by: Veneranda Aguirre You’re a 16-year old girl who lives between the middle class American and upper class Mexican cultures that exist in your border town of Nogales, Arizona. You’re on the pretty side, 5’6” and 150 pounds. You’ve always been a giant compared to the kids your age, which is just one of myriad ways that you don’t fit in. Not even to your own family. Your family nicknames are Thunder Thighs and Bubble Butt. Because you’re a Latina….
by: The Refresh Editors Have you ever rolled your eyes at the health coverage you see in magazines or online? If you’re tired of reading cheery listicles of health tips that don’t take chronic illness into account, or paeans to the latest trendy diet, TheRefresh is here for you with pieces that explore not just how to stay well, but how to live a full, rich life even as you face health challenges, and that honor the personal experiences of…
by: Kim O’Connell My mother’s kitchen is small and worn, like she is. Splatters from long-ago meals speckle the walls, in the places her arms can’t reach. The cupboards are packed with impractical pots she never uses, ones she got on sale in the back row of the Asian market years ago. Every counter is covered with sauces and spices, utensils and bags. In the middle of it all is my mother, her back curved like a spoon, her black…
by: Lauren Jonik The musical landscape of the 1990s changed dramatically. It began during the era of “hair bands” (think rock and roll, power ballads and a little too much hairspray on the long-haired men who dominated the genre), introduced grunge (Nirvana!) and alternative and ended with a resurgence of radio-friendly boy bands like *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys. In short, it produced a lot of music—a lot of great music—that fans would discover through a whole new means: the internet….
by: Lauren Jonik Sometime in 1866, a fourteen year old girl named Elizabeth boarded a ship alone. Her parents had passed away and her step-mother decided to send her to America from their native land that later would be called Germany. That summer had brought the Austro-Prussian War, which lasted for about seven weeks and elicited changes of those in power and of territorial boundaries—as so often happened in Europe whenever a war broke out. Perhaps, Elizabeth’s stepmother felt that…