I’m thankful for antique stores and vintage shops, for the freedom to run my fingers over textured fabrics, read a page or two from an unknown author’s first edition, and test the weight of tarnished jewelry dripping with amber, amethyst, and aquamarine. I think, what made the throat of the now-deceased woman giggle as this amber necklace pressed heavy againsts her chest, what tidbit of gossip made her ears itch while wearing these amethyst earrings, and what did she conceal

If you need motivation in your life, just go watch the finish line of a marathon. People of all shapes and sizes, from different backgrounds, all hoping to do the same thing: cross the finish line. It's a symbol of triumph over resilience, and it shows the determination of runners who overcame the physical and mental challenges in order to reach it. Running is objectively an uncomfortable activity, and the farther you run, the more you can find out about yourself. It's easily

Among the pumpkins, beneath the autumn sky, I held my little boy’s hand as the moments passed by. The world felt softer, the air felt sweet, With golden leaves and dirt beneath our feet. Pumpkins resting in rows on the ground, Little joys and laughter all around. The smell of warm food drifting through the air, And for a little while, nothing else mattered there. Then came the train, so little and slow, Carrying us through a world painted gold. With my son beside me, watching

I wake up in the morning just like any normal person does. My alarm blares at 6 am, and I hit snooze, naturally, cause girl, let’s be so real right now. There is absolutely nothing I need to be doing at six in the morning. Eventually I drag my fat ass out of bed, walk to the bathroom before I have even brushed my teeth. Fifteen minutes have passed. Just me, standing in front of a mirror. Now, you might think I'm admiring myse

When I was quite young, I thought the clouds were created by the billowing smoke drifting out of factories, supplying the world with all sorts of things. These plumes looked like clouds and acted like clouds, so why would they not be clouds? A similarly misinformed conclusion, I was confident for some time that the world existed in black and white up to about 1960, informed by my only insight of the period being through black and white movies. One more: before I knew that fac

College is a new experience. A new community that includes diversity in people, interests, and hobbies. A community that goes beyond our reach in understanding. A place where so many stick figures walk back and forth to different doors, going to different classes, working different jobs, and living completely different lives, where no one understands how many steps it took the other person to get to that class. We see people walking through the hallways, sitting in classrooms

I never thought this academic year would be full of so many beginnings and simultaneous endings. We are all here at community college for one reason or another, so learning new things is expected, but nevertheless, the type of learning I experienced and the sheer amount of it weren’t. I lost friendships, reconnected and strengthened old ones, put some elements of the past in the past that were long overdue for retirement, had the privilege and honor of shaping a year of stude

In the summer of 2025, I took a month-long trip throughout Europe, taking trains through eight different countries. On one of the final days of my time there, I found myself sitting in a Barcelona Taco Bell, directly across the street overshadowed by the towering la Sagrada Familia cathedral of famed architect Antonio Gaudí. As I write this, I am reminded of the guilt I felt in that moment. Although, at the time, I could not place exactly the nature of it. Now, though, I unde

With the recent allegations made toward Ceasar Chaves, I feel it is important to have a discussion on survivorship and the culture of protecting abusers. For a long time being a survivor, to me, meant being vigilant and untrusting of others, especially old men. It meant being afraid of my own family, and it meant being quiet. I have seen the criticisms Dolores Huertas has gotten for only now speaking up about the abuse she suffered. But I know why; it is the same reason I was

Algebra, first developed and written in the 9th century by Muhammed ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi in The Concise Book of Calculation by Restoring and Balancing, is a type of mathematics describing a series of unknown variables, typically “x” and “y,” with “y” being the dependent variable. Along with mathematics, writing goes back to at least the Babylonian Empire and originated with cuneiform. Algebra can represent graphs and, in turn, real-life situations, such as (but certainly not

Reedley College’s Reading and Writing Center (RWC) is relatively young (22 years of service), but many of its tutors left lasting legacies. One such tutor is Stephanie Duarte. Duarte teaches English C1000 here on Reedley College’s campus and shares some wisdom for current and aspiring tutors of all subjects. Reflecting on that time, she recalls some struggles. Some students would book her for “a couple of hours,” which felt draining some days. Not because she didn’t lov

This year, we are celebrating a special event at our tutor expo: the 10th anniversary. Therefore, it is a good time to look back on our Reading/Writing Center’s history to find 10 Years of Legacy, Learning, and Success. This research has not only shown the passage of time but, more importantly, highlighted the lessons that, as a tutoring center, we have learned along the way. This research examined how being a tutor can equip you with the tools to follow your path and succeed