5. Fettuccine 2025

  Sarcasm feels strangely new to me. I feel like people in older times were 100% serious about everything and only people of the modern age can employ sarcasm for humor, mockery and hate. It feels like rebellion against how serious everything in the world was being treated, to show that problems can still be solved without draining the joy of humor from life. Obviously this isn't true, with many instances of sarcasm found in texts such as The Iliad and even the Bible , showing that the people of the olden times are still able to joke around and get the point across at the same time. Multiple studies have shown that Sarcasm is even linked with high intelligence as the connections the brain has to make to connect irony with the subject at hand is great. Sarcasm in social contexts transcends cultural differences. In some contexts—such as certain workplaces or social circles—swearing is a way to connect, express wisdom, or defuse tension. In others, it may come across as rude or impoli...

Few debates become as passionate in the realm of comic book lore as the age-old query: Who is greatest—Batman or Superman? It takes me back to elementary school, when it was my go-to conversation starter. As a DC superfan, naturally, this question appealed most to me, and it encouraged me to conduct an abundance of research in an effort to try and figure out my answer for real. Naturally, both characters are icons in and of themselves, and the case for who necessarily holds the larger power isn't necessarily such a no-brainer. Let's shed off the layers and break down each hero's personality, powers, and weaknesses in a manner that blends analysis with a dash of humor. A quick first glance at the answer, and it seems pretty simple. Born on the planet Krypton, with Earth’s yellow sun, Superman has been granted powers such as flight, superhuman strength, heat vision, and near-invulnerability. He can lift buildings, fly at supersonic velocity, and heal in seconds. He's a go...

       As I was just about to finish up my planning for the argumentative essay prompt given in class on Monday, January 27th, it struck me— wow , I thought, the media really is powerful . In today’s world, where practically everyone has some form of access to free media, the power it holds is massive. From shaping our perspectives to influencing our beliefs , the media holds a direct role in everyone’s lives as the conduit of information, and therefore the media is the key to public opinion.       I went on Instagram around 30 minutes ago to finish up my daily procrastination, and the first thing I saw was the election campaigns for class council. The power of the media has never been more apparent. As I scrolled through why I should vote for my fellow classmates, I came to the realization that without the media their influence would be severely limited. The media is what allowed them to gain widespread support, just like real politics in Americ...

On the 2nd of December 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself the Emperor of France.  Napoleon established his authority among the people in a grand ceremony and through a series of military successes, followed by a  coup d’etat  that allowed him to seize the government. However, his accomplishments were not the only ones that solidified his everlasting legacy of power throughout history. A large factor of the way in which Napoleon is remembered today is due to the art crafted around him: paintings, sculptures, and symbols depicting him as an almost divine ruler, celebrating his conquests, and glorifying his reign. O ne of the most significant paintings that has cemented his legacy in the modern world is “Napoleon Crossing the Alps.” Commemorating Napoleon’s invasion of Italy and his travels across the Alps with the French army, artist Jacques-Louis David (Napoleon’s personal painter) captured the authoritative aura that Napoleon epitomized. Set against the backdro...

Recently, I joined an online community for boy scouts. This community was a server in the social media application called Discord. In the server all the members were assigned ranks based on their boy scout rank. The moderators of the server would not chat much, but they were always online, always watching, and always ready to stop a user from breaking the rules of the server. One time while chatting on the server I recommended a superhero television show called Invincible to one of the scouts. Approximately five minutes after I sent my message recommending that show, I was muted for a week by a moderator who claimed that the show does not “encourage good moral values and a sense of duty”. Because of that one moderator's personal opinion I was left disconnected from the other scouts. Internet moderation has been a very sensitive and polarizing topic in recent times because it asks the question whether upholding free speech should be more prioritized or whether combating hate speech ...

Life is the most beautiful gift we’ve been blessed with. As we’ve heard so many times before, “life is short”, and I truly believe that. It’s unbelievable how much time has passed by already, much of which I feel like I didn’t even live. Do you ever feel like you just woke up one day and your life started from there? Obviously, that isn’t the case, but as more and more time passes by I feel farther away from the little girl I once was.  Sometimes I feel like my childhood never existed—like my life started from my first day of middle school. In a way, it did. As soon as I began my first year of middle school everything changed. Grades weren’t just an imaginary concept that defined our success by a single letter—they would determine my future and overall academic well-being. I took this concept into full account as I made my way through middle school, and eventually high school.  So many things have changed since 6th grade. Friendships came and went, new experiences presented t...

Communication is essential to human social life. Sure, emojis do the trick from time to time, but it is real words and voices that ultimately make an impact on society. So, how impactful is our voice? My mother tells me that since I learned how to talk, I haven’t stopped, even for a day. I’ve been constantly babbling and talking since, even back when I did not attach meaning to the words I said. Facial expressions and hand gestures existed, however, which begs the question: Why is voice our primary form of communication? Well, the simple answer to this question is simple. That’s the answer. Voice is simple, efficient, and effective, which causes us to rely on it more than other forms of communication. Would voice be the same in the absence of other communicators such as facial expressions? As it turns out, yes, but severely less effective than in the presence of these nonverbal cues. Paired together, however, these forms of communication can make our messages much clearer and more effe...

Language and power go hand in hand. Language is what connects human beings, forming a complete and whole society that operates on the basis of shared communication. There are so many different kinds of languages and that in itself is power. Diversity creates room for learning and learning establishes knowledge. According to Sir Francis Bacon, "knowledge is power" and that very idea remains present in every human being.  Language gives people the ability to communicate, express their opinions, and put their thoughts into perspective. Having discussions and exchanging points of view allows people to learn from each other. It establishes societal norms and contributes to building relationships. It allows us to make decisions and express how we feel, giving our society room for growth and the potential for progression.  In my opinion, the most significant aspect of language is the power it gives us to make connections and build relationships with other people. I value the relatio...

  Michel Foucault, a French historian and political activist once said "Power is not an institution, and not a structure; neither is it a certain strength we are endowed with; it is the name that one attributes to a complex strategical situation in a particular society." In American society, that complex strategic situation is called capitalism. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders warned Americans about oligarchy on X(Twitter), saying, “We are moving rapidly into an oligarchic form of society … We can’t go around the world saying, ‘in Russia, Putin has an oligarchy.’ Well, we got our oligarchy here, too”. In this quote Bernie Sanders was referring to the enormous amount of financial support President elect Donald Trump received from over one hundred and fifty billionaire families. Out of these billionaires, the most outspoken supporter of Trump’s was Elon Musk. Now, post Trump’s victory, Musk has been made in-charge of DOGE(Department of Government Efficiency). He now has billions of...

When considering a country's power, many tend to think about its military might and its ability to influence economics. However, there is another aspect to a nation's authority—its ability to wield soft power . Rather than focusing on methods centering around coercion or dominance, what is often called “hard power,” soft power is marked by a nation’s ability to influence others and other countries by appealing to them through culture and values. Japan illustrates one prominent example of soft power in the modern world. Japan is often known for its cuisine, popular culture, and cherry blossoms, among an ever-expanding list of influential exports that captivate audiences from around the world. D espite being bound to a constitution that contains a “No War” clause and having scarce natural resources, Japan has cultivated a highly developed economy and become a country capable of standing on near-equal, if not equal, footing with many other global powers. It is clear that much of...

Trevor Noah once said “English is the language of money.” It is taught all around the world, being treated equally to the native language of the area. But why? On paper, America’s largest export is petroleum but that's not true; it's our culture. The films, songs, shows, and ideas we produce are shown to the world and its impact is immeasurable. Even without English education, people all across the globe find it beneficial to learn English. Let me be clear. For example, most media such as movies, tv shows, and video games all have English voice actors for the lines as most of the media was produced by America and the dub for other countries native languages are either non-existent or very bad, forcing people to watch with subtitles and eventually learn English. Classroom in eastern Europe learning English Entertainment may seem like a shallow reason to argue for the importance of English so here is another example; American imperialism and its ideas of capitalism and democracy...

Limitless. The power of solar energy has no bounds. From powering houses to saving the environment, the impact of solar power on today’s world is truly profound. A source of energy with no limit is invaluable, and that is exactly what solar power is.  The benefits of solar power are immense. The sun emits enough energy to power the entirety of earth multiple times over! Additionally, every place on earth receives sunlight so it is universally accessible. When compared to fossil fuels, solar power wins in almost every regard. It is definitely more abundant than fossil fuels like crude oil and natural gas. Solar power is also much better for the environment– it significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. The production of solar energy is also a zero-emission process, which is amazing for the battle against climate change.                               Recently, solar energy...

The unbearable burn, the heavy breaths, the cry for help, and the intense thirst when, for the very first time, something spicy is tasted—it's a universal feeling almost anyone can relate to. I remember mine vividly. The jalapeno pepper. At five years old, the world was my oyster, and the concept of "spice" meant nothing to me. Of course, I took a hasty, unsuspecting dare from my older sister to throw the cooked jalapeno into my mouth, thinking nothing of it. You can probably guess what happened next in this scenario. Fortunately, I wasn't traumatized to the point of avoiding spice forever. In fact, I've come to enjoy a little heat in my food. But spicy food is still a bit terrifying, especially when you realize that spice has no real limits. Where things start to get wild is on the Scoville scale , the measure of heat in peppers. Coming full circle, the jalapeno that originally introduced me to the world of spice holds a Scoville ranking at approximately 3,500 to...

To a caveman in 4000 BC, before written language’s emergence in around 3200 BC, But really, aren’t all of the words I am saying right now also just random letters? Every word we speak consists of random sounds put together but with some sort of meaning attached to them, which is why we can make sense of them. Language is a powerful tool in itself. But how did it come to be? The complexities of the evolution of language are infinite. Even the information we know may not be and likely is not the entire explanation of how it came to be. So, how did language come to be? As Language Insight explains it in their article “ A Short History of Writing ,” written communication first developed in an effort to mark possessions or territories as humans transitioned from hunter-gatherers to farmers who settled in one area. Overtime, small images represented different words, such as people or animals (Language Insight). This was discovered to be around the year 3000 BC in Egypt and China. Overtime, ...