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May 23, 2024 | 
elestoque.org | Aashi Venkat
It took me longer than most to say my first words. In fact, it took so long that my father believed I was simply incapable of talking. Today, anyone who knows me is blessed (or cursed, depending on how you see it) to know that’s not true. Months after my dad expressed his concern, I said my first word and put his mind at ease. However, this ease was swiftly interrupted by my desire to never shut up, and my father often jokes that I never closed my mouth after it first opened.
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Apr 23, 2024 | 
elestoque.org | Aashi Venkat
Global mega-popstar Taylor Swift released her highly-anticipated album “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” on Friday, April 19, following months of excitement. Swift announced the album upon winning “Best Pop Vocal Album” with “Midnights” at the 2024 Grammy Awards in early February. She posted the tracklist on her Instagram mere days later, and also began announcing variants of the album on different vinyls as the release date approached.
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Apr 9, 2024 | 
elestoque.org | Aashi Venkat |Asha Wojciechowski
When Literature and AVID teacher Megan Choate was in high school, the “Twilight” series, by Stephenie Meyer, was a huge phenomenon. “Twilight,” a four-novel vampire romance series released from 2005 to 2008, has sold over 160 million copies worldwide and spent 235 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Choate recalls the excitement around the books among her peers and the high praise for the series that inspired her to read it.
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Apr 4, 2024 | 
elestoque.org | Aashi Venkat
Students need to be careful about what they post and who they interact with onlineApril 4, 2024 From harmless skits to thirst traps with Kanye West’s “Carnival,” social media sites like TikTok have a wide variety of content. Even today, scrolling through the app will reveal multiple different trends, some more age-appropriate than others.
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Mar 7, 2024 | 
elestoque.org | Aashi Venkat
From pink bows to the lights and glamor of Barbie Land, social media has seen a surge of femininity, coined as ‘girlhood’ by the various trends highlighting what it means to be a girl today.
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Feb 14, 2024 | 
elestoque.org | Aashi Venkat
A letter of gratitude for my older sister February 14, 2024 Dear Trisha,We were both kids when our mother died. Despite this, you took a proactive role in filling the seemingly endless void that emerged as a result of this loss: you never had to dye my hair or teach me how to shave my legs, but you did so regardless. I still remember how we gathered around the dining table hours before my junior prom, when you rushed to curl my hair and carefully glue on my false eyelashes.
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Feb 3, 2024 | 
elestoque.org | Aashi Venkat
Ready to transport viewers back to his fantastical Camp Half-Blood once again, author Rick Riordan pitched the concept of a Percy Jackson TV series in 2019, which became official with the 2020 announcement of a Disney+ rendition of his popular book series. However, filming only began in 2022 due to COVID-19 halting the project, meaning that the first episode of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” was released on Dec. 19, 2023.
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Jan 24, 2024 | 
elestoque.org | Aashi Venkat
From the idea of true love to the glamorization of toxic relationships, love has historically been portrayed in various ways through novels and song lyrics. Alt-pop artist Lana Del Rey’s lyricism is a prime example, with many of her songs romanticizing abusive relationships. Her music has surged in popularity on TikTok, with people posting videos using her songs “Let The Light In (feat. Father John Misty)” and “Margaret,” to highlight their personal experiences with toxic relationships.
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Dec 12, 2023 | 
elestoque.org | Aashi Venkat
Pop artist Tate McRae released her sophomore album “THINK LATER” on Friday, Dec. 8. While the album’s lead single “greedy” was released in mid-September, McRae only announced the album in November, a month before it was officially released. The album spans a total of 14 tracks, two of which are the previously-released singles “greedy” and “exes,” with both tracks artistically uncovering the nuances of teenage love and heartbreak.
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Nov 16, 2023 | 
elestoque.org | Aashi Venkat
American pop singer Nessa Barrett took the stage for her “Church Club For the Lonely Tour” at the San Jose Civic Center on Monday, Nov. 13, performing a variety of tracks from across her discography. The songs spanned from her debut EP “pretty poison” all the way to her most recent release “hell is a teenage girl.” Alternative singer-songwriter MAY-A opened the concert with a lively 30-minute set to loosen up the crowd as they awaited the beginning of Barrett’s set which began an hour later.
