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

The pinch behind my scapula transcends, infecting my shoulder, climbing up my neck, and settling in my ear bones, where a post-apocalyptic and dystopian playlist regulates my brain. I’ve been busy. It’s been a month since I’ve sat for hours at my desk, reaching my right arm forward and hunching over. It’s difficult to sit and write for more than one hour, but I’ve written 500 words so far. Adjusting my red pajamas riddled with white poke-a-dots and pulling at the neck of my u

The turquoise night sky is torn apart as it flies, while its wings leave behind a shimmering dust that gently rains down upon the pinkish dunes towering over the Zentrati Desert on planet Iria. With a beak and talons that shine a glossy metallic gold, cream colored scales, and a snowy, feathered head donned with fiercely curled ram horns, the creature owns the heavens with angel-like grace. No one knows how long the beast, referred to as the Thunderer, has been alive. Some sa

For the longest time, to me, dancing was just movement. It was the idea that there were steps to follow, counts to learn, and, honestly, just making shapes with my body. Through time, somewhere along the way, it became something more. It was no longer just showing up, following the counts, going home, doing it again the next day. It became something that made me realize what I was feeling on the inside could truly live outside for people, for me, and I could do this through m

It was night when we found you, Sitting on a mound of dirt crying into the night How scared you must have been when our light shone on you You were so tiny and frail I was so scared you would not survive the night I stayed awake listening for any whimper or cry It was my most sleepless night You are almost a year old now, You have brought light back into our home Raising you has been the most exhausting and rewarding experience of my life Wherever I go, you are never far Like

As Springtime arrives, the ground grows weak and can no longer hold back the creatures that flail their many arms or gyrate their limbless bodies to break through the surface to greet the Worm Moon. Consequently, in this sixth issue of Delectable Discourse, where I ask college students a scrumptious new question each month, I asked the following question: In light of the upcoming Worm Moon, which is the full moon in March, when was the last time you picked up a worm or other

Valentine’s Day is loved and dreaded by many, so in this fifth issue of Delectable Discourse , where I ask college students a scrumptious new question each month, I asked the following: If you had to replace Valentine’s Day with another holiday, what would it be called, and how would it be celebrated? “Now you got me thinking. I’d make it Frog Day—a day where you celebrate frogs because they are amazing. They are neat creatures that actually provide a lot, and I think they de

Okay, Edna. Just relax, maybe you’re just having a nightmare or something. Let’s just retrace how we got here . Edna Beezler tried to remember how she got to the unnerving sight before her. Winter was her favorite time to take walks, as the soft snowfall put her mind at ease when she needed some time to simply think. The calming atmosphere was disrupted by a buzzing in her ears, and the snow began to fiercely pick up. Once the flash blizzard subsided and her vision was

Every kid has two types of parents for Christmas. Those who try to pretend there is Santa and those who would give it to them straight(Fun Fact: Did you know Santa was inspired by Saint Nicolas?). My parents were the first example. However, it did not take long before I found out on my own. I remember that once I stayed up to catch the supposed fat man in red and caught my parents wrapping presents instead (Now that I think back, that was a better surprise. I would not have l

What is the word you think of when you think of Christmas? Is it the Christmas lights or the long lines at Target? As I grew up, all I could think about was presents. Let me tell you a story about this dad and his little boy. The father's name was David, and he grew up in Pomona, Los Angeles, with his mother who was tough on him. He was a knucklehead who always got in trouble all the way till his late 30s. Then he had a little boy. His name was Isaac. Isaac grew up with his d

The holidays were a one-Christmas-tree ordeal when I was a kid. My brothers would trudge through the dry snow in their bunny boots and snow shoes, I would trail behind, and together we would pick a tree, but the trees we chose were not plushy farm-grown varieties like the Douglas Fir, White Spruce, or Scotch Pine. No, the trees we picked grew in the woods around our house and had levels, like those tiered cookie trays at Christmas parties, and their branches didn’t arrange th

December is such a special month for me. Besides Christmas being around the corner and visiting my family in Mexico and getting to, once more, see the smiling faces of my great-grandparents, December is also my birthday month. It is a fitting birthday month for contemplation, as a new year is upon us, and I am inevitably contemplating the lessons and experiences of my life. I deem it to be a month filled with magic as the warmth and light of the sun falters, and we look for t