I grew up in an inescapable epicenter of toxic health culture and thin-ness, from girls doing juice cleanses in elementary school to calorie trackers making on appearance on everyone’s phone as early as middle school. I did my first juice cleanse in fifth grade.

My experience is so much better for my situation, but I can’t help but grieve lost expectations. I have learned to romanticize my life now as if I was making those videos I watched so long ago. With my Asda trips, time spent with friends on the beach, walking everywhere (even in the rain), books piling up around me as I work into the night, trying to keep my constantly messy room tidy, meals gone wrong. The good. The bad.

In September 2012, Vanity Fair headlines read “Scientology, Tom Cruise, and Katie Holmes: What Katie Didn't Know”. Through reading the title and continuing onwards into the article, I was provoked with a series of questions. How is it that the entirety of the Cruise vs Holmes child custody battle curiously seemed to revolve around this one word? Scientology.

The most trustworthy is the gov.uk website which will quickly become your best friend. It will have all the information you need for your Tier Four visa and beyond. Sometimes, this website can seem a bit cryptic and in this case, reach out to the international team at your uni if they have one. They are a dedicated group that should be able to answer any further questions. 

Don’t be too promiscuous. Or self-assured. Initiate just a bit of poise but, nevertheless, encourage yourself to be irresistibly wild. People liked “wild” women, and I desired nothing more but to be wholly, unquestionably liked. These thoughts, these feelings, constantly orbit through my abysmal mind, wandering aimlessly as I engage within something that should be guilt-free and pleasurable for me, especially at this point in my adult life: sex.

In 2019, I was a senior in high school and, as such, I was incredibly stressed for college decisions to come out. Truth be told, I applied to only a handful of schools and got into less than half of them. One of the schools was the University of Chicago, where I go now. But as someone who has thought of transferring more than once since being here, I can say with confidence that where you go to college matters… just probably not in the way you think. Here are ten things I wish I knew before choosing my college, and before starting college at all.

There is a reason groupthink is often labeled as a consequence of combined ignorance rather than a benefit of shared thoughts. With over one billion active users in over 150 countries worldwide, we are all very familiar with the kind of videos posted on the social media platform TikTok. From cooking instruction videos to 'get ready with me' videos, founder Zhang Yiming nearly doubled his billion-dollar fortune due to home-struck users and a flood of content on the platform.

When the 100 degree heat got to me a little, I decided to check out some refreshing seasonal treats to reward myself with after a hard day of summer restaurant work. When I entered my grocery store of choice I was immediately greeted with a citrus flavor overload of summer items that pair perfectly with the weather outside.

Smoothies are a great way to get in all your fruits and veggies. Although many fruits contain natural ingredients that provide our drinks with a sweet taste, some people are looking for a little more. Are you someone that’s looking for ways to amp up your smoothies and still keep them healthy?

Social relevance is like money; in the era of social media power is received by the acknowledgment of followers, fans and the click of a button; the like button. On Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok, the like button is the shape of a heart, the universal symbol of love.

Kayne is no less than legendary. However, with all of the limelight and revenue coming in, with any new artist, fame can quickly become your enemy. In Kayne’s rise to stardom, he became the entity of controversy. His comments and behaviors created much backlash from the public. Today, people either love Kayne or they hate him; there’s no in-between.

One of the most common questions that I get concerns the difference between machine and hand-poked tattoos. Although the growing popularity of hand-poked tattoos has slightly alleviated the stigma surrounding them, a lot of the information available online still reflects this bias, negatively skewing any answers to this question.

Since this draft was leaked, I have been reflecting and pondering this news. One thing I have been thinking about in particular, though, is how the US government definitely has bigger, more pressing issues to worry about right now.

Cary Joji Fukunaga, director of “Jane Eyre,” “Maniac,” and the most recent Bond flick, “No Time to Die,” was accused of sexual misconduct earlier this month. The allegations were initially brought forward on Rachelle Vinberg’s Instagram stories, which have since been archived on her page’s highlights. In one post, Vinberg wrote “I spent years being scared of him. Mans is a groomer and has been doing this shit for years. Beware women.”

Out of all of my jobs that I have had through the years, I have found that being a waitress is the most fulfilling side-hustle that I have found. Waitressing in a restaurant can be very tough. It is constantly about remembering orders, dealing with unhappy customers, balancing 8 drinks on one tray - all things that require you to focus and stay on task.

For the past 3 weeks, all I could see on my Tiktok for-you page was Ukraine. Starting from the change of profiles to yellow and blue to edits of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, it was all I could see…Until I didn’t. Now, when I scroll I see almost nothing about Ukraine.

I was able to find some incredible at-home workouts that contributed to me losing over 40 pounds in 6 months. Summer is right around the corner and we all want to feel good! Hate going to the gym but still looking for a killer full-body workout? Whip out your smartphone and follow these five social media fitness influencers.

I would humbly call myself a bagel connoisseur. I know my way around a quality bagel. I've diligently searched every nook and cranny for the most superior bagels in Los Angeles, but as I continue my search, the question of what makes a bagel a good bagel remains. Good is not only a general word but a subjective one.

After being accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife, Johnny Depp claims that he lost everything. He lost roles in films he was cast for, he lost his reputation, he lost his self-worth; he is a survivor. Now, six years after the last accusation made against him, Depp is suing Heard for defamation.

There is a startling lack of dialogue online about the psychological effects of dealing with long-term acne. It’s true, I think that people don't notice the changes in your skin as much as you do, but that’s really not as comforting as it should be. Honestly, with acne, the way you perceive yourself is the way you believe everyone else perceives you.

To help illustrate this often ignored horror and despair among the youth, I had high school students from California School of the Arts express their feelings through art, representing the inner turmoil of growing up with an unpromised future.

ith us stuck in our homes, it really made us stop, ponder, and ruminate over what truly matters to us in our lives. For young people who just graduated high school and transitioning into college or for young adults who graduated college and are transitioning into the ocean that is the real world, the quarantine took them out of a non-stop capitalist machine. It made people re-evaluate their lives in a time when they didn’t have the energy and mental bandwidth to do so.

Disregarding the very obvious sexism, body shaming, and the lack of education from most parents towards their kids, growing up became a lot easier in high school because everything was about looks and fashion. You would be put in a box – thus in a certain group of friends – depending on the kind of clothes you would wear. It’s almost like we had our own societal classes, with very distinct levels of hierarchy, the criteria being that if you wore striped tights, a shirt of your favorite anime and looked ‘strange’, you were classed in the weird-unapproachable-anime-kids box, even if they were probably the kindest group at the school.

Out of mind-numbing boredom and lock-downed lust, I found myself observing the absurd language of Zoom flirting. From interpreting the subtle signals, to making the wrong move at the touch of a button, I discovered how much can happen inside a couple of tiny virtual squares.

The Federal Government in Australia can’t seem to wrap their heads around the concept of defunding the police, yet they’ve been slowly defunding the humanities for years.  Last year in Australia, the coalition doubled the cost of studying humanities degrees, increasing by 113%; whereas fields that Education Minister Dan Tehan deemed more profitable like STEM, IT, and nursing, were reduced by up to 63 percent. 

You were one that will latch itself to my fleeting memory for years to come. You were ruthless, uncouth - a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I recognize that despite the many deeply unsettling encounters you faced the world and I with, that you assisted me in shedding my childish skins. I am no longer a character of purity, for in the past 365 days I have learned what it is like to exist as a human being, and that this existence is not always one of lightheartedness. The world is both cruel and beautiful in likewise cacophony. 

Mine and most people’s main goals turned into just trying to stay healthy and inside as much as possible. As quarantine became more permanent and the news became more overwhelming by the day, I was fortunate enough that my silver lining was all the free time that had been thrown my way.

It began, like so many things do, with that one scene in Freaks and Geeks. In the beautiful season finale, protagonist Lindsey Weir discovers a Grateful Dead CD. Suddenly, her mind is opened, her world is changed, and her arms sway to “Box of Rain.”

When one is suddenly presented with excessive free time, one begins to hear about all of the other teenagers who use that time to embark on small projects such as achieving enlightenment, ending world hunger, speaking at the UN etc.

I was in sixth grade. Sitting with my legs spread out on a scratchy rug in a freezing classroom, I spoke to my friend, doubtlessly about something remarkably interesting like that day’s lunch or the behavior of a boy she liked.