Half and Half, Arnold Palmer, Uptown, Iced Tea mixed with Lemonade, or whichever you'd like to refer to it, will always be my go to drink and hands down favorite. I appreciate the perfect blend of the two flavors, and the variety that follows. Sometimes I'll have it served with more of a bitter taste, showing that I'm leaning towards the lemonade side, or rather sweeter favoring the iced tea. There are also so many other flavors that can be added, raspberry and peach are my favorites. Either way, the drink always brings a level of comfort and satisfaction to my taste buds and mood. 

I used to hate coffee. My dad drank it at least three times a day (he's down to one cup now - I have taken his place as the household coffee enthusiast) and would have me brew him a cup every once in a while. I loved the smell and hated the taste, the bitterness and acidity. Everytime I pushed down the French press I resented the thing that could smell so good and be so repulsive. Eventually I started drinking coffee, considering it a necessary evil to get through my school day, and drowned it in cream and sugar. I slowly weened myself off of sugar, realizing that part of what I hated was the flavors the sugar brought out - not just sweet but sticky.

The title of this post is inconsequential. I will not be discussing my favorite drink, because I do not have one. Or if I pick one, it just feels very self induldent. So I will continue the discussion of Lemonade, and what it means to me. Really I want everyone to see Lemonade as I do, becuase even though it's not perfect (and what peice of art is ever perfect?) it meant a lot to me. I will bring up one point that was kinda mentioned in one of the articles we read, but I want to provide my interpretation of it. Jay Z's appearance in Lemonade. I see Jay Z appearing in two ways. One is emotionally, which I identify as the parts where Beyoncé sings about him but he is not there, and the other is physically, which is self explanatory.

I picked my English name as Irene after I read about the chemical properties of a chemical element, Iridium. Iridium is one of precious few metals, which do not dissolve or even oxidized in aqua regia. Only in its flocculent state can it be slightly attacked by heated aqua regia.

The property of Iridium that never being oxidized by strong acid is similar to the quality I hope to have. I’ve grown up in piles of books written by authors who stayed pure and static in the tide of the society, in which most people may not get positive influences. They were like pearls, though in mud, still remaining shining and clear.

Hi, so I used LiquidEcho as my username because I though it represented the fluidity of both my identity and my opinions. As humans, we are continuously molded by the people we meet, the things we read, and the environment we are surrounded by. It is an undisputable fact that I have been influenced by the various people/things in my life. Despite this, I am my own person. I am a human being born with an intellect that allows me to form my own opinions and create new ideas. So, while the ideas and opinions that I hold echo others', they are also a reflection of the fluid nature of the individual.

For the past three years, my entire family has been living in Belgium. My mom, being the adventurer that she is, decided that we would all try to be as fully immersed in the Belgian culture as possible. This meant that my two younger siblings would go to a local Belgian school, we would all try to learn French, and we would try to participate in as many Belgian traditions as possible. One of these is the tradition of eating a "Galette de Rois," or king cake, during the celebration of Epiphany. A coin or oftentimes a plastic figurine is baked into the cake itself, and the winner is the person who gets the piece with the prize inside. The winner then is allowed to wear the paper crown and is pronounced king or queen, as applicable.

My avatar is my current volleyball team at Bryn Mawr.

Volleyball has been a big part of my life ever since I started high school. I have never played before then, but playing volleyball was the best decision I could've made going into high school as a clueless freshman. Volleyball has shaped me to be mentally and physically strong young woman. I love the fast tempo game and the competitiveness. I love the sound of an impressive hit and the feeling of a good dig. I love the spirit of our team, getting together in a circle chanting and cheering each other on. 

The saying goes that when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. But I like to say that when life hands me Taekwondo boards, I break them.

Taekwondo has made me who I am today. I consider myself a confident, friendly, and optimistic young woman.

I used to be reserved and afraid of making mistakes. Taekwondo has taught me to learn from my mistakes. We should not put ourselves down or think we are not intelligent when we make mistakes. Instead, we learn must from our mistakes on our journey. When someone kicks you down in sparring, you get right back up and fight. The key to conquering life's challenges is to believe in oneself.

Hello, the picture I have is of a morkie which is a mixed breed of a yorkie and maltese. I have a morkie of my own who yet small has a very big character. I did not choose a picture of my own dog simply because I was not able to. This is symbolic of the fact that we do not always achieve what we want but are still in a good place and can get our message across. I chose to have a picture of this dog because although I have a rather small part on the this page I would like to have a rather big impact on others with my opinions.  To put it simply, I just love dogs.

Good Evening to all,

My avatar, is a picture of the White House, which I was recently priviledged to visit. This image speaks volumes for the emotions I feel for this wonderful place. The white house, where the President inhabits is where I chose to live, as well as work one day. Metaphorically speaking, I love that this picture shows the gate separating myself from the outside, because while I am an extrovert at times, I am also an introvert, and being safe and protected from the outside world makes me feel great. The White House, where I WILL one day live, where I WILL one day work, where i WILL one day servve as the POTUS, will be my safehaven.