Elizabeth Fernandes

Flour Covered Floors Normally, my dad is the person who cooks the majority of the food we eat at home and take for school lunch. However, every so often, my sister’s and my schedules align and we can spare a few hours after school. When that happens, we force our parents to evacuate the kitchen for a few hours and the two of us get ready to make our go-to family dinner: chicken parmesan and pasta from scratch. https://skinnyms.com/chicken-parmesan-and-spaghetti-marinara-recipe/ After managing to convince my parents that we aren’t going to burn the house down, we turn on some music; after months of adding, deleting, and re-adding songs to our shared playlist, we have finally come up with a list that we can both sing along to. We roll up our sleeves, put aprons on, and get to work on our chicken parmesan and pasta. We start by wiping down the counter, measure out two cups of flour, and pour it into a pile on the counter. Then we add two eggs and a little bit of water an...

Unknowingly Longing for Belonging A community is more than something that is formed when people live in close proximity to each other. Rather, it is a group of people who come together over shared beliefs or parts of their identities and who value every individual that makes up the group. This, in turn, creates a sense of belonging for those who are a part of this community. Walking onto campus my first day as a high school freshman, thoughts of whether or not I would be able to find my classes and if I would make any friends flooded my mind. However, I met dozens of like-minded individuals who shared a passion for learning and who had similar interests. However, these came second to seeing other Indian students in each of my classes for the first time. Being in a predominantly white elementary and middle school for 9 years, I had subconsciously become accustomed to being the only Indian, or as a matter of fact Asian, person in the room. The experience of entering my b...

Unknowing Longing for Belonging A community is more than something that is formed when people live in close proximity to each other. Rather, it is a group of people who come together over shared beliefs or parts of their identities and who value every individual that makes up the group. This, in turn, creates a sense of belonging for those who are a part of this community. Walking onto campus my first day as a high school freshman, thoughts of whether or not I would be able to find my classes and if I would make any friends flooded my mind. However, I met dozens of like-minded individuals who shared a passion for learning and who had similar interests. However, these came second to seeing other Indian students in each of my classes for the first time. Being in a predominantly white elementary and middle school for 9 years, I had subconsciously become accustomed to being the only Indian, or as a matter of fact Asian, person in the room. The experience of entering my block ...