3. Comb Jellies

Credit:  Simply Whisked It’s no secret: we are what we eat, and in many ways, food is a reflection of the soul. And as I researched my future culinary contribution to the Gatsby party in December, it became apparent that the relish tray has evolved to represent the various complex reactions to the American Dream. Relish trays are pretty much what they sound like: an assortment of fresh and pickled vegetables and fruits, including stuffed black olives, celery, radishes, and candied apples. In the 1920s, they made frequent appearances at lavish parties due to their convenience, as people could just grab something, dip it in sauce, and eat it. The traditional American relish tray has remained a non-negligible part of American party culture since then, assuming the form of multiple new innovations, including charcuterie boards, sushi platters, and the viral “savory girl plate.” It represents a departure from traditional cooking, which requires an expert knowledge of various cooking tec...

Each day begins before the last one ends, as if exhaling wasn't a possible reality. Somewhere, a baker kneads fresh dough—dough that rises with the currently sleeping sun. Somewhere, police sirens paint the sparkling air with loud flashes of red and blue. Somewhere, an aspiring actor rehearses. her lines, engraving every syllable to her tongue. Everywhere, lives New York. Yellow cabs crowd the already overpopulated streets. Skyscrapers puncture the already torn sky. Heavy rain washes down on the already stained city. But petals bloom after rainstorms. Because beneath the blanket of chaos lies an ever awake New York. The surface below reveals a new world of mass intersection. Subways mirroring the laces of an apple pie. Rushing footsteps weaving in and out towards their destiny. Shoes brushing against each other creating an unplanned symphony. Within the blur, New York breathes. Stacked in tiny apartments, families wish goodnight. Two floors down, friends sit circle up, with no idea...

  I haven’t been inside a public library since I was maybe seven. It’s a weird fact that feels wrong to admit, especially when my friend group is essentially just if you took note of every single type of nerd in existence and shoved them together. As a result, we’re all creatives, readers, writers, and etc. Many of them are also introverts, and I often hear of them talking about meeting up at a local library after school.  I am someone that buys my books, and specifically physical copies. Aside from the emotional reasons, we can all agree that buying books in this day and age isn’t a good decision (half-price books is my holy shrine). But in a previous iteration of this post, when it was just me complaining about general American issues, my good friend (shoutout to Lemon!) said something about libraries that really struck me: “Had public libraries been made after the Cold War, we wouldn’t really like them here.” This was in a larger context in reference to how public transport...

 Jaycee Snelson Week 7: The Library      The fondest memory of elementary school was going to the Fremont Main Library with my Grandma. Every Wednesday, religiously, my Grandma would pick me up from school and drive me to the library. Once there, we would return the books from last week and spend what felt like hours roaming through the isles. Picking up lots of books for both me and my brother and having some one on one bonding time. However, as I got older I stopped going to the library. I had gotten busy with school work and didn’t feel safe there anymore. “Why?” You ask. Because the public library is overrun with homeless people.      The Homeless are stereotyped as crazy individuals who could be  dangerous. Although a majority do not fall into this category. The perception for them makes the public wary whenever they see someone on the street.        If you have ever gone past the library you can see the community of ...

  My mom grew up in Singapore, a city-country in Southeast Asia.  As I grew up, I learned a lot of habits from her. I developed her love for video games, her crafting skills, a little bit of her enthusiasm. However, I never quite understood her decisions when it came to her work. See, the way she taught me work ethics should be that you should put your all into every project. You should do your best on every assignment, and strive to excel. On the other hand, the media I grew up consuming taught me that putting all your effort into things for others endedbadly. The stories I consumed told of passionate artists who were taken advantage of, people who did their genuine best in their work and succeeded in making their own personal masterpieces, only for someone to swoop in and take their life’s work. Novels told of how it was easier to set expectations low then raise them slightly higher, rather than aim for the stars.  I tend to converse more with my mother nowadays, and th...

One thing about me is that I love a good, cringey, Hallmark Christmas movie. I'm aware that they are usually not the greatest pieces of film but you can catch me watching these movies year-round. What always surprises me is how similar these movies always are. A lot of them start off with one of the lead characters in a bustling city like New York City who has some desperate need to go to a more rural city in the countryside. They discover small town life and understand the importance of having people close to them. They are able to take a step back from solely thinking about wealth and success. There is a recurring theme of people “finding themselves” when they finally take a step back from the fast pace of big city life and are able to truly get in touch with themselves and the people around them. They learn about who they are and where they come from and they always end up happier after the life changing experience of visiting a small, rural town. These movies are built off idea...

Wearing branded merchandise of major companies who may produce our favorite consumer goods (like food or cosmetics, or fashion brands) has always been a sort of pet peeve of mine. It’s like walking around as a free billboard advertisement for a corporation who doesn’t care about you, yet you blindly support them anyway. Yes, I understand not all companies are bad (but a whopping majority do love to sacrifice care to appease shareholders), and that some people are just crazy about Dr. Pepper, but it still rubs me the wrong way.  However, there is one corporation in America that I do heavily support to the point of scouring thrifts for merch: Costco Wholesale!!  Everybody loves Costco. There cannot exist a single person who dislikes Costco for any reason. I mean, I love it enough to want their merch and I just denounced this whole thing of putting on clothes with a brand written all over. Their chain of retail stores spanning across America—and even internationally, in the larg...