lauren 340

I have recently tried some new food/snack places around the LA area that I think are really good. I tried this place called Mochinut which sells mochi donuts. They have a ton of different flavors that they rotate out every week. They are pretty expensive compared to other stores like Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts---I delivered a half dozen to my apartment and it cost about $19. I also recently tried Melo Melo which is a coconut-like dessert with fresh fruits or fruit jelly inside. What I found really cool about Melo Melo is that their desserts come in glass jars and if you save and bring in 10 jars, you can get a free one. I think people should try these places if they really love dessert/sweet foods.  Some other restaurants I've been to recently are Bestia and Manuela. They are both in the Arts District. I really liked Manuela because it had a cute outdoorsy ambiance. The restaurant had a lot of plants as decoration and the food was pretty good as well. We went during brunch hours...

I chose to read Brittney Griner’s In My Skin . I didn’t know much about her but I thought her autobiography would be interesting to read. From the news some years ago, I knew of a WNBA player being detained in Russia but I did not know that it was her until I looked her up. With most big controversies in the media, it’s easy to hear other people’s opinions about the situation, but hard to find what the person themselves who’s involved thinks about the situation. As I read along, her autobiography talked more about her challenges as a female in sports and having her sexuality being of public discussion. She talks about the conflicts she faced with her sexuality being unaccepted by her school, some of her coaches, and her father. Most of her teammates were very accepting but she faced some opposition from her college, coaches, and her father. From a young age, she states that she had trouble fitting in with other kids at school, was bullied, and frequently got into fights. Because of th...

Feeling Lucky? The Top Reasons to Take A Gamble and Move to Vegas  Do you live in a casino? Whenever I tell people that I’m from Vegas, they always ask something along these lines or gasp in awe. I feel that most people are unaware that yes, there are houses in Vegas. Yes, there are also schools. And yes, people have other jobs besides working in casinos and bars. Hopefully, I can sway some of your opinions you have against what people call “Sin City.” I remember the shocked look on my roommate’s face when I told her that it was normal for slot machines to be at gas stations, grocery stores, and even the airport. When my college friends talk about how their high-school hang-out spots were houses or fun museums and parks, I would be so jealous. As a kid, our hangout spots would be the casino! The casinos have everything; everything from bowling alleys to arcades, movie theaters, food courts, and pools. But dang, do they make these casinos kid-friendly? I’m not even kidding, there is...

I chose to read Brittney Griner’s In My Skin , a story about a WNBA star on Phoenix Mercury whose sexuality was unwillingly publically announced in 2013. The book follows her life in chronological order, first talking about her experiences as a child, in college basketball, and then lastly the WNBA.  Growing up, she stated that she had trouble fitting in with other kids at school due to her tall stature and appearance. Because of this, she was forced to hide parts of her identity and felt a loss of freedom in her everyday life. For me, this really resonated with me especially when I was younger. I went to the same school my whole life and the school was not very racially diverse. I sometimes felt like an outsider and often feared that people would not accept me due to how physically different I looked from everyone else. I admire her strength to keep on fighting for her identity despite all the slurs and bullying she endured. In high school, she did start to take steps to finally s...