Do you ever just stop for a second and listen? When you’re near a group of people you love, do you ever stop and hear how lovely they are? Often, when I’m alone in my room, I hear my roommates bustling about the shared living space through our...

The Mongolian Lunar New Year, known as Tsagaan Sar, is the first day of the Mongolian lunisolar calendar. Citizens of Mongolia celebrate the lunar new year, which is the first day through three days of the first lunisolar calendar.  Before the day...

Whenever I am asked why I became an English major, I tell the same story.  During middle school, I was tasked with writing the first chapter of a novel for a project. I had recently seen the Disney animated movie “Atlantis” and chose to use it...

Throughout life, friendships and relationships are made, whether with classmates, coworkers or random strangers. However, people should not feel pressured to stay in a friendship or relationship if they don’t want to, and especially if the friendship...

Ever since I was a little girl, I always had something to do to keep me busy. In middle school, I made duct tape wallets and jewelry. Every weekend my grandma would take me to a craft store to stock up on supplies because the whole family knew I loved...

The power of a simple compliment is often undervalued. We hesitate, second-guess and let moments slip away where a simple word or two could have made someone’s day.  Most people know when spoken with sincerity, compliments can be transformative;...

I never understood the hype around sports; I could appreciate the competition, but I certainly couldn’t get behind learning the players, the stats or their paths to greatness. That was until my sister began playing lacrosse and I became a travel companion...

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and love is in the air at NIU. Many couples are fixing up the perfect gift for their significant other. For those who are single, it can feel like a day highlighting their lonely status. However, being single on...

The crushing 2024 presidential election has left large groups, especially Latinos and immigrants, in a state of panic and terror. But this state of panic is not widespread, is exaggerated and exacerbated by left-wing media.  It happened to me several...

I went to a family gathering recently and realized the different ways people want to keep memories. To me, memories are doing things and living in the moment, not saying “cheese” while looking at a camera just to get the perfect picture for social...

All my life I’ve struggled with perfectionism. I’ve always felt like I needed to get a 4.0 in school and not make any mistakes both academically and personally. This constant pressure in my life to be perfect is something that has negatively impacted...

College is dreadfully busy for me, and finding time to relax without feeling guilty is tough. I need to attend class and take notes, but the instructor is dull and I can’t get a good idea for my steampunk story out of my head. My homework keeps...