Erica Edwards

Erica Edwards

Let’s just say that you’re tired after a graveyard shift down at the graveyard. It’s seven in the morning, and you’re so hungry you could eat a large equine beast. You decide to go to your local greasy spoon for breakfast, just something to tide you over until brunch. But looking at the menu, you can’t decide! You know you want something starchy and sweet, but what will it be? Pancakes or waffles? We attempt to solve this moral conundrum.

Jake: Waffles are far superior to pancakes. Toasted to perfection, waffles offer more levels of texture-related complexity. Crispness, softness, moisture and dryness meld perfectly.  Pancakes are just spongy masses of flour and water that turn to mush within minutes of adding syrup.

My most-mortifying and embarrassing Christmas gift occurred during my insecure late middle school days. My family usually spends the holidays with my father’s aunt and uncle and their extended family. Everyone eats dinner, sings carols, and the kids tug their parents’ shirt-tails until the adults agree to the opening of presents. I have four cousins around my age, and when I saw what they received — movies, jackets, watches and music — my hopes were high. But, my dreams were crushed once I untied the ribbon and opened my package. I nonetheless held up my gift — flower-patterned undies, the kind with lavender and rose-colored hearts and butterflies — with poise and graciously replied, “Thank you, Aunty Marie.”

As I began to blush in front of my entire family, she smiled at me and said, “You should try them on to see if they fit. I thought of you when I saw them because they are so cute.” To this day, I wonder what would drive a person to buy a 13-year-old girl panties as a Christmas present.

My family and I left Moscow, Russia on June 10, 1992. At this time, Russia was an unsafe place to live.

There was a lot of uncertainty in Russia. The government would often cover up any information that made them look weak. They were capable of forbidding the news from covering terror attacks, making the population ignorant of what was going on around them.

What’s in a famous name? Can a name change the way others perceive you, the way you act, and even influence your future career? A ccustomed to the laughs and comments that accompany my name, I decided to explore these questions with Peter Pan.

Connie: So, how did you get the name Peter Pan?

Peter: When I first came to America, I had no English name. The landlord asked my parents why I didn’t have one. When my parents responded that we had never needed one before, the landlord suggested Peter, because it was easy to pronounce and spell.

Connie: Did the landlord know your last name was Pan?

When Tupac once said, “the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice,” I felt proud of my skin color until I turned on the television and realized that most people don’t feel that way.

The image of beautiful, dark-skinned females is fading, as the standard of beauty among African-Americans changes from being proud of dark skin to worshiping light skin and long hair.

A large percentage of today’s R&B, Hip-Hop and Rap videos focus on brownish-colored beauties instead of ebony goddesses. Just turn on the TV, flip to your favorite music video station, and you’ll see that the darker-toned females are not portrayed as they should be.