Because I’m Asian

Growing up Asian, it was always very difficult to find people who looked like me on television (Marvel movies for example 😢) To this day, I always freak out with excitement whenever I see anyone Asian on the big screen. Seeing Steven Yeun, a Korean-American actor, on The Walking Dead was one of the best surprises of…

Don’t Pick A College For Its Food.

As someone who has been a high schooler in the United States, I am quite familiar with the advertising colleges use to pull me into attending their schools. Glossy brochures presenting breathtaking architecture, testimonials about the amazing life on-campus, catchy phrases proclaiming how great _______ College is! But, in Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell reveals the hidden,…

Happy Mother’s Day! Now, Go Clean.

Rhetorical Situation: The publisher of this image is the Procter & Gamble Corporation, a company for consumer goods with brands like Tide, Pampers, and Bounty. All of their products are geared towards families to help in the daily lives of households. As a result, their advertising is meant to appeal to these customers by emphasizing…

Burgers – Bringing The World Together

  Even as a fellow burger lover, I think we can all agree that if we saw anyone enjoying a burger as much as Kate Upton (up above), we would be thinking two things. What the heck is going on, and also what kind of burger is that? Luckily for fast food advertisers, that reaction…

Caution: This Article Talks About Trigger Warnings

Critical Analysis https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/ Brief Summary: In this article, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt discuss the rise of trigger warnings as well as strict rules and punishments for anything deemed offensive in universities. The changes in childhood experiences, increasing political polarization, and social media are all factors causing this movement. Haidt and Lukianoff also argue that…

Right to An Unfair Trial

One of my most embarrassing memories (and one of my mother's most cherished ones) happened at four years of age when I excitedly asked a white-bearded, elderly, and white man at a grocery store if he was "magical." At the time, my only experiences with old, bearded, white men consisted of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Elf. Of…

God Bless America (I Think)

With the everyday screaming matches plastered on television, the hatred all over social media, and the incredibly venomous insults that turn what should only be political disagreements into squabbles involving appearance, family members, and IQ levels, the so-called unity of the United States seems to be a long gone remnant of the past (if it…

The End of Satire!! You WON’T Believe Why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the wake of the controversial election of President Trump, satire defined as "the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices" has seen an incredible rise in popularity (Google Search). Look no further than the late-night TV dominance of Stephen Colbert known for his satirical takes on…

Second Chances?

So, my own love story with writing doesn't actually begin with writing (I know. Scandalous! 😱)  As with many authors, my story actually begins with its younger, more popular brother: reading. Looking back, I always had a strange affinity for the written word. According to my mother, as a toddler, I would squat in a…

Sorry, Millionaires Only

We've all been there. That mindless scrolling of Instagram and Facebook newsfeeds, occasionally liking a random post that kinda catches our interest while we ignore all the goals and dreams we should better be devoting our time to (I've shamefully done this multiple times in the writing of this blog post). In this world of social media…