Shaunak Varma

Shaunak Varma is a graduate of Duke University. He double majored in Economics and Public Policy, and receiving a certificate in Global Health. He loves nothing more than spending time with friends and listening to music or watching sports or movies. Born in raised in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, but for some reason, he loves the Detroit Lions. He has a burgeoning interest in politics, and is particularly interested in issues that victims of psychological disorders face.

Most commented posts

  1. Be Aware. Be Kind. Save Lives. — 8 comments
  2. #OccupyWashington — 3 comments
  3. Those Grieving Alone – Seek Support — 2 comments
  4. Making Things Better — 2 comments
  5. Standing Up and Speaking Out — 2 comments

Author's posts

Aug 19

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?

Though most of us would like to be part of a utopia, unfortunate circumstances often fall beyond the grasp of our control. Regardless of how much we manage to improve the world, trauma is an inherent part of life. After all, the probability of us completely eliminating the prevalence of rape, murder, war, tragedy, and …

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Aug 02

Heroic ‘Fin

Last Monday, after 3 months of labor disputes, the NFL lockout finally ended. Football nuts around the country (myself included) rejoiced. The threat of losing our favorite, most highly rated sport for an entire season was finally gone. We still have our best excuse to be unproductive on Sundays. Football is back, baby. I am …

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Jul 25

Giving Hope

In a few of my prior posts, I have discussed people who were unable to overcome mental illnesses such as depression or drug addiction. In today’s post, I’d like to share a more optimistic story. I will tell you about Dr. Marsha Linehan, an inspirational woman who overcame borderline personality disorder (BPD) and eventually developed …

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Jul 22

Facebook’s New System

In 1964, journalist Martin Gansberg published an article in the New York Times that revealed some less-than-flattering human traits and sparked a revolution in social psychology. According to the article, Kitty Genovese, a 29 year-old woman from Queens, was stabbed to death outside over a 35-minute period, after which just 1 of the 38 spectators called …

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Jul 15

Invest in the Future

If you have been paying attention to the news for the past few weeks, you know that there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the United States’ debt ceiling. Theoretically, we have a debt ceiling to control federal spending. This ceiling puts a cap on the amount of bonds the Treasury can issue. If …

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Jul 11

Read and Dance — Keep Your Mind Active

Like many people my age, I eagerly await this week’s release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. When I go to the midnight premiere on Thursday night, I will probably reflect on how much J.K. Rowling has given our generation. She gave us a hero to grow up with, stories to …

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Jul 08

Enough of ‘Running to Stand Still’

Once in a while, we all hear songs that hit us in the face. In a good way. I’m not referring to the ones that are on Top 40 charts that we sing along with our friends at parties, or even the really good ones that we repeat on our iTunes continuously for a few …

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Jul 01

Time to Chill

As I sat down to take my final exam for my Molecular Biology course today, I took a second to reflect on my past few days. I had spent a majority of those days at the library, sacrificing things like socialization, exercise, sleep, and even food. It was an experience that most students can relate …

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Jun 27

Those Grieving Alone – Seek Support

First of all, I’d like to thank all of you who took the time to give me feedback on my recent post on suicide. Whether you commented on the article on this site, tweeted me about it, retweeted it to your followers, or talked to me about in person, your actions meant a lot to …

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Jun 21

A Healthy Dose of Skepticisim

In my last post, I remarked that I believe most people intend to be kind. Yet sometimes, because they often lack the awareness of what it takes to be kind, they fall short of fulfilling this lofty goal. Our lack of awareness of what it takes to be kind is not the only thing that …

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