Archives for November 2021

Every day I reach into my tin pencil case from the front pocket of my backpack and pull out the same item. I'm often asked what it is, my small red cylinder, with the blacktop missing. The bottom contains a hole, just about the size of the tip of my pencil. It sits on the corner of every desk I sit at, the foreign language written on the side staring back at me. I tend to buy … [Read more...] about Sharpener (Ashley Epperson)

It was the start of my first year of college, right in the heart of a global pandemic, so I figured it was just the right time to start getting my life together. All four of my classes would be fully online for the whole semester. It was imperative that I bring my A-game to stay on top of all of my assignments— my academic life depended on it. The obvious first step was to buy … [Read more...] about Planner (Lauren Lee)

I’ve spent the last two years as a missionary on the island of Taiwan. I spent my nineteenth and twentieth birthdays there, and giving up two years of my life—especially at such a young age—was formative and often difficult. From my missionary experiences, I learned Chinese, I learned how to love people, and I learned how to find common ground among cultures and traditions that … [Read more...] about Pen (Beck Seamons)

It is no mystery that life as a student can easily become overwhelming, chaotic, and unorganized. We have to juggle several classes a day, along with work and our own personal lives. Something that has helped me tremendously and has given me an easy way to mark the notable moments in life is my planner. There are both pros and cons to keeping a planner, but I strongly believe … [Read more...] about Planner (Eliana LaBerge)

6-year-olds across the country use this item, sometimes for the first time, learning the ropes of spelling on reused, reprinted, and reshared spelling worksheets from the time their parents were the same age. A 75-year-old man, well versed in spelling from his primary school days may use it as well, possibly to jot what groceries are necessary for the week ahead. Someone, maybe … [Read more...] about Pencil (Gabe Hudak)

My handwriting has always been unusually light. So light that even though my words are clean, I have a hard time looking over my notes because the gray fades into the yellowness of the page, making them barely legible. I have a distinct memory of being a freshman in high school and apologizing to a math teacher for my notes being so hard to read. When he said, “That’s okay. … [Read more...] about Pen (Anne Kluthe)

I often wondered why I came to America in the first place. I would ask my mother this question and she would say more opportunities and a greater future. I understood this superficially, but it was not until I traveled back to my home country Kenya and witnessed the differences between a first and third-world country. What stood out to me was seeing the struggles many endured. … [Read more...] about Pen (Ruth Kinyua)

Oh, dear sticky note, how I do truly love thee. Ever since the younger years of elementary school, there you were. A square piece of paper, folded into a triangle launched across the classroom through a football goal post made of fingers. A note is being passed to your first crush. “Want to get ice cream after school? Yes ︎ No ︎” It is crazy how something as simple as a piece … [Read more...] about Sticky Note (Sarah Frett)