Istill remember every detail from the day I moved into my freshman dorm.
I clearly remember being little and sitting in my booster seat, staring out the car window contemplating which Happy Meal toy I wanted. It was the hardest decision a little kid my age would have had to face, and I was in agony. On one hand, I could have gotten a Polly Pocket (don’t get me wrong, Polly Pockets are fun), but my other choice was a Hot Wheels racer. My gut led me toward the Hot Wheels. “We’ll go with the Hot Wheels,” my dad told the person working the drive-through. “Okay, so a boy toy,” she replied. “Sure, my daughter would like the Hot Wheels,” my dad said.
Here’s a topic you probably haven’t seen in the news in a little while: Puerto Rico. As many of you know, this U.S. territory was hit by the devastating category 5 Hurricane Maria in September 2017. Despite over a year passing since Maria made landfall, the island of Puerto Rico is still dealing with the effects of the storm and the muddled response to the crisis.
It’s the day after Valentine’s Day, which means the day of love has come and gone just as quickly as that box of chocolates sitting on your dining room table. But today is even better because all things love-related are half off at Target. Were you eyeing that giant Reese’s heart-shaped candy but couldn’t possibly find a reason to buy it? Well, guess what? Today, it’s only $5 — an instant cop. This week was about showing everyone you love how much you care about them, with Galentine’s Day, Palentine’s Day and of course Valentine’s Day.
We all know about midlife crises. For those of you who understand the struggle people face when confronting the issue of time constantly moving, the idea of the midlife crisis may haunt you. You ask questions of yourself: Am I doing enough? What have I done with the time I’ve used? How much time did I waste?
I cry every single time I watch “Up.” Carl and Ellie’s heartwarming love at first sight story just gets me, and their tragic end really opens the floodgates. This idea of love is cheesy and a little overused. I don’t even care that Hallmark movies use the same love at first sight storyline, though, because it never gets old. I love watching those corny films because I just want an instant, all-encompassing love to exist. I want it so bad that I have genuine faith in love at first sight. Don’t get me wrong I don’t think it’s the only way to find love. Quite the contrary, I think it’s rarely the way people meet their spouses. I do believe, however, that this kind of love is out there, and some lucky people find their partners that way.
A few years ago, I found myself in a messy situation. I had been dating a guy for two months, and he clearly wanted to take the relationship to the next level. Although our personalities meshed well and I enjoyed being around him, something wasn’t right. I didn’t know what it was until one day he leaned in to kiss me, and I leaned away. At that point I realized I was attracted to his personality, not him. I broke up with him and like any person with a conscience, I felt horrible.
Despite our best efforts, life after the Parkland shooting hasn’t changed for the majority of us.
As Valentine’s Day looms, a lot of us find ourselves fending off feelings of distress, frustration and loneliness. It’s not hard to be single the other 11 months of the year, but February offers a unique blow to the self-esteem of lonely hearts everywhere.
As a kid, filling out the “to” and “from” section of small cardboard Valentine’s Day cards from CVS gave me a rush. The best part was folding the piece of paper in half and diligently attaching the heart sticker to keep the card from revealing the sender. Those little Valentine’s Day cards told my classmates I cared and made my third-grade heart happy. But now I am much older and barely any wiser, and I realize that 1) the “rush” was probably from sugar and 2) we spend way too much money on Valentine’s Day.
It seems that our Student Body President Ian Green fundamentally misunderstands a lot of things about our Student Government and campaign climate. Ian’s most recent letter to the editor is filled with mistakes that effectively demonstrate this.
Last Tuesday night during our weekly Student Government Senate meeting, I abstained from voting on a resolution to recognize the installment of Juan Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela. Not too long after, one of my friends called me out on Facebook. Then, Student Body Vice President David Enriquez did so similarly in a letter to the editor published in The Alligator titled “Stand Up for Students.”
Hey Gators! As election day at UF gets closer and closer, there is always a certain amount of negative campaigning that takes place before students vote. With that said, Zachariah Chou’s mischaracterization of his record and criticisms of Student Government go a step too far.
American women received the right to vote in 1920, and exactly 100 years later, the 2020 election is breaking records for women. Sen. Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota became the sixth Democratic woman to put in her bid for the Democratic presidential nominee when she announced her candidacy on Sunday. She follows Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, along with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and author Marianne Williamson. Collectively, they’re making this upcoming presidential race the first in history to have that many women running at one time for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Part of young adulthood is marked by a craving for intimacy and acceptance. You can see people forming connections, romantic or otherwise, anywhere on a college campus. Couples sit together in the library and new people strike up conversation in Midtown. It’s common to want to make new connections. But too often, there is a lot of emphasis on gaining validation from people whose validations are not particularly remarkable. This is especially common among young women who are seeking validation from men.
The gym can be best described as difficult to enter and easy to leave. However, the benefits of the resulting strength and self-confidence you work for within the walls of Southwest Recreation Center or Student Recreation & Fitness Center follow you long after you leave.
Gay rights have made tremendous strides in the past decade with gay marriage legalized as of 2015’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision and states banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, one issue still haunts the LGBTQ+ community: conversion therapy.
Every student is entitled their own political opinions, but it is the role of our elected officials to act on them and use their voices to represent their constituents. The key word in that statement is “act.”
I am a victim of a spoiler. In an interview before the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Angela Bassett and husband Courtney B. Vance revealed details about the second “Black Panther” movie. The actors got too excited and decided to drop spoilers. Herein lies the issue: My unexpecting ears weren’t prepared to hear this information.
The sun and the heat are finally back where they belong in the Sunshine State, and it’s time to get back to business as usual — days beside the pool. You grab your towel and slide your sunglasses onto your face, making your way down to the pool. You slip into one of the reclining chairs that line the outside of the pool and begin to relax. Thoughts of midterms pushed firmly out of your head, the only thing on your mind is the shoreline that awaits you during Spring Break.
Solutions by The State News
