-
‘67’ provides joy from the smallest things
At least once a week, I find myself sitting in some of my classes struggling to stay awake, stressed with the never-ending list of assignments that pile on my Canvas. My attention drifts off as I daydream my after-school plans, and then my attention is once again grasped by two numbers. A slight smile…
-
The culture shock that comes with the European dream
During winter break, I spent nine days exploring Paris with my family. This was my first time visiting Europe and I observed several culture differences between Europe and America. During my trip, I shopped at food and flea markets, ate food at fancy and local restaurants and walked (a lot) all over the charming…
-
My new year’s resolution: to rediscover myself
I have long been a philosophical child. I always had more questions than my parents or teachers had answers, and gathered knowledge to hoard it away in the cracks and crevices of my mind. When I was little, I did things because they were fun, because they brought me joy. In my most vivid…
-
Human connection dies with online shopping
As I walk the desolate beige alleyways on my way to my job at the Janss Mall with jazz music softly floating around me, I cannot help but feel melancholy for the empty stores and days of customerless stretches for a mall I frequently shopped at growing up. Restaurants and stores are struggling to…
-
Proximity does not equate to closeness
When my brother, Duncan, left home for UCLA, many cautioned me with horrified expressions and a constant echo of comments like “just wait for how lonely you’ll be” or “I can’t believe you’re an only child now.” Initially, these remarks scared me into thinking that I would suddenly become an isolated, sibling-less individual. But…
-
Slice of Life: Hiking provides the cheapest form of therapy
Growing up in Newbury Park for most of my life, I can say with a full chest that I do not take advantage of it enough. In addition to In-N-Out and Potrero Road late at night, there are miles and miles of trails that curve and switchback like our own patchwork. I have attempted…
-
New valedictorian policy removes prestige
While the typical valedictorian definition acknowledges the single highest achieving student, the Conejo Valley Unified School District [CVUSD] has strayed away from this normality, and has once again proposed a new policy: the Latin Honors system. After 18 years of the current policy, Board Policy 5127, in place, where students are recognized for their…
-
Episodes of overstimulation flood kids media
Next to candy or dessert, TV was always a special treat for me as a child, and I found myself glued to the screen whenever I had the rare opportunity to watch a show or movie. Today, it shocks me when kids can barely sit through a 20 minute episode of “Cocomelon”– although I…
-
Copy-paste culture has taken over cinema
All too often, I find myself turning on the TV to the same movie. Except it’s not. The plot is practically identical, the characters are the same cliche archetypes and I still find myself on my phone halfway through. Cinema’s level of apathy when it comes to plot and the only clear motive being…
-
My identity is in my name
As summer came to an end, the inevitable ring of the first school bell brought a new year of teachers inquiring about my name. While my name is definitely not unique, it is slightly long and has a variety of nicknames. “Elizabeth,” they call, followed by “any nicknames?” Every year, my response is the…