On preparing for the worst versus hoping for the best

Jen Xu
6 min readApr 1, 2024

I’ve recently started to wonder if I really do see the world too differently than some people — could it explain why I just never feel like I belong anywhere?

In a lab meeting among other students last year, we discussed ways to ensure people stopped cutting through the lab because it could disrupt data collection, because some of our doors are very heavy and loud (and we have 2 sets, which is how the cutting through occurs, of course). I suggested that we could get some velcro signs for the door that could say things like “stop. do not…

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Jen Xu

Athletic trainer, PhD student, coffee lover. I write about fitness, mental health, being Asian-American, and personal growth.