It all started the way most bad things start: on stairs. Walking past the music rooms on the second floor, I was having a pretty good...

I felt stupid in my gargoyle costume. After the show, the makeup was caked to my face, the mask was itchy, and the harness was getting...

Lampposts cast warm light across the brick walls, as hostile headlights shot through the winding alleyway. David, Christian, and I sat at...

Balboa Beach was my family’s favorite way to spend free Saturdays. We packed into the car and braved the I-5 traffic. We slipped the...

March 13, 2020 is a day I’ll never forget. I woke up to an ongoing debate in a big group chat of friends. School had just been cancelled...

“Are you sure you want to come? It’s not too late if you don’t want to,” my dad explained. I considered for a moment. The smell of fish...

I stood over my soccer bag, rummaging around for my bottle. It was a fall afternoon, but the heat of summer never really left California...

“I think I’m going to change it again,” I started. “What? Why” my mom asked through the phone. I yawned and tiptoed over the backpacks...

Our last week of Italy had finally caught up to us. One of our final stops was Cinque-Terre, which Dr. Horner described as a sort of...

On the way to Rome, I had come to the realization that my time in Italy was coming to an end. Who knows the next time that I will be back...

Quick word of advice: if you walk into an “Italian” restaurant speaking Italian, and they can’t understand you, it’s probably best to...

Nowhere in the world appreciates colors like Venice. Colors flooded the streets and canals, accompanied by the sunlight’s glow. The only...

“If you ever find yourself bored, just look up,” Dr. Horner told us as we admired the surrounding artwork in the Ufizzi. I had heard this...

Well, I finally made it to Italy! After almost an entire year of waiting, we flew into the birthplace of Western civilization. The city...