“Ask your mom to buy you prettier pants, yeah?” My Korean grandmother grabbed my arm to whisper these words in a dialect I called her ‘southern drawl’. I glanced down at the black sweatpants decorating my legs before I clarified my purchase.
Read MoreWhen I first started playing bass, I never thought of my instrument as a “boy” or “masculine” instrument. I was fortunate to grow up in an environment that didn’t think this way, whether it be my family or school. However, as I grew up through junior high and high school and branched out, I found that not everyone was as open-minded.
Read MoreWinter in Missouri, as many residents here know, is a fickle thing: some years it’s as mild and temperate as can-be, some years it’s frigid arctic wind and mountains of snow, and more often than not, it’s somewhere in between. This can make outings with friends and general nightlife much more difficult to plan around, since that cold air gets even worse when the sun goes down.
Read MoreIt’s a Friday night. Circa ‘94. Under Eddie Vedder and Billy Corgan’s brooding stares from posters above, you settle into your bean bag chair, and crack open a Crystal Pepsi, as a familiar synthesizer melody echoes through your room, and images of UFOs and distorted figures illuminate your television screen. You step into a world of lost time, clones, and killer cockroaches. Wild conspiracies and lingering cold war anxieties are the governing forces of this world. Men in black pull strings. Aliens exist, maybe. All you know is what you’re told at the start of each episode: The truth is out there.
Read MoreIn Southwest Missouri, line dancing is one of the most popular forms of dancing. Whether you’re at Club Rodeo or a local bar, line dancing offers the perfect blend of movement, rhythm, and community.
Read MoreThe endless search for purpose and reason in life can simply be put to an end through the salvation that is friendship. The song concludes, “and you’ll love me ‘til my heart stops, love me ‘til I’m dead.” Detailing that one of the many reasons that life has merit is due to platonic love. At Missouri State University, I have developed deeply valuable friendships. The Talking Heads, just like how the concert developed merit through the addition of friends, my life has had meaning added through friendship.
Read MoreIn a world where scrolling has become an evening ritual and fifteen-second videos have replaced film, humans have begun to search for more—something moved by creativity. Experiences like learning, boredom, achievement, and problem-solving have become easier in today's world of technology. Young children are being educated on YouTube, and elderly people are entertained by streaming services. But the most impacted are college students. Whether it’s used to pass the time, get to a destination, or lay out daily routines, our minds have begun to incorporate excessive technology use naturally. It can confidently be said that every college student has stayed up late scrolling, chatting, watching, or playing on a screen.
Read MoreIn any classic college movie, the average student’s nightlife consists of one thing: parties, with the key aspect being going out with friends to make poor decisions in a loud, and sometimes dangerous environment. However, for many, the party they are more concerned with is their Dungeons & Dragons party.
Read MoreSo, what’s the point of putting an entire mixtape together? Why go through all the hoops that it entails when it’s so much easier to get with the times and share music the modern way? The answer is simple: the intimacy of it.
Read MoreFiction is way more than just telling a story, it’s a way to explore different worlds, ideas, and emotions. Within fiction, there are many subgenres, each offering a unique experience for the reader. Knowing these subgenres helps readers discover stories they’ll love and connect with. Now, let's break down some of the subgenres of fiction.
Read MoreThey thrive in the dark and shrink away from the light. These monsters are either depicted as tortured and sympathetic, or cruel and sadistic. Different stories have different rules about their nature, but they all share the fact that they are unnatural, undead creatures of the night.
Read MoreIn the music industry, women are pioneers, constantly reshaping pop culture through their boundless creativity. Black women specifically have made major contributions to the music industry, even though they are historically marginalized, mistreated, and exploited in their craft.
Read MoreFor over fifty years, the beloved character of Hello Kitty has evolved from merely being a simple design to becoming the mascot for one of Japan’s largest entertainment companies. Being a timeless phenomenon, the design has had the ability to consistently charm audiences and serves as a nostalgic figure that inspires contemporary media and trends. As a brand, Hello Kitty uses a blend of cuteness, distinctiveness, and specific marketing strategies to show the intersectionality that can be formed between mass consumerism and online communities.
Read MoreSnacks and candy are a staple of our lives. We grew up eating these foods, and for a lot of us, this has not changed. People usually have a select few go-to snacks. Are you into sweet chocolate, spicy chips, or sour gummies? — Your favorite snack says a lot about you, whether you realize it or not!
Read MoreOne of my favorite pastimes is setting down a blanket in a quiet park and scattering a plethora of craft supplies, a few snacks, and a speaker to keep me and my friends company. Nothing compares to watching my visions come to life through homemade jewelry and painted trinket dishes while being brought closer to my friends through a social outing that helps us all explore our imaginations. This gathering is what me and my friends call a “craft picnic,” and the crafts I've made at these picnics have acted as a creative outlet to me for years.
Read MoreIn 2024, Monica Barbaro played Joan Baez in “A Complete Unknown,” the Bob Dylan biopic. However, Dylan wasn’t the main discourse in response to the movie. Joan Baez has been the topic of discussion; where is the major motion telling of her life? Rather than receive that, we ended up with another Dylan movie to add to the pile. However, Baez’s life is truly a marvel — she is a woman that pushes the limits on music and social justice. She attended civil rights marches where she would sing and protest, created her own anti-violence cause, and always spoke her mind in pursuit of human rights and social change.
Read MoreWhen women enter a traditionally male-dominated space, there is a subconscious feeling of difference. It is a typical human experience to feel the need to blend in with the given environment, to camouflage. Whether for safety or the natural desire to conform, femininity is seen as a weakness when put into a space encapsulated by masculinity. However, femininity is not a weakness, but rather a show of resilience for those who utilize it.
Read More20-year-old Alyssa Lee is an artist and entrepreneur working and living in Springfield, Missouri. She is a tattoo apprentice at Dreamland Tattoo company, under mentor Maddie Bates, and recently started tattooing clients. Lee’s journey as an artist has been a long one. Growing up, her whole family loved art, her mother specifically was an art teacher, which fostered a highly creative environment in her home. Lee has said on her Instagram and TikTok that she can’t pick a favorite art medium, which is evident through her featuring creations of all kinds.
Read MoreIn a world of so much violence and unrest, many people forget about the ideas of peace and justice. Many don’t know that we don’t need to live in a world full of nuclear weapons, inflated military budgets, and mass displacement of communities.
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