It was extremely tempting to take this prompt as an opportunity to rave about my dearest celebrities. I could choose to speak about my favorite musical artists, my favorite actor, or my athlete of choice. As I began to envision my blossoming friendship with Leonardo Di Caprio, I took a step back and asked myself what neighbors were really for: pretty much nothing.  A couple of considerations brought me to the conclusion that having a celebrity neighbor wouldn’t benefit my life. I thought to myself about my past experiences with my neighbors and reflected upon our intera ..read more

  While staring at this prompt my mind drew a blank; “What is the best thing about you?” The question was so open-ended and vague and yet I still couldn’t think of an answer. I have no defining personality traits, no innate virtue, and I’m not blessed with ultra-intelligence or superhuman abilities. I started to think more broadly about what I really was good at. Of the activities I thought of, I realized I was inherently bad at all of them. However, I was dedicated to them, and kept with that interest of mine to eventually upgrade my skills. I think one of my best qualities is my abilit ..read more

 Me, my mother, my father, my brother, my uncle, and grandparents were huddled around the Christmas tree in a festive mood. I had just finished unwrapping a soccer ball and looked eagerly at the shiny wrappers to see whose turn it was next. I will not forget when my Grandma, who knew nothing about technology, unwrapped her present, an iPad Mini. She, who barely knew anything about technology, looked in awe as she stuttered out the mispronunciation “pud-min-EE.” She struggled with it at first, but as she has learned how to use it, she has become more connected; talking with her friends, ke ..read more