1. Striped Dolphins 2026

      Recently, my dad asked me an interesting question; What makes someone American? At first, I was confused because I had no answer. However after a day of thinking I finally gave him this answer: "Someone who is American is a person living in America who conforms with the American culture". In my opinion, I believe that I am American; I have the "American" mindset and I speak the English language. At the same time I am ethnically Chinese and I believe that its essential that I preserve that part of my identity as well. I know that there are many Chinese Americans that completely forget about their culture. For example, one of my cousins doesnt even know how to speak chinese! In some way I think it's important to acknowledge and preserve your heritage because it is a way of paying respect and tribute to what you origionally were. It's always going to be a part of you no matter what you do, the language you speak and your skin tone are always going to show...

Food Something that powers humans to achieve and invent.  Some might argue that water is more important for human beings than food; given the myth that humans can survive several weeks without food, but not 7 days without water.  Such a fallacy! Food carries way more value than flat water. Food carries flavor. Food carries energy. Food carries important stories and memories. If you asked me what was most important to me when I was little, I would say food.  I don't remember the date that I first walked or when I first listened to my favorite artists. I remember what was on the table for me to eat. I remember what food my mom cooked for me when I was younger and the spicier food I ate as I got older. The different types of food that I have tasted while traveling; whether it was the most fabulous meal that I had tasted, or the biggest tourist trap that I have eaten in my entire life; it all lives in my memories as something that I remember. Food is more than memories and st...

Photo Credits: Made it myself on Canva “Hello everyone, I will be your sub for today. I am going to be taking attendance now.” Somehow, I always know when the teacher will say my name. They’ll hesitate. They’ll even add a “I think I’m going to mispronounce this ….” or, “Sorry… is it…?” But, on rare occasions, there are instructors who pronounce my name correctly (yay!). Although I wish I had a more pronounceable name, I wouldn’t change my name even if someone butchered it so badly that I wouldn’t even know that they were talking to me . The worst pronunciation of my name came from a substitute teacher—it was “kin-wee” (skull emoji). When I came to America, my parents found it fitting to give me an English name , since we were in a country where everyone spoke English.  So, I was Vivian. I was fine being “Vivian” when I was in kindergarten, because I didn’t care about what people called me. My parents called me Qinwei, and my family friends called me Weiwei. I didn’t care that anot...

Out of all the myriad ideas I had floating around in my head concerning the theme of “identity”, one never really stuck out to me until now. That idea? The identity of a video game. Now, indulge me for a moment: games, at first glance, might not seem even close to the topic of identity, but identity comes in many shapes and forms. Identity, for example, can also mean the core elements of a particular item, and in this case, a game.  What do I mean by this? Simple: imagine your favorite game series. It has withstood the test of time and remained fairly popular throughout the years. New releases may have new elements, broach new genres, but it always has common elements tying them all together. It could be fan favorite characters that reeled you in, the exhilarating gameplay, the fun moments you have playing (and losing) in multiplayer gameplay. By keeping core elements and mechanics like these, corporations/developers have succeeded in keeping franchises alive and well for a long ti...

It was a relaxing evening after school, I was just on the couch and my eyes drifted from my sister who was on her phone doing something boring, to the remote which was untouched and forgotten. I quickly grabbed it as my hands moved with practiced efficiency, navigating through the television. My sister looked up at the familiar noise emitting from the episode and immediately let out a frustrated groan, “Oh my god seriously, Veda?! Again??”, Her voice dripping with annoyance as I smiled like a chaos gremlin at Henry Danger The Musical playing for the eighth time.  As you can see, I enjoy rewatching and rereading works (no, it is not just to annoy my sister). And now, especially as an author in making, I reread what I wrote multiple times throughout the week looking for flaws that I could fix. So in a way, everything I write is a work in progress and I tend not to get attached or obsess over it. It helps me be flexible and try new styles of writing, like right now: I started with a n...

  One of the English language’s most confusing words to properly define is ‘light’, which is interesting because without light, it would be difficult to read English in the first place. For example, light is a noun that “makes vision possible”, according to Merriam-Webster . But it is also an adjective that can describe the quality of having light (the noun), or having little weight. Also, to light something also means to illuminate it, if you’re not setting it on fire . And if you think that’s a lot, the dictionary lists over twenty more.  How can something so common, so necessary for human interaction and existence, become so potentially confusing? If someone says, “I’m going to the light,” I’d prefer to know if they’re about to die or commit arson as opposed to turning on the lightbulb. And light is not the only word to suffer from this disarray; several versions of everyday slang are used in a variety of different ways. If you don’t believe me, then ask yourself how many w...

If you asked past me about writing outside of English classes, she would have laughed at your face and ask “who writes for fun?”. Well, me right now apparently. Full disclosure; I didn’t write as much I want to claim I did. I just wrote concepts of stories, characters and a few first chapters of three different stories with very different genres. But none of them felt right, they missed something that would make my writing feel unique, or more like mine. So as any person would do, I went on YouTube and watched what felt like hundreds of videos that are all “How to write your first chapter”, “Your writing sucks, and here is why”, “ mistakes to avoid in your writing”, “ change your world building right NOW”, “How to give your characters more depth” and they changed my life.. for the worse.  The videos never mattered because everything they mentioned was basically saying: The video: “you just feel it in your bones, man, I don’t know what to tell you” Me: … wow…. Thanks (for nothing). ...

          One day, I was watching Youtube and I came across a person named David Goggins. At that time I believed that his charachter was very compelling because Goggins was the real life definition of a rock; an unshakeable, resilient and relentless person. I think Goggins and I are very similar in terms of character. As a child, he struggled with stuttering and obesity, which negatively impacted his speeches and mental health. One day, he came to the realization that in order to become the person he wanted to be in the future (A US Navy Seal) he had to overcome every fear he had. He achieved this by repeadetly facing his fears head on, doing more public speeches and exercise. In the same sense, I want to go to United States Military Academy at West Point, and I know that having a fear of presenting is something that would make me an ineffective leader who would not be able to communicate well with his men.            I ...

  Nothing Angelic about Angel Island When people travel to San Francisco, Alcatraz is always on the top of people’s lists. Another island, often bundled in third party websites as an extra after the trip is Angel Island. It is a calm and serene island off the coast of Mill Valley (About 15 miles north of Golden Gate Bridge) with a maze of scenic trails designed for mountain biking and hiking. Scattered near the bike trails is a group of featureless two stories tall yellow and white buildings. The buildings that are the first stop for many Chinese immigrants during the Chinese Exclusion Act period. What makes the Immigration station stand out from the countless other Immigration stations is the Angel Island poets. Over 200 poems in Chinese were found in the wooden walls of the immigration barracks during a renovation done by a park ranger. The poems were mostly nostalgic and longing for home. I’ll provide some examples here. “I left my home because I have nothing to lose, leaving my...

Something rather interesting happened to my brother this Sunday: he and his friends were playing cricket on a field when elderly parents and a coach, hosting a private tennis course for the children of the parents, came to them. They initially argued that legally, they were allowed to do commercial business in the area, but when my brother demonstrated his legal knowledge on them, they initially shifted to mannerisms. They directly insulted their “stupid Indian” manner of speaking , saying that he and his friends were being immature and acting like babies, all just because they wanted their kids to be taught a private lesson which had no permission from the government. The absolute audacity! Look at these hands joined together. They signify the togetherness many people have with others of different races/genders/ethnicities. To many of us, I’m sure this seems like the standard. In fact, my brother had never seen this type of racism before; he believed most of it was make-believe, made ...

Image Credits: Pinterest I think that music is a beautiful art form, capable of connecting people from across the world as they enjoy the same music, but with different feelings, interpretations, and experiences. It is so incredible that humans have invented so many ways to create music. Somehow, a collection of sounds turns into music and becomes something that so many people, including myself, love. I listen to music every day and I think that music is a big part of who I am. I have so many posters of artists hung up on my wall (I want my entire wall to be covered with them!!), a growing vinyl collection (unfortunately vinyls are very expensive), and Spotify Premium (you probably don’t have Premium haha) so I can enjoy music without ads. I listen to many different artists, but my favorite is Lana Del Rey. She uses her life experiences to craft her songs and express herself. Her sound is a beautiful blend of melancholy, romance, old Hollywood glamour, and 1950s-1970s Americana pop and...

  The best writers are undoubtedly the most excellent thieves.  Some writers might be cross with me for making such an absurd or outrageous statement. However, the guilty will be appalled as I reveal their secrets, and I suppose that their responses will be the most varied. Some will definitely insist that I have no right nor reason to make such a claim, at which I can only laugh. As a writer myself, I feel quite entitled to my rights to such a monologue, though perhaps I should more greatly fear alienating my audience over my companions. Because of this outcome (which I shudder to consider), I feel that I must clarify my assertion. Why would the greatest writers be thieves, rogues, or charlatans? For one, writers are leeches of the system, as we require food, a space to work, and specialized writing material such as paper, pencils, laptops. While the individual expenditure that a writer takes on society seems small, once one accounts for writers taking up space in universit...