5. Ravoli 2025

A poomsae kihap ("4 Reasons"). In taekwondo, kihap (기합) is “a shout or yell made before, during, or after a technique” (“About”). In taekwondo, the outcry is used as a means to put power behind a punch or kick. When I had first joined my martial art dojang in eighth grade, I distinctly remember being apprehensive about letting out what felt like a primal squall beyond my comfort. I didn’t see the point in doing something that made me uncomfortable. Especially considering I started this sport relatively late compared to my friends and peers, I felt particularly more embarrassed to let go of my reluctance. Fast forward a year and a half, my friends and I were practicing Form Five (or Taeguk Oh Jang) for our first championship. Now, this championship wasn’t anything crazy: it was low-key and nothing really competitive. Still, we were excited to perform our synchronized poomsae. It was then and there I was able to truly let go of my inhibitions. In poomsaes (or forms), the athlet...

  The above image portrays the popular painting of Washington and his men's on boat in the dead of night, coined as the "Washington Crossing the Delaware." Sourced from: American Revolution History DEMOCRACY . It is a value that Americans attempt to uphold with each individual, in each situation. The idea can be traced back to ancient Greece, in its inception when Aristotle proposed that the majority rules under a present authority, with the choice to live life as they please. Other philosophers after him reflected similar ideals, and this was simply expected within their society. It was a means to uphold the community, to keep citizens accountable, to lead them to a common goal.  This idea has shape shifted often in modern day America, being a common rhetoric in the right and left wing, and encouraging certain policies. The formation of the parties themselves is a testament to America’s promise to rule by the people. However, especially in light of the recent election, t...

  Photo by Stephanie Rausser       Every night starts out the same. I finish my homework, get into bed, and start scrolling on my phone, promising myself that I will go to bed in ten minutes. Before I know it, ten minutes turns into thirty, and then an hour, and maybe two. The endless content makes it impossible to put my phone down. With regret and the all too familiar promise that tomorrow night will be different, I finally allow myself to drift off to sleep.      Around 7 billion people worldwide own a smartphone, and a majority of them can attest to how addicting these devices can be. They are designed to keep us engaged and convince us to believe that one more video, post, or story could not hurt. This is not an accident, claims Tristan Harris , who states that businesses profit from advertising and engagement so the more time an individual spends on the app, the more money the company makes. This causes users to get hooked for long peri...

Plants around us all have cellulose, and nitrogen is in the air we breathe every day. Alone, they’re weak. Put together, they have a new power. An average human finger easily has the power to pull a weight of 10 lbs. Only 4 lbs are needed for a different power. 3D design and 3D printing are valuable skills that give people the power to excel at a wide variety of things. All it takes is a slight lack of morals for an even greater power to be provided. Image from AMT Lab at Carnegie Mellon University We humans have the power of creation, of technology, of life. Very quickly, we can turn that into the power of death. The ease with which anyone can acquire a firearm nowadays is scary. Not only are 3D printed guns legal in all states, but they can be produced quite easily. While a license is needed to purchase a gun, anyone with a good enough 3D printer can produce a gun that ignores all gun laws. They could print a gun without any serial numbers for identification, they could print a plas...

The Future of Water Water, one of the most abundant resources on our planet, is so incredibly important in our lives, and I feel it’s underappreciated. We often overlook how water can be used in so many ways, and is essentially the foundation of us and the world we live in. When we need to drink something to stay hydrated, the best choice of beverage is water. When we shower, we shower with water. We use water to grow crops and even generate electricity. Even the majority of our bodies are made up of water (~60%) . Essentially, my point is water is one of, if not the most, important resources that is vital to our survival and lifestyle. When drinking water, we’re providing nutrients to our cells, getting rid of waste, and maintaining our body temperature. When we forget to drink water and become dehydrated, we lose these nutrients vital to our survival, with mild symptoms including extremely painful (yet harmless) cramps, dizziness, and feeling lethargic. This only scratches the surfac...

     Censorship has existed as a tool of power for governments, institutions, and private entities in order to shape public discourse, suppress voices of opposition, and control the flow of information. From minor book bans to restricting internet access, individuals in power recognize that controlling language is a medium to controlling thought.       Throughout history, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, such as those experienced in China and Russia, have used censorship to sway the minds of their subjects. By suppressing dissenting opinions as well as silencing historical truths, these leaders maintain their unending political dominance. Studies have shown an indisputable connection between censorship and indoctrination. Citizens who have only been exposed to media that is crafted to encourage nationalism and diminish interpersonal connections with any other foreign perspectives create a perfect vessel for indoctrination. Even in democratic so...

So a week ago Donald Trump became our 47th president. On his first day he signed a number of executive actions which raised many questions about the limits of his power. One that stuck out to me was one his goal to remove birthright citizenship, which means that no matter the status of your parents, if you were born on U.S. soil you become a citizen. Revoking this right would put a lot of people’s livelihoods in jeopardy. This also will violate the 14th amendment, which guarantees citizenship to all people “born or naturalized in the United States.”  Now I’m certain that this executive order will not amount to anything, and many federal lawsuits have already been filed in response. When this gets escalated to the Supreme Court there’s no doubt that it will get ruled unconstitutional. But this raises some questions involving power abuse. President Trump may not be able to do much, but he can definitely set a precedent of quickly pushing impactful orders for future presidents, enabl...

When the world seemed to come to a halt during COVID, I found myself yearning for something to do. All of a sudden, I had so much free time to myself, and the boredom began to absorb me. Around this same time, on Christmas Eve, my mom brought a gift home that her coworker had given her. Urgently, my sister and I got up and ran over to my mom, swiftly grabbing the gift bag from her before she even had a chance to take off her shoes. When we spilled the contents of the bag onto the table, though, we were shocked. Given that it was the holiday season, we expected to find hot chocolate, a mug, or maybe even lip balms and lotion. But the last thing we expected was a mustard-colored, hand-woven scarf and beanie set. It was honestly beautiful. And even though I let my sister keep the gifts, they left a lasting impact on me. The possibility of making something that beautiful on my own intrigued me, and, at that moment, I decided that I wanted to try it out. Credit Link After that, began the bi...

When I was in middle school, I used to play a little creamy-white plastic recorder, as suggested (forced, actually) by my homeschooling curriculum. I spent countless hours annoying my mom with its screeching, huffing and puffing as I squinted at NoobNotes.net , wondering why I couldn’t capture Anastasia's longing in her song “Once Upon a December.” Humming over the lyrics to the song, I quickly found that my own voice sounded much better than my recorder (sounding better than an amateurish plastic recorder is not, admittedly, a difficult feat). I began to sing more. When Covid struck and I could barely talk to my friends, I was restless, and would stay up late and unhappy into the night. Singing became my distraction then, quietly around a dark closed neighborhood. For me, singing is a thing of concentration—I get absorbed in the inflections of my voice, falling like waves, or birds, or china sometimes. Singing is my meditation—in this isolation, at least, the world and all its tro...

  Prom 18: Sam Smith – In the lonely hour Music is such an impactful part of our lives controlling our emotions, mood, and overall well being. It’s an area of influence I find intriguing, especially figuring out what kind of music influences my mood and emotions. I’m on Spotify 24/7 listening to whatever fits my mood, but I’ve noticed that when a slower, sad song (like Alone by Cat Burns or Falling Behind by Laufey ) begins to play, my mood drops and I feel gloomy. However, when songs like Poster Boy by Lyn Lapid or Back on 74 by Jungle start playing, I instantly feel uplifted and energetic. It’s a crazy concept that I don’t fully understand, but I find it interesting and kind of fun. I’ve started to take note of what kind of music influences different moods and experiences, and what I’ve noticed I find really exciting. There’s an unofficial genre of music that I like to call “ Vibes .” It’s really just a playlist I’ve created of music that sounds surreal. Not just evoking a ...

When we think of power, we often think of a loud, commanding, and indisputable force. Visions of a wave crashing against a shoreline or a leader rising above others in order to push progress forward and through resistance. Yet, I think there exists a quieter power, usually rendering itself invisible as it travels through each of us subtly: the power of whispers. Throughout history, whispering has been practiced by every individual throughout every era of humankind. Whispering has been a part of ancient practices and even incorporated into storytelling such as “ The Tale of the Whispering Winds ” derived from the belief of Maya, a God who whispers secrets under the cover of a windstorm. Within an often loud and bustling world, whispers hold its own unique power. The whispers of discontent within private rooms that have birthed regimes and social movements. Whispers between a teacher and a student, “You are capable of more than this”. Or whispered words of apologies, “I was wrong” can be...

The words GIRL POWER glittered across the T-Shirt. I stared, pinching the shirt between my fingers at arm’s length as if I were holding a mouse (to use a phrase—I would love to hold a mouse). My dad beamed. He had bought me the shirt, charitably saving me the tediousness of clothes shopping. “Do you like it?”  “Uh…mhm.”  I was ten years old and not particularly well-versed in feminism, but something about the idea of “girl power” struck me as deeply embarrassing.  Why? I’m a girl. And why wouldn’t I want power? I mean, go girls —at that age I harbored a vague disdain for any boys who weren’t my friends. If I ever saw someone wearing a shirt that said BOY POWER I would’ve ridiculed them.  At first I thought it was the glitter. It was too “girly.”  But really, I was irritated that someone thought there was a need to make a shirt that asserted the power of girls. Because that acknowledged girls were lacking in power, whether physical, or more importantly, societal....

The above cartoon is made by David Horsey, and gathered from the following link: Horsey's Cartoons With the worsening state of the climate, popular opinion says that, on the bright side, we are set to die soon! In these dire circumstances, I suppose that the ulti mate ring match between the earth and ourselves occurs from one day to the next. I am quite sad to communicate that we are most definitely in the lead.  Increasing carbon commissions is allowing the climate crisis to simultaneously be broadcasted everywhere, all the time, and yet completely ignored. For these reasons, and due to the continued ignorance, sea levels rise as we speak, fast fashion is popularizing within the states, and our little (not so little) state is getting hotter year by year. Most assume that these consequences mean that there is nothing of value that can be done. But this is not true. We have it within our power to change the kind of planet that we want to live in, the kind that we want our children t...

  Image from MR. LOVEINSTEIN “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt” is a rhyme I often heard growing up. It serves as a reminder for children to not give power to insults or let the harsh words of others affect them. I grew up surrounded by this mentality but was never able to adopt it myself. Sure, I was able to console myself with the mantra of “they’re just jealous” but that could not take away that stinging feeling or lasting impact that some words cause.  Throughout history, dehumanizing language has been utilized as a weapon to justify violence and discrimination. By reducing minority groups to stereotypes, dehumanizing language such as slurs strips them of their individuality, making it far easier for them to be viewed as less than human. This rhetoric has succeeded in diminishing millions of lives. From the propaganda that fueled genocides to the small microaggressions sprinkled into everyday conversation, words leave a mark.  On a person...

An explanation of horsepower (Smith). There is absolutely no way everyone on our roads should truly be allowed to drive. …is the thought I have every time I am traveling somewhere. The sheer number of vehicles out on the streets never fails to amaze me: how are these hundreds of drivers all allowed to operate multiple-ton metal vessels of mass destruction? The Driver’s Education required in the state of California to be able to obtain a Learner’s Permit always emphasizes that “having a driver license is a privilege, not a right” (“1. Teen”). There is absolutely no way everyone on our roads should truly be allowed to drive. Or rather, there is absolutely no way I trust everyone on our roads with my life in their hands. It is never a comforting thought that no matter how safe the driver of the vehicle I am in drives, our safety is also reliant on that same mindset of other drivers. Although everyone is tested and screened to be able to drive, it is never a guarantee that they will follo...

At the time of our country’s conception, it had been declared to be a land where “all men are created equal,” but evidently some people are more equal than the rest. Throughout the history of our country, the majority group in power has oppressed those whom it considers to be “less American.” From the enslavement of those of African descent to the massacring and forced relocation of Native Americans, the American government has long taken actions to render targeted groups powerless. Recently, reforms have been made through movements like the Civil Rights Movement, but this inequality still exists. In our society, our power mainly comes from our right to vote. When one loses that right, they are essentially powerless in this nation. Let’s take the legal system and discrimination against convicted felons. Anyone convicted with a felony can lose the right to vote, can be denied jobs, and can have their passport revoked. On top of that, getting convicted for a felony has never been easier...

When I was a little kid I’d go to the store and look at all the cool Lego sets they had on sale and marvel at the selection. When I finally decided on a set I wanted I went to grab it but found that the price tag was $39.99. Mom said I was only allowed to spend 25 dollars so I had to put it back. A couple days ago I went to Target. I was supposed to go buy some hangers for clothes. As I walked across the store, I found little gadgets and snacks that looked interesting and I just scooped them with me. In the end after tax and everything I spent over 60 dollars. About 45 of that 60 was spent on “wants” and not “needs.” As I was going home I realized the power money can give someone. When I say “power” I don’t mean influence, but rather freedom of spending. This freedom can be destructive. I don’t really have that much money to spend freely, probably because a 17 year old kid can really only make so much money during the summer. But still I was blowing through 60 dollars carelessly as i...

P recisely one week ago, my family and I went to the theaters to watch a new movie: Pushpa 2: The Rule . This is the first movie we watched in 2025, and its plot and catchy soundtrack have made a permanent spot for themselves in my head. In fact, sometimes, I randomly find myself humming its tunes (since the lyrics, themselves, are a little vulgar) and chanting sayings from the movie. But what makes the film so unique is not its amazing music and vibrant, traditional costumes, but rather the commentary it indirectly makes on society and power through its plot and morally gray characters. Image Link U ncovering the character of Pushpa, an illegitimate child who is scorned upon by society for not having a father, the first movie is about his rise to power as a sandalwood smuggler. He defies society’s norms by, quite literally, rising from the ashes, and becomes an influential person in the realm of illegal trade through his incredible business acumen. S urprisingly, the sequel was even ...