Writing
Writing & Reflections
This section will grow over time as Alan develops his voice through essays, reflections, and longer-form thinking.
First Entry
On Declamation: What Memorization Taught Me About Discipline
“I thought the problem was the task. It turned out the problem was my approach to the task...”
A reflection on struggling with declamation at Boston Latin School — not because the task was beyond me, but because I resisted it. What it took to change course, and what that change revealed.
Future Sections
What's Coming
Coming Soon
Personal Essays
Reflections on experience, growth, and the things that have shaped how I think. Written carefully, revised honestly.
Coming Soon
Historical Reflections
Reading history closely — not for facts, but for patterns, decisions, and the distance between what people believed and what they did.
Coming Soon
Reading Notes
Responses to books and ideas encountered along the way. Not summaries — reactions.
Coming Soon
Thoughts on Language
Latin, Mandarin, and English — three languages that each illuminate something the others miss. What studying them has taught me about meaning.