January 2019 archive
I have a New Years Resolution: don’t eat junk food on weekdays. This is very difficult during the week, but I love it when I finally reach a weekend and can eat whatever I want. I think that this also makes me appreciate weekends more, and value desserts instead of eating unhealthily without care. Because of my new rule, my baking is going to be restricted to the weekends. And this past weekend, I baked brownies. Like my New Years Resolution, I am also thankful for being able to bake so often, because I find a lot of value in sharing my desserts with others.
I needed a lot of help on an application that I was working for. I am very interested in what I was applying for, and one of my good friends in my building, Billy, helped me a lot with my essays. He volunteered a lot of his time to edit my many drafts. So I decided that to thank him I would bake him brownies.
One of my other really good friends, Sean, was being very helpful this past weekend. I was having a rough day, so he stayed up really late to talk to me and make me feel better. I decided that I would also give him some brownies, because I really appreciated his kindness.
So this weekend I baked brownies to give gratitude. I feel very thankful for the people in my life, and I am glad that I can use baking to express my appreciation for them. So, Billy and Sean were very happy to receive warm, freshly-baked brownies. And of course, I distributed the rest of the brownies to the people on my floor.
One of my concerns with baking is that I won’t have enough food. However, I have realized that that is because I have so many people that I want to share my food with. Too many people is way better than not having enough people to eat my food. And I feel very thankful for having so many people to enjoy my desserts with.
To solve my issue, I cut the brownies into small pieces. This was a little difficult because warm brownies are hard to cut without making a gooey mess. But I (mostly) cut the brownies well, and decided that I would eat the ones that were misshapen.
He joyfully placed the drink in front of me and as it hit the table, the cackling sound of the fizzing soda filled my ears. Two cherries slowly sank to the bottom of the glass. The grenadine swirled with the Sprite, creating a rosy pink color. Even in his declining health, my grandfather always insisted on being a good host and serving his guests drinks, stubbornly ignoring my aunts when they offered their help.
I believe that everyone should take time to appreciate their grandparents. I grew up only knowing one grandparent, as my other grandparents passed before I was born or when I was too young to remember. When I was in elementary school, I spent a lot of time after school with my pop-pop. But as I moved into middle school, I became more focused on spending time with my friends than my family. Why would I hang out with old people when I could hang out with my young, cool friends? Why would I eat dinner with my family when I could shop at the mall and get the cutest clothes at Forever21? Why would I do something that feels obligatory when I can do something fun with friends? I took my relatives’ time for granted; I thought I had longer with my pop-pop and I could always spend time with him later but see my friends now.
But, at the end of 8th grade my pop-pop had a bad fall that injured his head and landed him in the hospital. Little did I know that he would continue to be under special care for the rest of his life. That summer I spent as much time as possible with him, but at that point it was too late. My grandfather changed when he fell, and he couldn’t be the good host he once was; he had no more time to give me.
During my grandfather’s last day, he noticed that he was surrounded by all of his family. But he was starting to lose reality, and thought that the nursing home was actually his house. Even as he was taking his final breaths, he continued to act as the generous man that I’ve always known. He asked around the room what everyone wanted to drink. I awkwardly told him I wanted a Shirley Temple, completely aware that he would not be able to get that for me. I never took the time to appreciate his Shirley Temples until it was too late. My grandfather could have given me so much more: wisdom, kindness, love; but I took it for granted and always thought that I could get more of those things later, in my free time.
Since then, I’ve ordered Shirley Temples at almost every opportunity I can because it gives me a chance to remember and appreciate my grandfather. I miss my pop-pop and would give anything to be able to spend more time with him, but that’s not possible. And I am certain to avoid this heartbreaking feeling of longing for someone that’s gone, feeling that there was more I could have done, again. From my pop-pop’s death, I’ve learned that it’s important to take time to appreciate the ones around you. I learned to live in the now, and appreciate my loved ones in the moment instead of pushing it back to later.
I took my grandfather for granted. I used to take my parents for granted, but when I got to college, I realized how important they are to me. I felt a tang in my heart when I felt that I was repeating my past mistakes, so I decided to call them everyday. I compliment my friends when I am thinking something positive about them. Not wanting a reciporatory comment, but to emphasize that I appreciate them and think they have wonderful traits. I celebrate birthdays, because they are the perfect opportunity to express how much I care about my loved ones. I drink Shirley Temples, because it reminds me that life is finite, and there is a lot of beauty in the fragility of life.
One of my great friends here at Penn State is Mathilde Scarlata. She is very sweet, and I feel lucky to have her as a friend. I also have a wonderful friend Josie Krieger, who shares many of Mathilde’s outstanding qualities. One time, I was sharing a story with Mathilde and I mentioned Josie in the story, and that’s when it hit me: they would make amazing friends.
So I decided to friend-set them up. It was like a blind date. And what better way to spend time with friends than baking? So I was baking s’mores cookies for a Secret Santa gift, and I invited Mathilde and Josie to bake with me.
They met for the first time, and gave each other hugs, and it was wonderful. I was so excited to see two great people start a friendship. They helped me bake, but also got to know each other and realized how much they had in common. Someone accidentally spilled the graham crackers, and they were both very helpful in cleaning it up. I also struggled a lot with crushing the graham crackers, and both girls were willing to help with the crackers.
I found out that a couple days after we baked, Josie and Mathilde got dinner together! I was so excited when I heard this, and I’m very happy that I could use baking to bring them together.
Baking is a great way to socialize. If you are looking for something fun to do with your friends, I highly suggest trying out a new recipe together. It’s a collaborative activity that can bring people together. You also get dessert out of it. So why not?
And the cookies turned out great! I have never made s’mores cookies before, but the girl to whom I gifted the cookies as well as my friends who tried the cookies loved them.
One of my good friends on my floor knows that I love to bake, so she decided to share a magazine full of baking recipes with me. In the magazine was the S’mores Chocolate Chunk Cookies recipe, which I used when making the cookies.
The recipe calls for:
- 3/4 cup unsalted sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/3 cup chocolate chunks
- 1 cup mini marshmallow bits (I would recommend using Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits, because regular marshmallows, like the ones I used, may melt and make the cookies a weird texture)
The directions are to:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Combine the butter and sugars until fluffy. Then add eggs and vanilla until combined.
- In another bowl whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, and salt. Then combine with the butter mixture. Then add in the chocolate and marshmallows.
- Bake for 10 to 14 minutes and enjoy 🙂
I love Shirley Temples. They are my favorite drink ever, but not because of the taste. During my grandfather’s last day, he noticed that he was surrounded by all of his family. But he was starting to lose reality, and thought that the nursing home he was in was actually his house. So he went around the room, and asked everyone what drink he could get them, to be a good host. I told him I wanted a Shirley Temple, completely aware that he would not be able to get that for me. Since then, I’ve ordered Shirley Temples at almost every opportunity I can, because it gives me a chance to remember and appreciate my grandfather, something I should have done when he was still with me.
I believe that everyone should take time to appreciate their grandparents. I grew up only knowing one grandparent, as my other grandparents passed before I was born or when I was too young to remember. When I was in elementary school, I spent a lot of time after school with my pop-pop. But as I moved into middle school, I became more focused on spending time with my friends than my family. I would skip out on going to my pop-pop’s house to go to the mall with my friends. I would miss family dinners to go to a movie. I took my relatives’ time for granted. I thought I had longer with my pop-pop and I could always spend time with him later but see my friends now.
At the end of 8th grade my pop-pop had a bad fall. He had a head injury that landed him in the hospital. Little did I know that he would continue to be under special care for the rest of his life. That summer I spent as much time as possible with him. The week that he died I spent every day with him, I ate most meals in the nursing home, and I made sure that I spent as much time with him as possible. But it wasn’t enough.
I miss my pop-pop. I would give anything to be able to spend more time with him, but that’s not possible. I regret the time I could have spent with my pop-pop but didn’t. And I am certain to avoid that mistake again. From his death, I’ve learned is that it’s important to take time to appreciate the ones around you. Life is fragile, and I find value in recognizing that it is finite.
I took my grandfather for granted. I used to take my parents for granted, but when I got to college, I realized how important they are to me. I call them everyday, and feel so appreciative when they come to visit or when I can come home. I compliment my friends when I am thinking something positive about them. Not expecting a compliment back, but to emphasize that I appreciate them and have positive things to share. I celebrate birthdays, because they are the perfect opportunity to express how much I care about my loved ones. I drink Shirley Temples, because it reminds me that life is finite, and there is a lot of beauty in the fragility of life.
I want to write my “This I Believe” about the fragility of life. I think specifically I want to talk about appreciation, and how it’s important to take the time to appreciate others because life is so fragile. I have a couple of stories that I could use to show this idea. I could talk about losing my grandfather or when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. When I was in middle school I stopped going to my grandfather’s house as much with my family, but instead spent time with my friends. I stopped putting an effort in because I never really thought much about his health. Then at the beginning of the summer he fell and hurt his head. That summer his health quickly declined, and in that August he passed away. Although I spent a lot of time during the last three months with him, I regret not spending more time with my grandfather. I’m very jealous of people who still have time left with their grandparents, and I feel strongly that everyone should take the time to appreciate their grandparents (and everyone else around them).
When I was in 6th grade my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I feel that after that I became much more aware of her mortality, and I value my time with her a lot more now than I did when I was younger, because I realize that at some point I will no longer be able to spend time with her. I think that this story also shows how important it is to value loved ones and appreciate the time one has with them.
I want to write my passion blog about baking again. I think that that was really enjoyable for me and for my readers. I also want to bring in my baked goods to class more often, as well as expand my recipes. I think it would be interesting to see how the social aspect of baking is different in my second semester, now that I’m more familiar with the people on my floor and the ones who I would give my baked goods to.
I want to write my civics issues blog about politics, specifically focusing on politically polarizing topics as well as the development of modern political parties. I want to investigate why a lot of voting citizens’ loyalty appears to lie with political parties rather than political issues.
“This I Believe” podcast:
- I want to write about how I think that most people are genuinely good people, and I find it very important to value every person and recognize that they are human. I could write about how I misunderstood people or judged them without getting to know them, and how in the end I realized that they were a lot better of a person than what I first thought.
- I think that I learned a lot of valuable lessons from when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer/when I lost my grandfather. So I think that I could use those story to write about how it showed me the fragility of life and the importance of valuing the people I love.
Passion Blog:
- I am interested in writing about baking, focusing this semester on new recipes in addition to how baking affects the mood on my floor. I was really interested in writing about the social aspect of baking rather than the recipes, and I want to continue to do so, but also explore and improve my baking.
- I am interested in writing about crime, specifically when people are falsely accused of crimes and how it affects their life after.
Civic Issues blog:
- I want to explore politics more because I feel like I need to learn a lot about current issues, specifically political issues. I think it would be really interesting to write about political parties and why they are so split in today’s society.
- I am also interested in education. I think it would be interesting to write about college sports, especially at a football school like Penn State.
