WRITING
WRITING
MULTIMEDIA PACKAGE
Scot Scoop, April 2025
Chirping trumpets and proud parents’ cheers marked the beginning of Celebrate the Music on April 27. Between performances, attendees lined up to eat local and enjoyed booths manned by community volunteers...
FEATURE
Scot Scoop, September 2025
As soon as the pills hit the back of her throat, instant waves of regret poured in. Alissa Zhang* was only 15 years old when she attempted to take her own life using over-the-counter (OTC) medication. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide-related calls involving OTC medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen surged at an accelerated rate during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, especially amongst adolescent girls ages 12 to 17 years old...
NEWS
Scot Scoop, October 2024
Thousands of Kaiser Permanente mental health care workers went on strike against poor working conditions that hinder patient care, leaving hundreds of medical offices understaffed...
OPINION
Scot Scoop, January 2025
Welcome to the 2025 Oppression Olympics, where medals are only awarded to those who can stack the most marginalized identities on their plate–because nothing speaks victory more than quantifying your own suffering to fish for attention...
OPINION
Scot Scoop, March 2025
Adoption is not the same as childbirth. People want children who are born from their blood, who bear their DNA, who are somehow considered more “legitimate” than others...
OPINION
Scot Scoop, April 2025
Everyone wants to save the environment. That’s why we drive Teslas and drink out of soggy straws and shop with reusable bags from Trader Joe’s, right? Nowadays, eco-conscious consumers are taking it to the next level: abandoning fast fashion in favor of small-batch, artisan-crafted garments stitched from hemp plants in the Himalayas...
NEWS
Scot Scoop, November 2024
Students across the nation walk in honor of Ruby Bridges’ legacy while making strides toward a more inclusive education system...
FEATURE
Scot Scoop, March 2024
"Why me?" "Why wasn't I given a normal sibling?" That was what Scott Wallace* thought when he was just 6 years old. From kindergarten to second grade, Wallace lived in constant shame of his older brother, who was diagnosed with a neurological disorder at age 3...
OPINION
Scot Scoop, February 2025
Kylie Cosmetics, D’Amelio Footwear, and MrBeast Burger are all celebrity brands known for their subpar reputations and questionable quality, yet they still generate millions in revenue each year. In fact, most of these celebrity brands aren’t even run by our favorite stars themselves...
OPINION
Scot Scoop, March 2025
When a CEO dies, thousands of news articles flood the media like monsoon rains over an arid field. But when a whistleblower dies, not even the most independent news outlets dare break the silence...
NEWS
Scot Scoop, October 2024
The Belmont community gathered for a lively evening filled with games, food, and fun as Belmont Parks and Recreation wrapped up its “Movies in the Park” summer event...
OPINION
Scot Scoop, March 2025The world loves when a woman speaks up for herself — until it makes men uncomfortable...
NEWS
Scot Scoop, November 2025
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) is partnering with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley to host an emergency food drive throughout the month of November to support families who have been affected by the reduction in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding...
NEWS
Scot Scoop, November 2025
Amidst the government shutdown that has caused the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to lose essential funding, millions of families across the U.S. are left unfed during the current month of November...
NEWS
Scot Scoop, December 2025
With over 350 local creators, artists, and makers selling all kinds of artistic products — from vinyl stickers to crochet plushies to illustrated posters and felted flowers — San Jose Made (SJMADE) has brought back the largest holiday craft fair in the Bay Area for another year of fun and festivities...
FEATURE
Scot Scoop, December 2025
Currently, Ian Moran is one of the last arrowsmiths alive. Moran started arrowsmithing around 20 years ago to craft his own bows and arrows for archery...
FEATURE
Scot Scoop, December 2025
With delicate lines etched across its slender bones, the fan sprang open with delight as the first touches of color kissed its surface. It flexed with each stroke of the brush, beaming with pride in the paint that would soon become its Renaissance costume. When the final drop of paint dotted its leaf, the fan gleamed with a sort of quiet elegance, a living mosaic of lines and jewels held together by its own taut structure...
FEATURE
Scot Scoop, December 2025
Hannah Bond’s family has crafted prosthetic eyes for some of the most famous blind and one-eyed people in history: Helen Keller, an American author and activist who lived with blindness and deafness; Sammy Davis Jr., a famous 1950s musician; Peter Falk, an American actor in the 1970s; Morris Frank, the co-founder of The Seeing Eye, the first guide-dog school in the United States; and King Kong...
CAMPUS
Scot Scoop, April 2026
Right before the intensive AP testing season, Carlmont High School students stepped into a night of elegance and fun at prom — dancing, laughing, eating, and forgetting about their stresses for the night...
MULTIMEDIA PACKAGE
Scot Scoop, January 2026
On Friday, Jan. 30, Carlmont students walked out of school in a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in solidarity with nearby schools...
CAMPUS
Scot Scoop, May 2026
After spending over 80 hours creating a sustainable and impactful project to support only children, Anika Warrier received her Gold Award in March 2026. According to the Girl Scouts of Orange County, this award is the highest honor that a Girl Scout can earn during their time in the organization, available to high school students who innovate an actionable solution to address an issue in their community...
COLUMN: BREAKING THE ICE
The concept of the column, Breaking the ice, stemmed from the desire to fuse the line between creative writing and journalistic writing. Each of the columns is based on a different English idiom and how it relates to personal experiences, anecdotes, and beliefs. Even the title of the column itself comes from an idiom — to break the ice — which is to start a conversation about something that is often uncomfortable.
COLUMN
COLUMN
COLUMN
Scot Scoop, September 2025
The first article of the column tackles the themes of dysfunction within Asian American families through the idiom "blood is thicker than water."
A common but controversial English idiom, “blood is thicker than water,” illuminates the idea that kinship ties are the most paramount bonds, surpassing all chosen relationships. It’s ironic to think — in a country that places such robust emphasis on freedom of choice — that something forced could possibly surmount something chosen...
Scot Scoop, September 2025
The second article of the column uses the idiom "jack of all trades" to discuss the acceptance of being mediocre as an artist, and thus embracing the art of being average.
Some people soar, others stumble. For most of us, as we get older, we end up becoming more and more mediocre as well. I call this the feeling of being a jack of all trades but a master at none: decent at everything, great at nothing...
Scot Scoop, September 2025
The third article of the column is a satirical spin on Big Tech's mass layoffs and how it will diminish the value of human personhood through the idiom "to cut corners."
A lot of people seem to have this misconception that the American work culture is one of the most toxic in the world. After all, the masses are exploited and brainwashed to be 9-to-5 corporate slaves for elite families like the Rockefellers and Rothschild. Meanwhile, Greenstone and Water Asset Management continue to hoard water rights so that they can exploit American dehydration for their own benefit...
COLUMN
COLUMN
COLUMN
Scot Scoop, October 2025
The fourth article of the column discusses the experience and benefits of growing up bilingual and being introduced to two separate American and Chinese cultures through the idiom "the best of both worlds."
Last winter, for the first time since 2019, the $1.50 boba tea and lantern-speckled lampposts of urban China found their way to me again...
Scot Scoop, October 2025
The fifth article of the column uses the idiom "head in the clouds" to introduce the nuances of maladaptive dreaming and how it propels the suffering artist mentality.
I’ve been told that I space out a lot or that I have a rude habit of not looking people in the eye when they’re addressing me because I’m busy thinking about something else...
Scot Scoop, October 2025
The sixth article of the column raises the question of why teenagers are so drawn to risky and taboo decisions, by comparing them to the idiom "moths to a flame."
The idiom “like a moth to a flame” means to be so irresistibly or even instinctively attracted to something that you ignore its potential consequences...
CREATIVE WRITING
POETRY
The Eunoia Review, April 2025
A poem exploring the experience of growing up as a child translator or a child language broker. I wrote this piece to illustrate the vividness of bridging two lands through the art of the tongue—language.
POETRY
elementia, April 2025
A poem centered on an old leaky faucet, which witnesses the hidden experiences and years of passing lives. This piece explores the hidden stories and sorrows behind old and worn-out items, illuminating the beauty and life in even the most ancient objects.
PROSE
elementia, April 2025
A short story that delves into the tender relationship between a Chinese mother and her daughter, drawing the thin line between love and resentment. Through sharp and descriptive language, this story explores how language within immigrant families acts as a point of precision.
POETRY
Incandescent Review, August 2024
A poem about resisting assimilation through the personification of the American Victim, or the desire to want to change to assimilate into the dominant culture. The killing of the American Victim is symbolic of the acceptance of one's unique culture.
POETRY
The WEIGHT Journal, February 2024
A poem that sheds light on the strained relationship between a Chinese mother and daughter, exploring how cultural and filial expectations in Asian culture surrounding motherhood and daughterhood can feel more like an obligation, rather than desire. This poem questions what is lost when parental roles are inherited rather than chosen.