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The Sugar Bear Hair Epidemic

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In the digital age, the consumerism is only growing. Go on any platform of social media and somehow, there is an ad for what you were conveniently just talking about. Now that’s a whole other issue in regards to technology but the point is, one cannot escape from the plaguing call to purchase . As a teenage girl, I have known about the Kardashian/Jenner family for the entirety of my pre-adolescent years. The Kardashians are a well-known public figure and to some, idols. Part of me has to wonder, is this what we are striving to become now? Is our goal in life to reach a million followers and sell Sugar Bear Hair gummies as our job? Have we always been so self-centered but social media has been the epidemic to pull it out of us? The reality of it is most of us will never reach these farlandish goals that people like the Kardashians and influencers have set for us. What we are in need of is a reality check, to have “reality confirmed” so we have something to contrast the dreams p...
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Were They Actually On a Break?

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When reading “Words Don’t Mean What They Mean” this week, the one thing I could just not get out of my head was the show, Friends . In the piece, Pinker mentions the episode of Seinfeld where George is asked up by his date for coffee and later finds out that coffee doesn’t really mean coffee. This allusion led directly to the infamous episode of Friends where Rachel breaks up with Ross and he cheats on her. What is his excuse for cheating on her? “We were on a break!” Ross’s excuse is far from accepted by Rachel and thus begins the seasons-long game of will they or won’t they. I saw two perspectives from this episode. First, Rachel would very much agree with Pinker’s assertion that words don’t really mean what they mean. Rachel may have said she didn’t want to be with Ross anymore but that was because in the moment, she was upset and wanted nothing to do with the jealous monster he had become. Despite this, she still loved him and wanted to be with him, just as soon as she ...
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The Evolution of an 11 AP Student

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This week, when we got back our essays from before break, I was shocked to find that I had gotten a 7.5 on the Last Child in the Woods rhetorical analysis. Looking back on how I started the year, and even the semester, I realized how much my skills had improved. Seniors who took 11 AP and teachers who teach it always tell us how our writing will improve tremendously throughout the year, but I didn’t really believe it until now. The first essay I wrote this semester was the rhetorical analysis of Clare Boothe Luce’s speech to journalists at the Women’s National Press Club. I garnered a whopping 4.5 on this essay with “moments of nice analysis” but the analysis led to “incorrect or clunky interpretations of the purpose” according to the comments I received. While rereading the essay for this post, I thought back to how disappointed I was in myself because I genuinely thought it was an OK essay. Now, I see that it was not my best work. The 4.5 was deserving and although I was dis...
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Quinoa: The Best or A Bust?

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After reading “The Death of the Moth” this week, I decided to pay close attention to the “insignificant” things in my life. Like Woolf had done with the moth, I observed the “insignificant” preparations for my meal. I was making dinner after a long afternoon of yearbook duties and finishing my homework. As I began to prep for cooking, I noticed how different each ingredient was and how essential each step was to the process. First, the tofu. Here are some thoughts that ran through my mind while I prepared the tofu: Why do people hate tofu so much? Yes, it can be bland and the texture can be unwelcoming at first, but it just needs some love. Add some spice and toast that tofu and you’ve got a perfect protein source for dinner. What exactly is tofu? This prompted me to search how tofu was made. Here’s the process, broken down and shortened (see pictures below if you're as intrigued as I was about tofu) I was particularly interested in the origin of tofu. The word tof...
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Las Vegas: Allure or Abhorrence?

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Imagine this: your spring break is coming up and you can’t wait to get out of town for a little while. Your parents have kept where you’re going a secret and finally the day you’ve been looking forward to for months has arrived. The possibilities of where you’re headed are racing through your head, all while one thought persists: please let it be warm! Anywhere from Disney World to Mexico sounds like heaven. Then, your parents drop the location. All of the excitement builds up and you realize you’re headed to the glamorous, exotic…Las Vegas. As a kid, you don’t know much about Las Vegas other than adults really like it there and it gets hot. Disappointment starts to stir inside of you. Your parents show you where you’re staying and at least it has a giant roller coaster on the outside (see picture below for reference). Your parents reassure you that it will be great; you guys will shop, see all of the cool hotels, maybe even see a show at night. Unsure, you board the pl...
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Veganism & How It Almost Destroyed My Best Friend’s Life

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Considering two of my best friends were vegan for over a year, I should know how vegans live and what they eat. Yet, I am still surprised how a vegan can live how they do. This is not a story of how veganism can save lives, but one of how it almost destroyed my friend’s. My friend Caitlin had eaten meat all her life. She was known for her love of chicken nuggets. One day, right before freshman year, Caitlin announced that she had decided to go vegan. Her reasoning? She had accidentally stumbled upon a video on YouTube about how burgers were made. That did it for her. Caitlin began her vegan career strong and happy. Along our other friend, Lauren, Caitlin thrived on tofu and veggies for months. She was the happiest she could be. Then, cross country season started. Caitlin was known in our friend group for being the most athletic. She would go from sport to sport when we were younger, resting out which one worked for her. I remember when it was soccer then volleyball then...
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What is Privilege?

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When Abigail Adams wrote her son a letter in 1780 warning of the upcoming challenge of leading the nation into the new century, I don’t think she realized how timeless her letter would be. In 2019, living in Troy, Michigan, I was shocked by how much I understood what Abigail was saying. Growing up in Troy, I was always aware of my privilege. I know not everyone in Troy is privileged, but everyone who I had met had led a somewhat privileged life. My parents did a good job of reminding me to acknowledge my privilege throughout my life. I knew what it meant to be privileged in this century, but how did it compare to the privilege the Adams family had back in 1780? The word privilege originally came from the two Latin words, privus (meaning private) and lexlag (meaning law) that combined to form privilegium. Privilegium is defined as a law applying to one person, bill of law in favor of or against an individual. So if privilege came about in the legal sense, why is it used in so...
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