I am from Alexandria, Virginia, a city in the shadow of Washington, DC. As a neighbor to the Nation’s Capitol, my town has the diversity and opportunity associated with the city, but at a slower pace. Although certain pockets of Alexandria have a small-town feel, the sentiment immediately vanishes once one gets on the Beltway (I-495) or in line to purchase their metro ticket. Evanston has similar advantages; its proximity to a major city gives it the diversity that...

One particular Friday, after taking the AP United States History, I could not stop spewing all the miscellaneous historical facts that I had just finished cramming into my brain. “Platt Amendment. Hawley-Smoot Tariff. Roger Williams.” I decided to look for something to watch on Netflix that would cure me of this factual-overdrive. I discovered that there was a movie called “180° South: Conquerors of the Useless.” Upon researching, I found that it was a film that followed a surfer trying to...

It was one of those rare occasions when my mother was out of town, leaving my father responsible for dinner. Solution: restaurant. After dinner, which I am almost positive was Mexican, my dad wanted to take us somewhere new for dessert. Normally, this would not be met with any resistance whatsoever, but when he described a small ice cream shop with only three flavors, the backseat consisting of my I-pick-the-flavor-based-on-how-colorful-it-looks younger sister and I erupted. We didn’t have a...