Hannah Aster

SEO Team Lead

Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.

Expertise

Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing

How to Overcome the Desire for Immediate Gratification

How can the desire for immediate gratification lead to procrastination? Is it possible to overcome your aroused-state desires to pursue long-term goals? Procrastination stems from your aroused-state desires for immediate gratification. This can lead to the abandonment of long-term goals, such as pushing off your diet to have a slice of cake. However, these tendencies can be overcome. Keep reading to learn how to overcome your desire for immediate gratification.

Symbolism of Seasons in Literature: Explained

Why are seasons so important in literature? What do the different seasons represent? Seasons can symbolically enhance a reader’s sense of themes and characters. Over time, seasons have been used so frequently as symbols that each season now has ingrained meanings. Keep reading to find out what each season means symbolically in literature.

Michelle Obama: Career Changes Over the Years

Why did Michelle Obama give up her high-paying job as a corporate lawyer? How did Michelle’s relationship with Barack influence this decision? At 26, Michelle Obama was on track to become an equity partner at her corporate law firm. She was career-driven and disinterested in relationships. However, when she met the new summer associate, Barack Obama, everything changed. They started dating and Michelle started to question her career path. Keep reading to learn about Michelle Obama’s major career changes.

Evolutionary Medicine Should Be Taught in Med School

Why isn’t evolutionary medicine taught in medical school? How could understanding how our bodies came to be this way help us to accept diseases and inspire hope? Medical schools prefer to teach using science that they can test in a lab rather than evolutionary medicine. However, evolutionary medicine can explain some attributes that modern medicine cannot. Keep reading for more on evolutionary medicine.

The Evolutionary Benefits of Fear and Pain: Survival

Why and how do we learn fear? What is the difference between innate and learned fear? Pain and fear are vital functions for survival. Innate fears are the ones we are born with and learned fears are flexible and are taught to us by others or by experience. Keep reading for more about the benefits of fear and pain.

The 5 Best Michelle Obama Becoming Quotes

Looking for quotes from Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming? How can these quotes help you understand Michelle Obama’s life better? Michelle Obama’s book Becoming documents how Michelle pushed herself to become successful despite having little support at school and coming from a poor neighborhood. Michelle hopes to inspire others with her story about overcoming the odds. Continue on for quotes from Becoming.

The 3 Best Ways to Stop Procrastinating

What are the best ways to stop procrastinating? How can you make your aroused state self align with your cool state self? Procrastination happens when your aroused state acts in conflict with your cool state self and you act irrationally. Although you can’t control your aroused self, you can put measures in place to guide yourself in the right direction. Continue below for the three best ways to stop procrastinating.

Interpreting Symbols and Metaphors in Literature

Why is it so difficult to interpret symbols in literature? What do you do if an author uses unique symbols? Interpreting symbols in literature isn’t always easy. Literary symbols can sometimes overlap, develop new meanings over time, or be unique to an author. However, there are some common symbols and themes you can look out for. Continue on for more information about interpreting literary symbols.

Therapy Saved Barack and Michelle’s Marriage

Why did Michelle Obama think she and Barack’s marriage was falling apart? What steps did they take to save it? When Barack Obama became an Illinois State Senator, Michelle was left to do the job of a single parent while trying to pursue her own career. This eventually put such a strain on the Obamas’ marriage that Michelle didn’t know if it would last. Keep reading to learn about Barack and Michelle’s marriage and how they managed to save it.

Human Senescence: The Mysteries of Aging

Why is the female lifespan longer than a male’s? Why do women go through menopause? These questions about human senescence, or aging, can be explained through Darwinian medicine. Darwinism says that the human body prioritized reproductive health above all else. That means that it will prioritize short-term reproductive fitness over long-term sustainability. Keep reading to learn more about the process of senescence.