GOODWILL

This past weekend, a friend of mine dragged me along to go thrifting with him. While the idea of thrifting was appealing to me, I previously disliked the actual experience of thrifting; the musty smell of unwashed clothes is not really my favorite, and the idea of using someone else’s junk put me off. And on top of everything else, I feel like I can never find anything good when I go thrifting. This time, however, I decided to venture beyond the racks of corny T-shirts and ugly jorts to the book section. There, I was met with a wide array of titles that I had already been planning on buying—and they cost less than $2 each. With an armful of books, I made my way back to my friend browsing the button-ups, but something else snagged my attention: a beautifully ornate vintage lamp. $12.99. All in all, my seven books, lamp, and a small desk clock that I also found cost me less than $30. I felt good about buying these items not only because they were cheap, but because buying second-hand is more sustainable than buying new; we have enough waste in this world, so it is better to use what is already here. – Addy Bair

TACO BELL

Taco Bell is, in my opinion, the most hated fast-food restaurant there is. I don’t think it deserves the hate either. While it may be very unhealthy, it is extremely tasty. Every time I have had it, I have had a great experience with the staff, the restaurant, and the food. The workers are very fun and have given me good suggestions every time. While most people will talk about how bad Taco Bell is you should ignore them. It is amazing. – Seth Weiss

PROPITIOUS MANGO ICE CREAM

One of the most incredible cold treats I’ve had in the past few weeks has been Propitious Mango Ice Cream, a sort of Japanese ice cream pop, if that makes sense. My boss gave me one at work, but I’ve discovered that you can find them at common Asian grocery stores, like H-Mart. It might’ve been the most incredible thing I’ve eaten in the past month. Mango ice cream normally isn’t so glamorous, and it’s more often seen in mango gelato than in an ice cream form. However, this ice cream is just glorious. While it is expensive, at around $12 for a three-pack, it still feels worth it. – Miles Forshay

I LOVE STUPID SHIRTS

I LOVE STUPID SHIRTS. The stupider and less applicable, the better. My stupid shirt-collecting journey began 2 years ago, right after Father’s Day, when I found a diamond in the rough on the discount shirts rack at Target. A t-shirt in the ugliest shade of beige labelled in navy blue Comic Sans “Best Grandpa Ever”. It was so horrible I HAD to buy it. Little did I know what buying this shirt would awaken in me… Some thrift to find good fashion pieces for cheap; however, I’m nothing like y’all. My target is stupid shirts and ONLY stupid shirts. A t-shirt with Ronald Reagan with a rocket launcher and American flag in hand, riding a velociraptor; a barf green colored shirt with the phrase “ I L❤️VERMONT” printed on it; and the most hideous, 1000000% polyester Hawaiian shirt with matching shorts to boot are just some of the many pieces to my ever-expanding collection. – Michael Bryant

EGG ICE CREAM CONE

This past weekend, I went to Tea and Leaf Creamery in Druid Hills. Tea and Leaf is a boba and ice cream shop that has many different types of customizable items. One of them is to make your own ice cream. When making your own ice cream, you can choose the cone you want to have, either a teryicki cone, which is shaped like a fish with a hollow inside, or you can have an egg cone, which they make for you fresh in the store. The egg cone is almost like a waffle consistency with circular shapes that are warm and doughy. Although it is an extra dollar, the freshness of it makes it worth it. Next, you can choose if you want either custard inside the cone or Nutella. Even though Nutella is the extra fifty cents, it is perfect. The Nutella melts on the warm cone, and then the ice cream matches the flavor perfectly. Then you can pick your ice cream flavor. I used to go for strawberry, yet recently they have taken it off the menu, so I chose to go for cookies and cream. Finally, you get three free toppings. I love to get the chocolate Pocky, Oreo, and the Oreo crumble. Although it is expensive, and it takes a little longer to finish due to the cone cooking, it is always worth it. – Bella Avett

WAR OF THE WORLDS (2025)

There are good movies and bad movies. Then some movies are so bad that they’re good. I’m talking about movies like Batman and Robin, Sharknado, and Interstellar (I’m kidding, that’s my favorite movie). I don’t come across movies like these a lot, but when I do, I go out of my way to share them with everyone I’ve ever interacted with. About a month ago, Prime Video’s War of the Worlds remake hit streaming. When I first heard about it, I was excited, given that the 2005 movie with Tom Cruise is one of my favorite movies. The movie takes place entirely on the screen of a laptop, much like Missing and Searching, both movies that I really enjoyed and thought could be translated to an apocalypse genre relatively well. However, the new remake received a 3% on Rotten Tomatoes, and all my favorite film critics called it the “worst movie of the decade.” I started to wonder if everyone was exaggerating or if it really was the disaster the internet claimed to be. So, on a Tuesday night, I ignored my WebAssigns and reading guides and started watching the movie. I was shocked at what I saw. War of the Worlds is a cinematic masterpiece. You’re pretty much watching a 90-minute screen recording of Ice Cube reading news headlines and yelling, “Huh??” The script is terrible, the acting is somehow worse, there are unforgivable plot holes, the twist at the end is ridiculous, and there’s an unnecessary amount of Amazon product placement. After I finished it, I concluded that War of the Worlds officially crossed a line from “terrible movie” to “amazingly terrible movie,” and I highly suggest that everyone watch it to get a laugh at how laughably bad it is. – Maven Bolick

TRADER JOE’S

Trader Joe’s is my new favorite grocery store because of the wide variety of snacks and food they offer. I must admit that I really only go for the off-brand Takis though. Their official name is Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips, but I call them Trader Joe’s Takis. If you can’t tell, Trader Joe’s Takis are rolled tortilla chips with a chili and lime coating. The Trader Joe’s Takis are slightly less spicy than regular Takis, so it is easier to eat more in one sitting. Although this may not be the best for me, these chips feel healthier than similar snacks. Trader Joe’s is known for having slightly healthier alternatives to leading snack brands, and even if this is not actually true with each product offered, I would like to believe that it is true. All in all, Trader Joe’s is a must-go-to grocery store (especially for the Takis)! – Rachel Belknap

SUDOKU

Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been hit with the stupid stick, so I felt the need to start doing smart things so that I can feel better about myself. I downloaded a random Sudoku app this week, and now then I spent 2 hours playing Sudoku! I haven’t done the lower levels because they are too easy, but the hard level is an enjoyable challenge. The first puzzle I did took me 2 hours to complete, but I just completed one in a little over an hour! Is this a sign my brain is healing… 🙂 I love that Sudoku makes me feel a little bit better about my screentime. – Noa Zilber

MARCHING BAND

This year I started marching band and it’s the first “sport” I’ve ever played where I’m physically capable without trying, but struggle with the mental aspect. The tri-weekly practices and 30 minute bus rides to away games have both taken a toll on me and created some of the best experiences of my life. If you haven’t watched a marching band or know what it is, it’s basically a halftime performance given by a group by moving in formations and playing a song. Everything is memorized and takes dozens of hours of work. Many people think that marching band is easy or that they can do it, but really it’s extremely difficult and not something to ignore. If you are wondering whether marching band is right for you, try it out during Rookie Camp in May or School Band nights where people not in the program can do a “trial run” and test the experience. – Eli Lineberry

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CHAI LATTES AT HOME

I LOVE drinking chai lattes. But there’s a slight problem. My favorite place to get chai is at Starbucks and it can sometimes cost up to $8 per drink depending on the size. My favorite kind of chai is the Pumpkin Cream Iced Chai Latte because it has the perfect fall flavor. I started looking on Pinterest to find recipes for pumpkin cream cold foam and found one that I think will be good. I’m waiting until the weekend to make it, but in the meantime, I’ve developed a chai recipe that tastes almost identical to the one I get at Starbucks with Sweet Cream cold foam. I use a smaller ratio of chai concentrate and milk than what is in the recipe because it fits in my cup better and is the perfect amount. After I mix the one part concentrate to one part milk, I pour it over ice and start working on the cold foam. For that, I use my dad’s hand frother and mix up the Chobani Sweet Cream coffee creamer with a dash of cinnamon. It tastes perfect and I was so happy when I figured it out. I can’t wait to experiment with different flavors of cold foam and try adding pumpkin to make my favorite fall drink even better. – Mallory Williams