Princeton University, Stanford University, Williams College

I stared at my grandmother’s liver spots, which are prominent against grooves and crevices of her wrinkles. Her deeply-formed crows-feet winked in and out as she chewed and spoke, “Darling, why don’t you just study Spanish? Having turned to the mirror, my sophomore self, home for the holidays, inspected my smooth, wrinkle-free skin, spotted with occasional and pesky teenage acne, and wondered why I do not take her advice. My mere mentioning of taking Latin and ancient Greek inspires incredulous responses, which doubt their significance in our modern world, as dead languages. Endless…