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Art is within us

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If you know me, you probably already knew I was gonna take a “social justice-y” approach to answering this question but, I do think it’s important to remember those who came before us and honor their ways. Soooo, enjoy!! There’s a saying that goes something like, “ Art imitates life .” But I think that sometimes art doesn’t just imitate life, it magnifies what’s really going on in life, critiques how to make this life better, and also heals the wounds caused by life too. Over time, art has increasingly been given more importance, which makes me ecstatic that people are finally appreciating it, but sometimes it’s placed on too high of a pedestal. We often think of art as sometime separate from us, something separate from “real life.” Maybe it’s a Shakespearean sonnet or a Monet painting in a museum. Whatever it may be, we fail to realize that art doesn’t need to be something outside of us, something requiring perfection, but more so something that merely tells our story in a different m...
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10 books to read in the future

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 1. The Thirteenth Child. Honestly, I only really want to read this book because Ms. Knudson recommended it to me. I think my freshman year of college, I would still be willing to read a YA novel, but I was told that this isn’t a super cliché YA novel which is exciting! It’s about a girl who is the daughter of death himself (how fun!) and how she has to fight the gods to save some king. It honestly gives me Percy Jackson vibes, one of my favorite series ever, which is why I’m willing to read it so I might be able to experience the same thrill I experienced when I read the Percy Jackson books for the first time.  2. I Who Have Never Known Men I haven’t seen this many positive reviews about a book in a long time! This book is about 39 women and 1 girl being held captive underground. The guards are all men and never speak to these women so, these women must find out why they are being held prisoner as most have no recollection of their past lives. I’ve been recommended this book ...
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Even more on Deportation letter

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High: I had a really good forensics trip two weekends ago! Low: I lowkey don’t have one because the weather is finally nice so, I’m kind of out of my winter slump. So, I’ll apologize to begin with because you’ve already seen an entire presentation on “Deportation letter,” by Javier Zamora but, I still feel like I have more to say! Especially after I had an epiphany about my own biases yesterday. The poem itself is a pretty raw and honest look at the experience of undocumented immigrants in America which really appealed to me as a reader. Also, now that we’ve been working on our poetry project for weeks, I often find myself thinking about different aspects of this poem all the time. It really got me thinking about the way we view immigrants, and I’ll be honest, I said something during a FaceTime call that made me realize how much I need to check my own perspective. While our group and I were discussing the importance of the speaker’s purpose for writing the poem, I mentioned ho...
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Balancing two worlds

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High: Second semester began!   Low: Second semester began… Being the eldest daughter of an immigrant family definitely comes with its own set of expectations. Growing up, I was the one who had to translate for my parents, help them navigate things like school meetings or doctors’ appointments, and just generally be the bridge between their world and mine. This gave me the nickname of “the password child,” because remembering my entire family’s passwords was also my job of course. It’s like you’re expected to be both a kid and an adult at the same time, which is obviously overwhelming. My role was mainly just to balance the weight of my parents’ sacrifices with my own ambitions. I kinda grew to detest it since I didn’t really ask for this role, it was just given to me. At the same time, though, I don’t feel like I can’t just ignore the pressure. It’s like there’s this invisible responsibility to succeed—not just for myself, but for my parents and my younger brother. Over time, I’ve ...
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Cliché gratitude

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  High: I saw Moana 2! (it was lowkey mid though) Low: The amount of tests and quizzes I have to take this week… A couple of weeks ago, right before Thanksgiving break, we had Friendsgiving in my 2nd hour, colorguard. Although I ate lots of good food, that’s not very important. What’s more important is something more simple that actually caught my attention. That day, we all went in a circle and expressed what we were most grateful for. For the first time in my 17 years on Earth, I actually thought about this question. What am I actually grateful for? Obviously during Friendsgiving, I said something along the lines of, “friends, family, blah blah blah.” But, since I’m a senior and also becoming an adult soon, there’s a lot more I realized I’m grateful for that I have mostly taken for granted much of my life. I’m grateful that my biggest problem today was whether I should make myself a second cup of coffee or just reheat the cup of coffee I’ve been sipping for the past hour. I’m gra...
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We don’t have to marry the wrong person

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  High: I’m almost done with college applications!!! Low: I still have to come to school The notion that we will inevitably end up marrying the “wrong” person is a pretty pessimistic view and, at least to me, it seems Heraclitus wrote that New York Times article to share his views on the world. No thanks, I don’t need another thing to potentially worry about. Honestly though, this perspective just suggests that we’re all doomed to navigate flawed relationships that lead to disappointment and regret because we fail to acknowledge problems early in our relationships. Orrrr people could just be mature. But really this viewpoint undermines the true potential for growth and fulfillment within relationships, framing marriage as a somewhat failure rather than a work in progress. Now, will our marriages be perfect? No. Butttt, saying that we married the “wrong” person is just a bit too much. We will probably work it out with them. In contrast, it’s beneficial to adopt a perspective like th...
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Tom and Jerry

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  High: I had my last halftime show performance for colorguard on Friday! Low: I had my last halftime show performance for colorguard on Friday… Tom and Jerry was my all-consuming obsession, the kind that shaped my afternoons. After school, I’d rush home, eager to dive into the chaotic world where a cat and mouse turned every moment into laughter without even using any words. Lunchtime wasn’t just about food; it was about being a screenager (well, more like a screen + kid so, scrid?) who incessantly watched Tom and Jerry on the TV forgetting to eat her food for hours at a time. Even during dance practice, I’d urge my coaches to switch the TV from recital photos and videos to my favorite episodes, which surprisingly they were just as interested in.  My friends often looked puzzled by my passion as they were interested in more girly shows, but I wasn’t like the other girls as I was completely hooked to Tom and Jerry instead. (This is a joke!!!). 
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