Period Protection For Back to School
Pencils? Check. Notebooks? Check. Bookbag? Check. Scientific calculator? Check. Uniform shirt? Check. Pads and tampons? Uh-oh! When preparing for the new school year, heading to the Staples and Rumi to stock up on cute stationery supplies seems like a no brainer but how about the menstrual hygiene aisle at the supermarket? Although all New York public middle and high schools are required to have free period products available in the restrooms, it’s easy to be caught unaware. Bathroom dispensers in schools, however, are only a drop in a bucket compared to the millions of menstruators who…
For the Love of K-pop & Their Fans
It was a rare Saturday off from work in the early part of 2019. My kids were 14 and 12 years old, and in middle school at the time. The oldest was watching television and my youngest was reading scanlations of their favorite manga on the computer. I was scrolling through Twitter while making breakfast, and I saw that something called “BTS” was trending. I called out to my children, “Hey! What is a BTS and why is it trending so much on Twitter?” Both laughed at me. “Mommy,” My youngest began in their trademark dry tone. “BTS is not a ‘what,’ they’re a ‘who’ and they’re always…
Saving the World One Tampon at a Time
My 16 and 18-year-old kids like to tease me about my childhood and teen years, because it is so vastly different than their upbringing. Every now and then, I will reveal something that will make them exclaim “wow, you were poor.” Those memories are funny now, but they were not then. I recall being a broke college student working a part-time job and spending an afternoon searching for enough soda cans and beer bottles to collect a dollar in nickel deposits. I just needed enough money to buy a cheap box of maxi pads from the 99-cents store, because I wasn’t getting paid for another two days.…
Sing Your Freakin' Heart Out!
Sing Your Freakin' Heart Out In the spring of 2022, my group of K-pop-loving friends taught me about the slew of karaoke rooms in mid-Manhattan near Macy’s Herald Square. Soon we were taking monthly pilgrimages to KoreaTown, colloquially known as K-Town, to storm our favorite karaoke spot. Armed with beverages, fried chicken, and unchecked volume, we would spend hours belting out Broadway showtunes, bad girl anthems, raunchy rap songs, and the requisite BTS hits. We would leave with our moods lighter and our friendship bonds tighter. It was definitely better than singing into a…