His troubling behavior was hidden behind nods to video games and an interesting soundtrack — I hadn’t heard the term ‘manic pixie dream girl’ before watching Scott Pilgrim. The first time I saw the movie, I envied Ramona Flowers because she could dye her hair whatever color she wanted. The ever-changing hair color blinded me and didn’t realize that Ramona wasn’t a fleshed-out character. …

I did everything right, but they won’t give me my money — In the past, I tried to sell some old comic books online using the Letgo app. Unfortunately, I didn’t sell anything and spent the majority of my time on that app blocking and reporting users. One man sent me a message to tell me he’d been in prison for ten…

Why does your cashier become aggressive when you refuse to sign up? — A few years ago, I realized I was being asked to sign up for loyalty programs at every place I shopped. Places like Petco, PetSmart, and Sephora all had something to offer me if I signed up. They promised me a chance to save money, get exclusive coupons, and return…

Some are given more time to flourish — I finally did it! After all my hard work, I finally had one of my stories featured as a top story on vocal. I thought I wouldn’t have my work featured on the top stories page. In fact, sometimes I doubted my writing abilities because I never graced the front…

Kitana’s rich backstory should be easy to adapt to film — Recently, I started looking at the failures of movie-based films, and while it is far from a failure, there is one character that Mortal Kombat movies get wrong every time. Kitana or Princess Kitana is introduced in the second game, making her one of the first female fighters in the…

Having preferences is healthy, but we should be mindful of how we express them — This morning I was scrolling through Medium, and I noticed an article about a woman being ‘gross.’ The accompanying photo was an overweight woman with pink hair. I knew before I read the article that it was going to be about a bigger woman being body shamed. In the article…

What I wish I’d had after hurricane Ida — Like many, I financially could not leave during hurricane Ida. The storm caused many to lose power, including myself. I was shocked to find just how ill-prepared I was to be without power for so long. While I had basic things, such as nonperishable food, bottled water, and flashlights, there…

The good, bad, and ugly of selling makeup — For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a passion for makeup. I view it as an art and have even considered making it a permanent career. I’ve had people encourage me to show off my makeup skills on YouTube or TikTok, and even put serious thought about going…

She’s truly clueless about how the less fortunate live — “Get your fucking ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days!” — Kim Kardashian’s advice to women. I’ve wanted to be a professional writer for as long as I can remember. I used to write ‘books’ in elementary school and share them with my teachers…