Friday Nights My room is a horror movie for electronics. Strewn across every surface are various resistors, capacitors, wires, screwdrivers, and other electronic parts. I am the mad scientist, the person who rips into every device I can get my hands onto. Unlike the cliche horror villain, I do not [...]
The Middle Lane Secret If I’ve learned anything throughout my life it is this: the middle lane was made for a reason. Yes, the middle lane, outlined in yellow dashed lines with one arrow pointing right, and another pointing left. Where you may see this lane as a simple tool [...]
I Am the Daughter I am the daughter of a skateboarder and a photographer, a guitarist and a backpacker, a college dropout and a high school dropout, and I could not ask for anything better. Some students are predetermined to do well academically before they are even born-- their parents [...]
Not an Olympian I always imagined my aspirations as tangible. I always imagined the people I socialized with as my "friends". I always imagined that I had a stronger support system. Yet, I soon realized that life is not simple; dreams are either impossible or difficult to achieve; people, regardless [...]
Bad Kid I never set out to be labelled as a ‘bad’ kid, but over the summer I was told by my art teacher that I am a terrible role model. I don’t listen to directions; I focus too much on whatever tasks at hand and ignore everything else; and, [...]
Pick One “Who’s your favorite brother?” As you might imagine, this was a question often posed to me, the tagalong little sister of the Gallo family. My brothers, Matt and John, eight and nine years older than me respectively, would often ask me in jest who I liked better. I [...]
Fatal Moment Never trust a pizza pocket. Despite its cheesy cheeriness, despite its crispy contentment, despite its saucy satisfaction, the pizza pocket conceals a hidden motive: destruction. And by destruction I am referring to skin cells. It was freshman year; I got home from soccer practice to watch the women’s [...]
Low-key Punk Rock When I was younger, my favorite band was Blink-182. That was the theme song of my awkward transition into teenage-hood and its punk rock aesthetic symbolized my 12 year old self rebelling. I honestly considered myself a “rocker chick,” because, let’s face it, I was. The [...]
Safety First? Personal safety, what is that? After adventure and fun, personal safety was my third concern and that was my mentality entering into high school. I loved exercise and was relatively strong for my size; I jumped off piers and swam in the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay; [...]
Trapped I’m no carpenter, but I know when I’ve been screwed. And this royal screwing took place on a father-son bonding trip to a burger shop this summer. I have the habit of taking off my slippers while I’m outside. So while my dad parks the car and exits, I’m [...]