Written by Hayley Krolik
8:25 a.m. is more of a loose guideline than an actual requirement to be at school. If you are running late you might as well enjoy a nice breakfast.
Be spontaneous. Take adventurous trips to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in the middle of the week or spend a weekend in...
Written by Akansha Gupta
For 16 years of my life, I’ve been a sporadic vegetarian. First, I make a pact with myself and promise to stick to veggies, grains, fruits and dairy, but then I catch the glorious smell of chicken nuggets and promptly forget all my promises. 2015 was supposed to be the year...
Written by Grace Ding
Sitting on my bed in the final hours of 2014, I scrolled through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, laughing at witty jokes about New Year’s resolutions. I wondered if I too should join the millions of people worldwide and set a few myself. I’d never done it be- fore, and...
Written by Yuki Klotz-Burwell
Like many people, I started 2015 aiming to eat healthier and exercise more. I downloaded an app to catalog my eating and exercise habits and, hopefully, my success. I was excited to work out more and become more fit, imagining how my progress would look. However, my first...
Written by Sabrina Chen
While I wouldn’t call my family “overly ambitious,” hosting a New Year’s party two hours after arriving from a 12-hour flight may be slightly extreme. On Dec. 31, we were stuck in a subway station in China for over two hours, from 9:15 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. In fact,...
Written by Katie Russell
Mawlid is an Islamic holiday centered around the celebration of prophet Muhammad’s birth. In 2015, celebrations will occur on Dec. 24 for Sunnis, and Dec. 29 for Shiites. Different sects of Islam disagree on the exact date of the prophet’s birth, so the holiday is commemorated...
Compiled by Ryeri Lim
Purpose Jewelry | www.purposejewelry.org
The company “International Sanctuary” commissions a wide range of elegantly wearable accessories, hand- crafted by survivors of sex trafficking and slavery. 100 percent of the proceeds fund education, medical care and business...
Written by Hayley Krolik
Kwanzaa is a cultural African-American holiday celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. It was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana Studies at California State University, in response to the Watts riot in Los Angeles. He wanted to celebrate and...
Written by Shagun Khare
Every year in early November, twinkling lights adorn the rooftops of a home in every neighborhood or so. Rangoli is hand-drawn onto each home’s doorstep to display a spiral of vibrant colors and geometric designs, representative of a religion that is deeply ingrained into...
Written by Helen Nguyen, Assistant Business Manager
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed most commonly on Dec. 25 by billions of people around the world. This is a Christian and cultural celebration that consists of church services, gift-giving, symbolic decorating...
Written by Sabrina Chen
Seven Chens, one Li, one Ma and one white guy are sitting at a table. In the middle is a take-out box filled with cold turkey. The family of nine stares at it while the white guy is mortified. This situation is the Thanksgiving of 2013.
It all started when we decided that...
Written by Janet Wang
Published in the November 6th, 2015 issue
Everyone has the ability to impact people’s lives through acts of kindness, no matter how big or small. Doing random acts of kindness results in a win-win situation that increases happiness in both the giver and receiver. The...
