, New York, with varying levels of SES. Multiple regression analyses revealed that lower subjective SES, as measured by the US ladder, combined with higher CRP levels, was associated with improved working memory performance. This effect was not observed for objective SES indicators, such as income and education. Further analyses explored the moderating roles of age, sex, and ethnicity, revealing that low education and higher CRP were linked to better working memory in younger individuals. However, post-hoc adjustments for multiple comparisons rendered most of these effects non-significant. Additional follow-up analyses showed that high income and low basal cytokines predicted better working memory performance, while low subjective SES combined with low stimulated cytokines predicted better working memory in younger individuals. No significant findings were observed for episodic memory. These results suggest that the relationship between inflammation, SES, and cognitive function is complex and may be influenced by both biological and psychosocial factors.
Approximating Geometry of Unknown Particles from Coupled Brownian Motion in Optical Tweezers
Abstract Optical tweezers are widely used in biophysics to trap and manipulate microscopic particles and enable precise measurements of forces, diffusion, and mechanical properties at the single-particle level. In this project, we modeled the stochastic dynamics of asymmetric particles in optical tweezers using an overdamped Langevin equation that included a full translational-rotational (TR) diffusion tensor. We performed numerical simulations for particles of increasing geometric complexity and reconstructed diffusion tensors from simulated average trajectory data. We compared the reconstructed tensors to the true inputs and computed the resulting estimation error. The simulations showed that increasing particle asymmetry strengthened TR coupling and systematically increased diffusion tensor reconstruction error. These results suggest limitations of diffusion-based inference methods for complex particle geometries and motivate further study of how particle geometry influences stochastic dynamics in confined optical systems. Lay Summary At microscopic scales, particles in a fluid constantly undergo seemingly random movement, called Brownian motion, as they collide with surrounding molecules. Because shape influences drag, and drag determines diffusion, motion should carry geometric information. We therefore asked: Can motion alone be used to determine a particle’s geometry? To investigate this, we built a computational model of a particle confined in an optical tweezer, which is a tightly focused laser beam used to trap microscopic objects. Optical tweezers were recognized with the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics and are widely used in biophysics and medical research to manipulate cells, bacteria, and molecules. They are also widely used in research laboratories such as JILA. By assuming the restoring force increases linearly with distance from the trap center, we were able to isolate how shape influences motion. For a sphere, which is symmetrical in every direction, movement along one axis does not affect movement along another. For more complex shapes, rotation and translation become linked: turning slightly can produce sideways motion. We implemented a model that accounts for both the restoring force and Brownian motion and can be applied to particles of any shape. Using this framework, we simulated shapes based on real bacteria – a sphere, a rod, a comma-shaped form, and a spiral – and tracked motion inside the trap. From trajectories alone, we inferred the component of the particle’s motion determined by its shape and compared it to the values we had built into the model. Our results showed that a particle’s movement contains information about its shape. For simple particles, recovery was accurate. As shapes became more irregular, estimates became less reliable. We also observed a tradeoff introduced by the optical trap: while it confines motion and enables experimental measurement, it also limits the natural motion that reveals geometric differences.
Copyright (c) 2026 Yi Liu, Isaac Godoy, Emily Rush, Lyuna Niemet, Conall McCabe
Using the General Lake Model and Shared Socio-Economic Pathways to Understand Climate Change Impacts on Lake Evaporation
It is critical to understand how climate change will impact our world. Lake evaporation will be impacted by climate change, having large implications on water supply and demand for drinking, irrigation, and recreational water uses. Understanding how lake evaporation changes under different climate change scenarios is critical for proper water management and policy. Using the General Lake Model, I simulated lake evaporation at Standley Lake reservoir in Westminster, Colorado, under four different climate change scenarios using the SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 scenarios for June, July, and August in 2020. In my study, I looked specifically at changes to air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed, which are meteorological variables known to have large impacts on evaporation at the lake surface. These variables were tested individually and then coupled together. I found that with only changes to air temperature, the total evaporation decreased due to the decreasing vapor pressure gradient over the study period; changes to just the relative humidity showed an increase in evaporation between scenarios; and when only wind speed was changed, lake evaporation increased or decreased when wind speed increased or decreased, respectively. When the study variables were coupled together, the total evaporation decreased over the first three scenarios and increased for the last scenario. This points to the change in wind speed being the largest driver of lake evaporation at Standley Lake over the study period and highlights the significance of considering more than just air temperature in future water policy plans and discussions. This study also shows the value in isolating meteorological variables to see the extent of their impact on lake evaporation.
Scaling Undergraduate Research Training: Course Design and AI Innovations in the MCDB SkillsCenter
Undergraduate research experiences are among the most powerful predictors of persistence and identity formation in STEM education. Yet, ironically, access remains limited by faculty time, laboratory resources, and scalability. The MCDB SkillsCenter is a novel course at the University of Colorado, Boulder, targeted at these challenges by combining modular skill-based learning, peer mentorship, and digital infrastructure to make authentic research training accessible to large student populations. Documenting the SkillsCenter’s evolution from a small program into a scalable course, this thesis evaluates its pedagogical foundations, digital footprint, and next phase of innovation through artificial intelligence (AI). At its core, the SkillsCenter is grounded in mastery-based pedagogy, emphasizing iteration, feedback, and agency as drivers of persistence and confidence in scientific training. Between 2021 and 2025, the results depict that enrollment expanded nearly nine times while maintaining individualized mentorship through a peer-proctor system. Meanwhile, the adoption of Microsoft Power Platform cloud infrastructure paved the way for automation of student submission, proctor grading, and micro-credentialing, helping increase certification output from 76 to 575 per semester. Essential feedback cycles between pedagogy and technology also promoted transparency, standardization, and efficiency. Looking at its next innovation, an AI study demonstrated that GPT-5 nano and GPT-5 mini models achieved up to 80% agreement with human evaluators, performing the strongest on objective rubric items. While interpretive assessment remains a limitation, the evidence suggests AI’s capability to increase efficiency as a supplemental tool. Taken together, the SkillsCenter illustrates that authentic undergraduate research training can scale, especially when pedagogy and technology evolve together, creating a transferable framework for expanding equitable research education across STEM.
A poem detailing a struggle with preemptive grief and the speakers consuming and unhealthy coping skills in dealing with the matter.
"Lover of All Things Moon" is a commentary on abusive relationships and their impacts on the body, mind, and soul. It combines notes of nature with elements of religion and time—ultimately describing the translation of grief across time and how it comes to manifest within us.
Navigating the grief a person feels after losing someone close to you and transcending the emotional impact that leaves. This poem explores how grief, guilt, and love materialize after a death.
In Which Two Stoners Watch the End of the World
When the world ends, two friends find themselves in a church with no certainty for their future. While they smoke, they watch reality break and take form.
Often we step into other worlds that might seem mundane when in fact they transcend the rules of reality and morph our perception; house parties in particular allow us to see the world from new eyes.
"On Being Bodiless" is an abstract piece about where our physical states fit into the broader context of the universe, particularly as women, who are bound by finite expectations.
(Structure Of) The North American Disease
Copyright (c) 2026 Loretta Vilar Grandbois
"Me, After" is a commentary on the after-effects of trauma and how it lingers both in the mind and in the body.
"From Cocoon to Nest" is a commentary on coming of age and early addiction.
"Genesis" is a poem that reflects on young adulthood and coming of age and how grief often manifests in nostalgia, in beginnings that were not welcome.
"Shaping a Woman" is an abstract piece about intimate partner violence and how the victims of abusers often enter their relationships unassuming.
"Skeletal" is a reflection on intimate partner violence and how power, or a lack thereof, can reside in our bodies.
"Selene" is a piece that follows the ancient Greek tale of Selene and Endymion. Selene is regarded as the Greek goddess of the moon and requests that her mortal lover, Endymion, be placed in a forever sleep—so that she can visit him nightly as she carries the moon through the sky. "Selene" touches on mortality and fears of abandonment, ultimately describing how relationships can push us to sacrifice our independence.
A found poem based on “London, 1802” by William Wordsworth. Wordsworth, William. Poems, in Two Volumes. 1807. Project Gutenberg, 2005, https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8774/pg8774-images.html
Copyright (c) 2026 Michelle Corinne Mettler
This poem explores the states of hypocrisy within systems of hate and violence.
My poem "Waves" envokes in the societal pressures placed on women. Self-perception and identity are key forces within my piece, portraying the struggle one endures to navigate through the world. Presenting one-self as a picture perfect figure, however that is not them, but what the world perceives them as.
An ode to feathered nostalgia
Burn This Letter is a poetic prose piece framed as a mentor’s letter to an apprentice, detailing the subtle process of moral and spiritual compromise in the life of a modern STEM student. Through six lessons, the Senior Illusionist guides Kodaka in replacing truth with convenience, conscience with optimization, and dreams with curated illusions. The accompanying Artist Statement reveals the poem’s inspiration: the eerie familiarity of self-betrayal dressed as progress, where aestheticizing decay and quarantining aspirations become tools for enduring a life of quiet resignation. This work explores the intersection of ethics, identity, and technology in a world where numbness is mistaken for clarity and drifting for momentum.
A poem about giving parts of yourself away to people until you feel detached from your being because of internal hatred.
This is a poem about my struggles with science and religion. It explores how I learned to accept both in my life instead of feeling the need to pick and the questions I asked along the way.
"The Quiet Victor" is a contemplative poem that reimagines heroism through the lens of inner discipline. Inspired by the Latin maxim “Vincit qui se vincit” (“He conquers who conquers himself”), the poem rejects traditional notions of victory rooted in external conflict, instead elevating the quiet strength of self-restraint, integrity, and emotional resilience. Through a series of character vignettes—a student, a worker, a seeker of justice—the poem illustrates how true power lies in mastering one’s impulses and responding to adversity with grace. It is a lyrical meditation on the nobility of self-control in a world often driven by reaction. In loving memory of my mother,
Matthew Jordan Jaramillo "Mateo" Jaramillo-Sumner
Copyright (c) 2026 Matthew Jordan Jaramillo
A modern retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice set in the 1960s, as the two men navigate what it means to be queer in this difficult time and find each other on the way.
Flash fiction of two boys figuring out what it means to be queer in a world that rejects them.
Falling out of love isn’t always sudden or dramatic, sometimes it’s slow, calculated, and almost unnoticeable.
condensed matter sharp shooting: the existentialism of an idler
Please see separate pdfs to view the four sections of this series.
A magical realism short story about an unnamed protagonist who suddenly has a host of ladybugs that live on their arm.
This short story was written based on one of my dear friend's dreams in which we all had a tea party in the backyard of her childhood home.
This creative research essay explores how individuals construct meaning in a world that offers none, drawing on the philosophy of absurdism and intergenerational experiences of faith, survival, and silence. Through personal narrative, philosophical reflection, and historical context, the essay examines the tension between the human desire for purpose and the world’s persistent refusal to provide it. Engaging with the work of Albert Camus, Viktor Frankl, and contemporary scholarship on absurdity, the piece situates absurdism as an honest response to suffering rather than a rejection of value. The essay weaves together the author’s experience of disbelief with a grandfather’s faith forged in the aftermath of the Holocaust, presenting prayer and creative expression as parallel acts of endurance. Ultimately, this work argues that meaning is not discovered but continually made through persistence, attention, and creation. By blending memoir with critical inquiry, the essay reframes absurdism as a lived practice and considers how humans continue to build purpose, connection, and beauty within an indifferent universe.
The Importance of the Reconstruction Period in American History
In America, the two main Black historical events taught in schools are the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves (1861-1865) and the Civil Rights Movement, Jim Crow, and Black activism (1954-1969). Both events are connected by the Black fight for freedom and equality in the face of white supremacy, racism, and disenfranchisement. However, they are often taught as isolated events, which creates a false perspective that Black activism and discriminatory laws like Jim Crow started in the 1950s, when in reality, by studying the period after slavery, the Reconstruction period, we can see how the creation of both started immediately after slavery ended. This recontextualizes how long the Black struggle for equality has been in America by showing that Jim Crow and the Black activist movement had been happening for decades before the Civil Rights Movement. Understanding how the Reconstruction era contributed to the creation of the Black activism community and discriminatory laws and practices like Jim Crow also makes it easier to identify their iterations in the present day. Knowledge of Reconstruction leads to a more complete understanding of U.S. history and the African American struggle for equality by showing that Black activism and injustices against Black people have never been confined to a singular historical moment, while allowing the themes of Emancipation and the Civil Rights Movement to be connected to paint a fuller picture of the longevity of the fight for equality; making it an incredibly important time period in American history that is criminally overlooked.
Copyright (c) 2026 Katherine S.X. Murphy
Navigating the Artistic & Religious Influences on Weather Depiction in Japanese Art
This thesis examines how Don DeLillo’s White Noise exposes the lingering presence of Enlightenment narratives within the cultural logic of postmodernity. Despite postmodernism’s professed break from rationalism, progress, and truth as upheld by the independent, thinking subject, DeLillo’s novel reveals how these ideals persist, according to both Emmanuel Levinas’ Totality and Infinity and Horkheimer and Adorno’s Dialectic of Enlightenment, as structures of domination, authoritarianism, and control. By combining postmodern theorists like Jean Baudrillard, Jean-François Lyotard, and Gianni Vattimo with the very rational Enlightenment thinkers like Immanuel Kant and René Descartes which the postmodernists define their critical views in opposition to, this thesis opens up DeLillo’s work to a discussion about Otherness, regression, and patriarchy that both critics of the Enlightenment and postmodernity fail to take into theoretical account. Chapter One focuses on Jack’s use of catalogue in the opening chapters. I argue that Jack uses catalogue as an exercise affirming his ability to explain and construct stable meanings. Chapter Two argues that the Airborne Toxic Event acts as the disrupting event that throws Jack’s explanations into question, highlighting his attempts to play the patriarch and the professor.[1] Chapter Three takes the ATE’s disruption to its apex in Jack’s confrontation with Willie Mink and the nuns. Finally, in my conclusion, I compare DeLillo’s ending with Noah Baumbach’s dance credit sequence to get to some idea of what the absurd can offer in a story so resistant to resolution. [1] Although several disruptions, like Murray’s functioning as the novel’s voice of reason, are noted in Chapter One to mark the difference in how the ATE impacts Jack’s thinking.
Stoicism and Eternal Recurrence: Unraveling the Metaphysical Puzzle
In this essay, I explore the Stoic doctrine of eternal recurrence by examining its compatibility with other core Stoic metaphysical commitments, such as their theses of causal determinism, god’s benevolence and perfect rationality, and time. In essence, the Stoics maintained that the Universe will ‘end’ during the period of conflagration, when all things will be destroyed by fire, before returning to the same period of world-order, i.e. the Universe as we know it now. While the Stoics held that everything will be the exact same in each period of world-order, it remains ambiguous as to what exactly will be the “same again.” I begin by examining three historical interpretations of the doctrine: the Nemesian model, Alexander’s Revisionary model, and what I will call the “Origen-al” model. The first two models are ultimately rejected on the basis that either they are inconsistent with the linear and circular conceptions of time or they undermine the Stoics’ closed cosmology. The Origen-al model, however, fares better. While Hudson (1990) defends a view combining the Origen-al model with the linear conception of time, I argue that the Stoics’ definition of time undermines this conception and instead supports the circular notion of time. To reconcile circular time with the fact that Chrysippus will live the very same life an infinite number of times, I introduce the ‘shm-identity’ view of Stoic eternal recurrence. On this account, each period of world-order has the exact same physical and temporal properties, but can be individuated according to the phase of god’s life in which they exist. This framework preserves sameness without committing to numerical identity, and allows for an infinite number of ontologically distinct yet qualitatively identical cosmic cycles. Ultimately, the shm-identity view remains coherent within the Stoic doctrine of eternal recurrence and consistent with their other core metaphysical commitments.
The Tyranny of Taste: An Exploration of American Fashion in the Mid-1800s
In mid-19th-century America, clothing served multiple roles. It symbolized racial superiority for the white elites by drawing on Western traditions, styles, and history to establish dominance. Clothing also reinforced highly defined gender roles, as women's attire compensated for men’s more drab attire. However, most relevant to this paper is how clothing was used to divide social classes. This paper explores how fashion evolved during the decade before, during, and after the American Civil War, focusing on its role as a marker of social class. The period from the 1850s to the 1870s was tumultuous in American history, as abolitionists clashed with Southern enslavers in a struggle over American identity, all against the backdrop of expanding industrialization. Clothing served as a key player in this struggle, as it legitimized the authority of different ruling classes. The findings of this research are that elite Americans' monopoly over fashion, and tight control of who could wear what devolved as industrialization and modernization fundamentally changed how people interacted with clothing. Elite’s continued to use European court fashion to associate themselves with a hierarchical system, but new technology allowed more and more people to afford and take part in this industry. Men's fashion remained relatively stagnant during this time moving toward a more egalitarian style as industrialization lowered production, labour, and time costs. In contrast, women's fashion changed enormously over the three decades. Women were often used as symbols by men to display wealth, as new developments in manufacturing, trade, and synthetic production allowed for more elaborate stylistic expression. As styles came and went the role of fashion publications, fashion patterns, and industrial manufacturing opened up elite styles to the lower classes. This transition began the decline of elite control over clothing. Because clothing is such a visual representation of class and social mentality, examining how people regulated their attire in the past provides a deeper understanding of history as a whole. To analyze these dynamics, this paper utilizes a combination of magazines, etiquette guides, and daguerreotypes to investigate how fashion during the three decades surrounding the Civil War evolved and reflected class hierarchies. It specifically examines how the American elite dressed on the East Coast, with a primary focus on New York City and other major metropolitan centers of the era.
Here, a single tree lies windblown on the side of a cliff in Rocky Mountain National Park. Having withstood years of relentless weather, it is no longer the same tree it was before. Its perseverance amidst adversity has left it changed. Navigating the winds of life can be lonely. We all have something difficult we’re enduring—whether it’s loss, a setback, a sickness, or something entirely different—and it can feel a lot like this tree. It’s isolating. It’s grueling. And it feels almost like it might snap us in two. This tree reminds us that though life might bend us, it will not break us. The challenges of life may test us, they may shape us, but they will not define inherently who we are as individuals. The tree is still a tree, and it is beautiful.
The Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is a symbol of enlightenment, rebirth, and transformation in Buddhist traditions. The plant begins its life rooted in muddy waters, enduring challenging conditions until it eventually blossoms above the surface. Though the flower is pure, it could not exist without the mud beneath it. In Buddhism, the lotus’s journey to the surface represents the soul’s quest towards inner peace. The mud symbolizes the suffering that is inherent to human existence, which is often easy to feel “stuck” in. The lotus pushes on through the challenge, not seeking to escape it, but to embrace it in order to grow. Upon winter, it dies and begins the journey again the next season. Thus is the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. While this photo was taken at the 2024 Lotus and Water Lily Festival, I have more recently been feeling attached to the lotus in my personal life. In the mud that is human existence, we must remember that we all have the same capability— and opportunity— to blossom into our own interpretation of the Sacred Lotus.
Traversing England, Scotland and Ireland
The Angel of Highgate Cemetery. Camden, UK. 7 February 2025. Digital Photograph 3456 × 5184 pixels Artist Statement This photo was taken in Highgate Cemetery during my Spring 2025 semester abroad. Over four months, I spent time roaming the countryside on day-long pilgrimages to visit the towns, cathedrals, and graveyards associated with famous British authors from the nineteenth century.
Art or media type: Digital art/illustration Dimensions (not physical): 10" x 8" Artist's statement: Just as painters of l'impressionnisme aimed to capture fleeting atmospheres and changes in light, I aim to capture fleeting moments of my own state of mind. In a dreamlike state I ponder about my passions, experiences, and hopes. Instead of capturing the ever so changing earthly landscapes, I capture the inner landscapes of my mind, with each rabbit circling above my head representing a characteristic of myself and my aspirations that make me who I am in this present moment.