Tagged: DPchallenge
A homemade breakfast makes me want to wake up
When you’ve been waking up as early as I have for school, camp, and whatever else I spend my time doing, very little motivates you to wake up and get out of bed in the morning.
Sure, you have ambitions and life goals, but these pursuits aren’t solely reserved for the early morning. In my case, most of the creative and productive work (mainly writing) that I accomplish happens in the evening.
***alarm sounds*** Continue reading
Stop for a second and admire color
PC: Natalie
I remember this day as one of the most adventure-packed, spontaneous days of my freshman experience. Continue reading
The Difference Between Nobles and Serfs
Since 18 years ago I’ve slowly witnessed myself oscillating between serfdom and nobility, ending up more noble than serf.
Serfs are thrifty and don’t like to waste things and concentrate on those sort of details, because that’s all they’ve ever known. I was a kid and I liked to hoard my Rice Krispy Treats and trade them with my sister and I lived my life bar by bar, worrying only about the next immediate Treat, never more than one ahead. Continue reading
5 More Reasons to Love Summer
Happy first day of summer! June 21st is the Northern Solstice.
You read and loved 7 Reasons Why We Love Summer, so here are 5 additional reasons to love the hottest season of the year.
5. Summer reading
If you’ve got even an ounce of intelligence running through your veins, you’re able to find a curiosity for reading somewhere deep inside of you.
Young people think “summer reading” and envision long lists of books pushed on us by schools, that we don’t really bother with until the week before school starts back up. Even then, many students skip the whole process and head straight for SparkNotes.
But summer reading can and should be something more, something better. We can fill our free time at home visiting another country, another world, another dimension in another person’s body, the hours passing by as if they were minutes. Continue reading
My Life is Monotony and I am Doing Nothing About It
Where I work, the line can sometimes grow to stretch out the door, especially on a Sunday afternoon.
I immediately learned the importance of efficiency, speaking quickly to customers, having a pen ready before they’ve realized that they even need one…efficiency drives productivity.
As the assembly line chugs along, the rays of the sun grow thinner against the wall and natural lighting wanes. Continue reading
…and the ED kids just sat back and observed the carnage.
This is Purity Ring.
These last few days, I’ve checked Facebook and Twitter and seen vague references to college decisions. Everyone’s receiving life-changing news these days; everyone’s having to make life-changing choices.
SAT scores, scholarship results, debate camp decisions, and that’s just the beginning.
Behind every Facebook profile there is a young adult frantically making decisions, trying to keep up with the pace of life. Continue reading
Working Girl
Well…I’ve done it. I have finally, after years of speculation and curiosity, found a job.
I get paid to drink as much bubble tea as I want, and to eat as many baked goods as my heart desires. Continue reading
Pillow talk
Schooling is not the same as education education - it is sacred. Here it is commodified - twisted, manipulated, thrown away with every spit bubble lazily popping at your mouth, every glazed over look you give your teacher Continue reading
“Why We Broke Up,” the story of a heartbreak that may remind you of your own
It’s been a while since I’ve actually picked up a book and read it. While on Winter Break, I brought A Tree Grows in Brooklyn with me on vacation, the only book I’ll read during the school year.
This week, however, my schoolwork was overwhelming me and I missed reading for fun so badly that I decided to stop by the library. In the midst of all of this college stuff, I pushed reading off to the side, which is just a real shame, because it has major therapeutic value for me.
The librarian there, my homeroom teacher from last year, recommended four books to me; I told her that I was in the mood for girly novels, and she did not disappoint.
The first book that I picked up was Why We Broke Up, by Daniel Handler.
First impression? I wasn’t very impressed. Maybe it was the writing or maybe it was the hustle-bustle pace of my life for the past few months, but I found myself skipping lines and not appreciating the writing in deep detail.
Eventually, however, Continue reading
The language barrier
Never take for granted your ability to understand your parents.
My parents sit around our table sobremesa discussing important issues. I can understand primitive phrases but I can’t get a clear idea of how my parents make their decisions, which I presume to be talked through and deeply analyzed.
Some people don’t face language barriers within their own families, but instead they hole up in their rooms or leave the house after dinner, leaving their own twenty-first century experiences to designate and dictate their beliefs.
The thing is…while your parents may have been born in another century and perhaps even another country, their experiences are still wholly relevant; lots of the lessons they’ve learned are universal and timeless. Continue reading
Catherine Zhang 