I would not have faced this issue if I could have chosen Roy Lichtenstein. He was my top choice for my end-of-the-year art history project. Unfortunately, seniors got first pick and I ended up with Shepard Fairey. Everyone has seen his most famous work, but they may not know that it is his: the iconic HOPE poster from President Obama’s 2008 campaign. Another thing most people don’t know is the legal drama surrounding the image. In 2009 the Associated Press...

When I was little, my parents kept me occupied on planes by making puppets out of air sickness bags. Most of the time I ended up throwing up into my puppet later during the flight. The good thing about being a motion-sick kid is that nobody blames you after you’re sick. The flight attendants say things like, “Oh, you woke up from your nap and immediately vomited on your mom’s lap? Have a US Airways pin.” It’s...

When I was little, my parents kept me occupied on planes by making puppets out of air sickness bags. Most of the time I ended up throwing up into my puppet later during the flight. The good thing about being a motion-sick kid is that nobody blames you after you’re sick. The flight attendants say things like, “Oh, you woke up from your nap and immediately vomited on your mom’s lap? Have a US Airways pin.” It’s...

I have been volunteering with the Wintergreen Adaptive Sports program in Nelson County, Virginia for the past three years. Volunteering entails going to Wintergreen Ski Resort on winter weekends and teaching mentally and physically disabled people how to ski and snowboard. Towards the end of winter, the program hosts an annual Mardi Gras celebration. Many people come to the event and are enthusiastic about the program. Unfortunately, most of them never come back again. It’s not like they don�...

Here’s what I don’t remember: hitting my head on the coffee table, my mom carrying me ten blocks to the hospital, and getting stitches. But I’ve been told the story of how I got the faint scar on my forehead enough times over the past fourteen years to know that these things happened. What I do remember is the aftermath of the incident: sitting on the edge of my parents’ bed and screaming. In the weeks after...

El Puerto is an “authentic” Mexican restaurant in the middle of Charlottesville, Virginia. When my sister, Madeline, is home from college for the summer, the two of us have lunch there every few weeks. While I cannot speak for its authenticity–I have never been to Mexico–I feel qualified to say that it is both the best Mexican restaurant in town and the place where I feel most content. Madeline and I have tried El Monarca, its obvious advantage...