Jane’s* ’18 head was pounding as she made her way into the kitchen in the afternoon. She was about to take her first a bite of food that day when her dad came into the room, yelling that she needed to keep her annual promise to God. Jane was fasting for Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday in which Jews go without food or water for 24 hours to facilitate...
I am a hypocrite. I try to remain firm as I explain to the blubbering child how he has broken camp rules, but I can’t help feeling a twinge of sympathy and even a little guilt. Though the boy has clearly instigated an argument with another camper, he certainly doesn’t deserve the fight that ensued. And as I repeat that the boy should not call...
Máté Major ’18 likes routine. During the school week, he wakes up at 6 a.m., battles traffic on the 101 in his 2007 Honda (“the village donkey”), goes to his classes and goes home. He might go to a La Femme meeting during break and on Mondays, he goes to Peer Support. Recently, he’s been working on college applications, but if it were up to...
Superhero movies are always the same. Powerless, struggling characters are in trouble and only the superhero has the ability to save them. The protagonist defeats the villain, saves the helpless characters and maintains good in the world. In reality, this is not where the movie ends. Our superheroes are the white saviors, and though they may not...
Matthew Berg ’19 grimaced as his teacher handed his algebra test back to him. His eyes fixated on the red B- and he couldn’t help frowning as he turned the page, the grade bleeding through the paper. But as he reviewed his work, his expression grew less disappointed and more incredulous. As he finished scanning the last page, he realized that the...
Emotionally drained from the previous night, I deliberated whether I should really go to school such a fragile state. But anything was better than staying at home. Walking into school with my earphones blaring music, I did my best to cover my puffy red eyes and disguise the helplessness I felt. Even so, I felt a fuzzy numbness overtake me. It was as...
One November afternoon, a few hundred people stood in line outside Undefeated, a sneaker and streetwear retailer on La Brea Avenue. August Roth ’19 wasn’t one of them: he walked out the doors of Undefeated, triumphant. In his hands were the Off-White x Nike React Hyperdunks: basketball shoes, fittingly off-white except for a black Nike Swoosh and...
As Philip Moon ’20 drove down Ventura Blvd, he saw the same fast-fashion boutiques, sushi restaurants and care-free Californians on their phones. The only thing that occasionally changed on his daily drive to school was the lofty billboards, which alternated between advertisements of television shows, movies, restaurants and new technology. Recently,...
Standing in the Tuff warehouse in San Diego, Jonathan Damico ’18 and Cameron Schiller ’18 looked at the first prototype of the backpack that had once been just an idea they had dreamed of. As they stared at the backpack they had seen drawn hundreds of times, the white “Mk 1” writing stitched into the top stood out. Although Damico knew they...
Bike 34 was finally open. I had been refreshing Lisa’s Justin Bieber vs. Justin Timberlake class all week, waiting for someone to cancel. When the opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t turn it down. “Bike 34 is yours!” flashed across my screen, and I scanned my inbox for a confirmation from SoulCycle. I double-checked my calendar to make...