there are a lot of things I remember about you, except your names. — 1 ) The Girl Who Was Friends with the Spy Kids (2002). There are a lot of things I remember about you, except the most crucial: your name. We met at your neighbor’s high school graduation party. I thought you were one of the high schoolers at first, since you…

There was something oddly comforting about eating the Chickstar, the Japanese take on an American take on Mexican cuisine. — My last meal of 2019 was a Chickstar, a hexagonal limited edition version of the Crunchwrap Supreme, which I purchased at the Taco Bell in Shibuya Dogenzaka and savored over the course of three beautiful minutes along with my friends, who had ordered the same thing. …

I have three different names, each of which forms a core part of my identity. — “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” So says Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, rationalizing why such a thing as simple as a name should not be what defines your identity. Juliet, of course, is referring to her surname here, as well as that of Romeo’s — Capulet versus Montague, and how unfortunate it is that such…

“When did you become so wise?” says Jo to Amy, near the end of Greta Gerwig’s new adaptation of Little Women. “I always have been,” replies Amy. “You were just too busy noticing my faults.” Though Amy is speaking to her sister, I also feel as though Gerwig is speaking…

A tiny strip mall restaurant tucked away close to a Walmart. — Sanibel Island, on the western coast of Florida, is an idyllic place, with beautiful beaches filled with seashells and gorgeous sunsets. There is one thing lacking: Asian food. Sanibel Island, though beautiful, is not a very diverse place. Perhaps because of its 98.8% Cacuasian population, aside from a lone sushi…

My ideal plant, I think, is one that doesn’t really need me, but appreciates the effort I’m putting in to make its life easier. — When I was in fourth grade, my teacher did a science unit on plants, and brought in a yam growing in a glass jar as a classroom display. …

At the beginning of 2017, I knew that my passport would be expiring come November, and I wanted to get at least one more adventure out of it before sending it off to be renewed. I thought about all the places I hadn’t seen and still wanted to visit, and…

Contrary to the commonly held belief among many Chicagoland residents, Illinois does not end after you hit I-80. What does end, however, is the fast paced lifestyle of the city and its suburbs. …

Age 9: Tell your friends that you had a dream about the two of you getting married. Watch them tell everyone in your class and then plan a wedding for the two of you, with several boys in your class vying to be the ring boy. The two of you…