COVID-19 + Coming of Age

Each age cohort has a defining moment or moments. Millennials came of age during 9/11, Boomers during the social revolutions of the 60s, and Gen X during the Cold War. But we children of the new cohort: Gen Z aren't quite sure what our defining moments will be. As I sit here typing this, my…

I Think About This A Lot: G-Dragon in Fantastic Baby

The Cut has this series called I Think About This a Lot where editors discuss the pop culture moments they can't get out of their heads. I'm the queen of replaying random moments and fixating on various things so I decided to do a bit of artistic thievery and create a little series of my…

On the Come Up ~Angie Thomas

"Who are you? of the millions and billions of people in the world, you're the only person who can answer that. Not people online, or at your school. I can't even answer that. You're the only one who can say who you are with authority. So who are you?" On the Come Up is the…

I’m Still Here -Austin Channing Brown

Per my mom's suggestion, when I read certain books I keep a pad of sticky notes inside to mark special quotes and passages. Austin Channing Brown's I'm Still Here held dozens of sticky notes peeking out from both ends: a testament to gorgeous prose holding deep thoughts. The rest of the title is "Black Dignity…

Is BTS Low Quality Music?

Recently, I saw a DKDKTV video in my feed that grabbed my attention. It was called "BTS is Low Quality Music". Of course, I couldn't scroll on by after that. I had to see what this was about. The video was an answer to Parkgaedae's video "BTS is McDonald's" (which he has since deleted). His…

What Went Down April + Mixtape

So I started drafting this post and realized that the normal format I do for monthly wrap-ups just wasn't cutting it, instead, I decided to just talk about the highlight of April: my college tours trip. And of course my monthly mixtape because April music was lit. Spontaneous trips are always fun, and this one…

Lunch at Plaza Mariachi

I absolutely adore places that are dedicated to celebrating culture and Plaza Mariachi is one of those places. It's a collection of restaurants and specialty stores that showcase Latin culture. They have live music, an array of cuisines, and even a grocery store where you can buy authentic ingredients. A few months ago, we went…

The Hate U Give ~Angie Thomas

"The truth casts a shadow over the kitchen -people like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice. I think we all wait for that one time though, that one time when it ends right." ~The Hate U Give I've been waiting for so long to read this book. It's one…

Humor, Culture, and Race// Open Mic by Mitali Perkins Review

Using humor as the common denominator, a multicultural cast of YA authors steps up to the mic to share stories touching on race. Listen in as ten YA authors -- some familiar, some new -- use their own brand of humor to share their stories about growing up between cultures. Henry Choi Lee discovers that…

Is That Trend Still In?

Trend analysis is the perfect marriage of my two loves: fashion and research. It takes into account the cultural climate, time periods and global events to produce a picture (albeit limited) of our society through clothing. I was beyond ecstatic when a couple of weeks ago Fashionista published a trend report from Google. I'm so ready…