Florence Harting WRIT 340

I have really enjoyed reading 'American Like Me' and connecting with the different stories. It is a very well-rounded display of how many cultures and experiences are living in this one country. I forget sometimes how big and varied America really is and reading the book definitely reminded me of this.  I particularly liked the perspective that Joy Cho shared in her excerpt. Firstly, I found her story moving, about how her whole childhood she was 'parenting' her parents to be American by switching out her school lunch or giving American halloween candy. But then she realises that her culture is what makes her different and something she comes to enjoy celebrating with time. Growing up between two countries, I have definitely felt a similar way. In England I was considered the American one who always had the American snacks and did not celebrate traditional English things like a roast lunch every Sunday. However, in America people consider me very English and I do not as...

Mastering the Art of Waking Up   How to Make Getting Out of Bed a Pain-Free Practice   Not everyone is lucky enough to be an early bird. In fact, waking up may be the worst part of your day. However, like many things in life, waking up is a science — a science anyone can master with the right tools. Applying these practices into your daily routine will help make waking up early easier, and maybe even enjoyable.    This article will provide you with these tools. From having a smaller dinner, to adjusting your light settings, to finding personal motivations — here are the steps to ease your morning routine.      Step 1: Dine Like a Pauper   A wise person once said, you should “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper”. While this commonly known proverb relates to a range of health benefits, it is especially true for good sleep.    A smaller dinner leads to better quality sleep because it reduces blood pressure...

 I chose to read and analyse America Ferrera's book because she is someone I have always admired but do not actually know a lot about. Especially since I did not grow up in the U.S., I am curious to learn more about her experience growing up in this country and can relate to being split between two cultures. I also look forward to reading a range of people's submissions in addition to America Ferrera's perspective, because I think it will provide me a very broad insight. From reading Ferrera's forward, it made me emotional that at such a young age she already questioned her 'Americanness' and her identity. I think this speaks to American society where even though it is such a melting pot of backgrounds, cultures, and languages, people are still so discriminated against and unfortunately, realise it at such a young age. I also found it very interesting to read the stories of Reshma Saujani, Al Madrigal, Jenny Zhang, Bambadjan Bamba, Padma Laksmi, and Randall Park...

Marketing Intern at CULTURED Magazine    This semester, I am interning at  CULTURED Magazine , a publication that focuses on art, architecture, and design. You probably haven’t heard of it – neither had I until applying recently – but I’ll try to do my best at describing what it is like to work there.   My official title is ‘Marketing Intern’, so my focus is to manage the image of the brand and content to support this. But on a daily, I do a random array of tasks that the team sends my way. These tasks fall into three main areas:  ·         Updating the website ·         Creating social media content ·         Managing the merchandise   The Website One of my main responsibilities is managing the company website. I’m sure you have heard about “the death of print”, which I have seen is very true from working in the magazine industry. While CULTURED still p...