Better World Pitch: Gift It Up

What’s the most wonderful time of the year to give a gift? Trick question. It’s ALWAYS a wonderful time to give a gift.

It’s been scientifically proven that giving makes people happy. In the U.S., we designate certain days out of the year to get people presents—birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Anniversaries, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, the list goes on. Even Halloween can be considered a gift-giving day if you think about it. But besides giving gifts, we more importantly love to receive them. We ask for things that we want. We anticipate what we’re going to get. In many countries around the world, though, people don’t get to experience this feeling of giving and receiving.

That’s where we step in. The name of our non-profit is called Gift It Up. Our mission is to spread the love and share the wealth with those who are less fortunate. We achieve this by sending care packages to people year round. Rather than just donating money, you get to decide what goes into the box, the destination, and the age and gender of the receiver. You can easily navigate through our website to find items to put in the care package, such as toys, school supplies, blankets, clothing, hygiene items, etc. You also have the option of including a personalized message and photo. We then send teams to hand-deliver those presents.

We at Gift It Up are committed to making a difference in the lives of people around the world. We are not just sending them brown paper packages tied up with strings. We are delivering a sense of hope, letting them know that they are not alone, that there are people who care. So stop waiting for December 25th to come around. It's to pay it forward and Gift It Up now!

Africa's Hierarchy of Needs

In the final chapter of Challenge for Africa, Wangari Maathai discusses, what she feels should be, the areas of focus for Africa. She states, "In any examination of the challenges of Africa, one natural resource often goes underappreciated: Africans themselves." In general, this quote can be applied to the majority of countries, not just those in Africa. Corruption, poverty, hunger, war, land destruction, and economic turmoil can all be traced back to people. Humans play a large role in their own fate, and often times, they forget that. In Africa's case, governments do not invest a lot of time or money into their people. Maathai repeatedly emphasizes throughout the book that "the disempowerment of ordinary people underlies Africa's gravest problems." She makes the point that African countries do not feel unified because the African people, themselves are not unified. The people lack confidence because they lack support and guidance. Maathai argues, "It is fundamental that Africa's leaders create the conditions under which their people gain confidence, dignity, and a sense of self-worth--with the citizens themselves actively participating in this effort." Her idea of working with people directly to solve their problems reminded me a lot about Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Maslow came up with a pyramid (as shown below) of the basic levels of needs that people have. His theory was that until the level below was satisfied, one could not move up to the next level. Some argue that not all of the needs are necessary in each level, but the general idea is that people need to first fulfill basic physical and physiological needs like food, water, and safety.

In the beginning of the final chapter, Maathai talks about the African family and how men have been uprooted from the home. She makes the argument that the administrations are insensitive to the "African man's need to provide emotional and physical security to his family." Maathai is not suggesting that women cannot handle raising and providing for a family. She is trying to point out the physical and emotional distance that's been created, which is in turn causing the family to fall short in the basic needs described in the first three levels of Maslow's hierarchy. It is important for people to recognize the importance of family. Family doesn't have to mean blood relations. It should be placed in the broader sense of uniting a group of people who share a culture and a history. Until people begin to feel that they belong to that group, they do not feel secure or respected by others. Maathai believes that Africa needs to focus more on the people and how they all fit together. Their needs are the most important, and until the government and the public realize that, Africa will remain at a stalemate. It's only when the people begin to examine and prioritize their needs that their country will be able to take the next step and move forward. 

Culture: Nature vs. Nurture

Culture. Is it something you're born with, or is it something you're born into? I was born and raised in the U.S. I learned and speak fluent English, I went through public schooling, I eat American food, I have a diverse group of friends, I go to church, and I watch American TV shows. On the other hand, I'm 100% Chinese by blood. I grew up in a Chinese household, I celebrate all of the major holidays, I speak Mandarin, I eat Chinese food, I have a Chinese name, and my entire extended family lives in China. So does that make me American or Chinese? Can a person identify with multiple cultures? How does that affect their lifestyle? What if a group of people struggle to define their culture? How does that impact them?

Wangari Maathai has a chapter in her book The Challenge for Africa entitled "Culture: The Missing Link?" in which she discusses the importance of having a culture and the detrimental effects of not having one. She describes culture as the the thing that gives people self-identity and character. She states that without culture, a community loses self-awareness and grows weak and vulnerable. Wangari believes that Africans are losing their cultures, destroyed and overpowered by other more constructed ones. Many African cultures have been molded and shaped by foreign cultures. Wangari uses the example of her Christian name that was given to her after she was baptized. She lost her traditional name "Wangari" and adopted the biblical, European name "Miriam." To her this was a sign of a foreign culture overshadowing her native one. Through self-reflection and her own motivation and dedication, Wangari was able to learn and discover her true identity and decided for herself that she wanted to embrace her African descent. Wangari notes that many Africans struggle with culture identification, and as a result, the entire communities in which these people live are vulnerable and experiencing this sense of loss and confusion. They are more susceptible to foreigners who try to force their culture upon them. They struggle to think for themselves. Their culture is being uprooted from beneath them. Even the people with the most power and wealth find themselves unable to protect their land, people, and ways of living. They fall into the danger zone of being culturally dominated by others. In the case that Wangari brings up, culture has become more nurture than nature. Africans have become more adept to adopting cultures that surround them rather than looking inward and appreciating and developing their own traditional, native one.

For me, I identify as having both American and Chinese cultures. I do not believe that culture is solely nature, nor is it all defined by nurture. Having two cultures is advantageous in my opinion because I have the opportunity to look at situations from two perspectives. Just because I identify as both American and Chinese does not mean I have an identity crisis. I know that my sense of culture will continue to change as I grow older, but for at this moment, I am just appreciative of the ones I have.

Food Blog Coming Soon

I'm excited to announce that my food blog will be up and running VERY soon. It's been a long time coming, but I've made it my mission to launch it before the start of fall semester. I've always been a huge foodie, and cooking and baking are two of my favorite hobbies. My food blog will be both an exploration of my favorite places to go and eat out and a showcase of some of my favorite recipes. Anyone who loves to cook, wants to learn how to cook, or just loves food will find something that they can relate to on my blog. I'm asking my friends and family to help by sending me their favorite recipes, which I will in turn remake with my own spin on them. I want to take the fear out of cooking and make it a much more enjoyable and easier activity that everyone can enjoy. It doesn't matter if you don't have time everyday to cook. I've learned over the past two years how to buy groceries on a college student budget and make one meal last four to five days. I want to share my recipes, ideas, and love for food with everyone.

Having a blog will keep me occupied and also give me a place to let go of stress. I'll be able to write about what I love and hopefully help others in the process. It'll also give me the opportunity to consistently keep writing. I'll try to post at least two to three times each week. It sounds easy, but I can already see myself making some excuses about not having enough time. My goal is to write no matter what. Starting a food blog has been a big dream of mine for a while now, and it's about time I finally commit myself to it. I don't care if I only have a few followers. At least I'll be doing something that I love.

Food is something I'm passionate about and I want to share that passion with everyone. I hope that you'll check it out once I launch it officially. More news and updates to come!

Top-Down to Bottom-Up

When there's a problem, the initial response many people have is to find someone or something to blame. It's often in those moments when uncertainty and fear cloud our better judgment and the people and things we think are the main causes are not actually the roots. In The Challenge for Africa, Wangari Maathai talks about how it's not entirely the government's fault for the state that certain parts of Africa are in. Yes, the politicians and other bureaucratic institutions have a greater influence on the overall standard of living, but ultimately, the fate of the continent falls in the hands of the general population themselves. A lot of times we'll hear newscasts about corrupt government officials and bad government policies and gloss over the fact that much of the problems actually originated from within society itself and not the government. In the case of farming in rural Africa, Maathai notes that the farmers were never taught properly how to prepare the land and are, in turn, ironically destroying fertile grounds in the process. She attributes this poor education to the government but also directs partial blame on the farmers. When we focus on the government being the puppeteers, we label the citizens as helpless and unable to fend for themselves. This gives people, like the farmer on the hillside, the wrong impression that their actions have little impact. What we should be thinking about instead is how the public can influence the government to bring about positive social change and do work for the benefit of the entire population. In this manner, we are flipping the top-down hierarchical pyramid and recreating it to be more bottom-up. Until the general public takes it seriously, the government cannot make much progress.

Expert Article Final - Grub Turned Gourmet

Hello Fellow Writing 340 Classmates!

I have my final expert article finished and ready for posting. Unfortunately copying and pasting it directly to Blogger came with many issues, so instead I have uploaded it onto Google Drive. The following link will take you straight there. The hyperlinks should work, but please notify me if they don't. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience. 

Thanks for reading! I can't wait to read yours :)

Signing out for the night,

Tiffany

Paying It Forward (Literally)

When I was 7 years old, I really wanted a red Game Boy Color. My parents told me that if I saved up half the required amount, they'd pay for the other half. Determined to get my hands on Super Mario Bros., I spent three months doing extra chores around the house, holding lemonade stands, selling old toys and books at garage sales, and collecting spare change. (The couch became my best friend.) When I finally walked out of Target with that gaming console in my hands, I couldn't have been happier. That is, until I saw my best friend with her new Game Boy Advance.

Starting at a very young age, I saw money as the thing that stood between me and happiness. No one ever had to actually tell me that money was important or valuable. There was always just the association between it and everything I wanted. If I wanted candy from the gumball machine, I needed a quarter. If I wanted the latest Harry Potter book, I needed a twenty dollar bill. Saving up money became a consistent routine. It was both exciting and frustrating. The older I got, the greater the amount that I needed. My goal was just out of reach, and with every dollar, I was one step closer to freedom--freedom from having to wait patiently and from having to turn down other things in the process. No matter how long it took, I always felt successful and extremely happy. Unfortunately, that feeling was only temporary. Once the new turned old or once the book left a cliffhanger (that was the worst), it was back to saving up for the next thing.

Nowadays, I save my money for other reasons. Most of it is going towards paying back my parents for college, but a lot of it, I'm actually using to pay it forward (literally). The two causes I support are Operation Christmas Child and No Kid Hungry. Both are non-profits that are close to my heart. Operation Christmas Child is a project that involves people filling and donating shoeboxes with toys, books, hygiene items, and school supplies to be sent around the world to underprivileged children during the holiday season. No Kid Hungry is a campaign that connects kids in need with nutritious food, with the ultimate goal of ending child hunger in America. Each month I set aside a fixed percentage of my earnings to donate 50/50 to these causes. Even though I can't physically be next to the kids when they open the presents or when they pick up their free school lunch, I know that my donations are making a difference in their lives. 

 In her book, The Soul of Money, Lynn Twist captures our relationship with money. The following quotes is one of my favorites.

"However we choose, we express ourselves in the way we send our money into the world, and with every dollar goes the energy, the imprimatur, of our intentions. The mind-set of scarcity and the longing for "more" lose their grip, and we begin to make different choices. Money becomes a conduit, a way to express our highest ideals. Money becomes the currency of love and commitment, expressing the best of who you are."

Saying that you don't have enough money is not a good enough excuse. As Twist puts it, "Money is a great translator of intention to reality, vision to fulfillment" (194), meaning that we have the choice to use money in whatever way we want. Whether it be buying a new car or giving to the church, our true intentions come out with how we use our money. My motives for saving money have changed since I was 7, and the feeling of happiness that I get from paying it forward lasts much longer than it did from buying material items. My commitment to saving money is now far more valuable and rewarding, and whatever it takes, I'll continue to pay it forward.

More Money, More Problems

Part of Your World (From The Little Mermaid)

It's the classic tale of a girl who wants more than what she already has, pining to live a different life (even though she's already a princess and has gadgets and gizmos a plenty). When I watched The Little Mermaid for the first time a few years ago, I found Ariel to be quite annoying. Most little girls grow up dreaming to become princesses and live in kingdoms with all the things they could ever ask for. But Ariel...no, she didn't want any of that. She wanted the exact opposite. All the money in the whole sea couldn't buy her happiness.  In her mind, Ariel just wanted to be human, be normal. In the end, her greed got the best of her and ended up getting her into a whole lot of trouble.

Most, if not all, humans struggle to find happiness from money. Rich or poor, it doesn't matter. We all want "more." In The Soul of Money, Lynne Twist brings up 3 central myths that surround our relationship with money:

1. There's not enough.
2. More is better.
3. That's just the way it is.

All three myths lead back to this idea that even if a person had all the money in the world, he or she would still not be satisfied. Money has become a driving force in all aspects of life, not just the economy. It brings out a green side of people, one that often gets out of hand, especially when there's more money at stake. For example, let's look at gambling. People bet money to win more of it. The more they bet, the higher they expect in return. But with it comes high risk as well. People with a lot of money put a lot more on the line. When they lose it, they continue to bet more, believing that they will eventually win it all back and even more. Gambling is an addiction because it's hard to stop. There's never a point where you can say, "That's enough," because there's always more money in the pot. Greed and fear are what push people to do whatever it takes to get their hands on money. As Twist puts it,

Some of the people with fortunes enough to last three lifetimes spend their days and nights worrying about losing money on the stock market, about being ripped off or conned or not havintg enough for their retirement. Any genuine fulfillment in their life of financial privilege can be completely eclipsed by these money fears and stresses.

Money is only the tangible problem. It symbolizes a deeper unrest that people have with their lives. There's always someone who has it better than them--someone with a bigger house, a nicer car, a better job. In the midst of all the fear and resentment, they forget about what they already have. Like Ariel, they become unappreciative and are stuck lusting after what they don't have. More times than not, the things they want don't turn out to be anything like they expected, leaving them further underwhelmed and disappointed and ultimately placing them in a never-ending cycle of greed and dissatisfaction.

The question we should be asking ourselves then is not how can we get more money, but what can we do with what we have to be happy.

Must Try in SF: Hakkasan

I literally just got off the plane at LAX and am currently in the shuttle on the way back to school. My feet are sore from walking in heels for the past two days, and I've now lost my voice. I just spent less than 48 hours in my favorite city and home, San Francisco, CA. Why? A leadership conference hosted by a company I'm interested in. One of the best places I've ever eaten at is a restaurant called Hakkasan. It's pretty expensive and known as my go-to "splurge" dining option. Last time I went was with the same company a few months ago. We had the most amazing Asian-Fusion food. Well, today for lunch guess where we went? You guessed it. Hakkasan!!!

What's so great about the place is the atmosphere. You feel completely hip and very fancy. The service is amazing and the food is even better. I love SF for its beauty, job opportunities, and lifestyle, but I especially love it's good choices. LA is great, but it's nothing like SF to me. The food options are endless, and when you go with the right people, it's hard to leave. At Hakkasan, we ordered an array of dim sum, main courses and desserts. It's all about family style. Sharing is what makes the experience so memorable. You can choose to order individual plates, but what's the fun in that? Especially if you're not going to go back to the same restaurant again, you might as well try everything while you're there! I highly recommend this fine dining experience for (not just Hakkasan) anywhere that you know you'd probably never go more than once or twice in a year. Restaurants are not permanent, so take up the opportunity to get a little taste of everything. 

Har Gau (Shrimp dumpling)

Soup dumplings

Crispy duck pumpkin puff

Truffle chowmein with scallops

Roasted lamb chops

To Donate or Not to Donate?

39 Cents - Saturday Night Live

You've probably seen a commercial like this before. Granted, this one is a parody created by the geniuses at SNL, but you get the picture. Most people will change the channel the minute there's someone asking for donations. I've always wondered what percentage of people actually pick up their phones (and not go on Facebook) and dial the number on the screen. There's also a lot of controversy over whether or not the money actually goes to the places they say it's going. How much are the celebrity endorsers getting paid for showing up and filming those commercials? How much are they donating themselves? 

The real questions that I want to ask are not about the money or about the commercials or corporations running the show. I'm more interested in what's really stopping people from donating. There's always a possibility of fraud when it comes to money. (Money can bring out the greed in people, even in non-profits.) But what if people are just using their doubt as an excuse to not give? People spend so much time worrying over how much money they have. As Lynne Twist puts it, in her book The Soul of Money,

Money has only the power that we assign to it, and we have assigned it immense power...If we look only at behavior, it tells us that we have made money more important than we are, given it more meaning than human life. Humans have done and will do terrible things in the name of money. They have killed for it, enslaved other people for it, and enslaved themselves to joyless lives in pursuit of it.

This may sound extreme, but there is truth in what Twist is saying. Everything we do is in some way backed by money. When we're short of it, we go into fight or flight mode. Sometimes, people will do unspeakable things to get what they need. I wonder what people in poverty-filled countries would think if they saw us behaving this way. Lynne Twist saw with her own eyes what "begging" actually means in places outside the U.S. like India. The people there will go to drastic measures to make others feel guilty and pity. Money to them is literally the difference between life and death. Isn't it crazy to think that paper and pieces of metal can determine the value of a person's life?

So why shouldn't we give to those who need help? Studies have shown that money can actually buy happiness. An article in Psychology Today entitled "Worried About Money? Give Some Away" claim that people who choose to spend money on others are happier than those who spend it on themselves. Instead of thinking about all of the negatives from the donation commercials, we should focus on what we can do to make the most out of every penny we have.

Psychology Today: "Worried About Money? Give Some Away"

Good Eats in LA

One of my biggest regrets is not getting my driver's license when I was 16. Confession: I still don't know how to drive. Back home, my town's pretty small, and my parents and friends always gave me rides to and from places. Once I got to USC, I didn't really think I would need a car. The public transportation is pretty efficient and now Uber has become even more convenient. There are times though that I wish I could just get into a car and drive to a cafe in LA or Santa Monica, order something to eat and drink, and read without worrying about the time. 

I don't get off campus much, but when I do I take out my food bucket list and track down one of LA's best places to eat. Living in a big city has its perks. Food is definitely one of them. I'm a HUGE foodie, and I love traveling. Wherever I go, I try to search up the most popular (and reasonably priced) restaurants, cafes, food trucks, really, just anywhere that has delicious food. If I could have three wishes, one of them would be to have a bottomless stomach so I could try every food in the world without getting full and without gaining weight.

I've got two more years in LA and over fifty restaurants and cafes to cover on my list. BuzzFeed has two great posts that highlight some of the best places to eat in LA. Next time you're around the Los Angeles area, forget Subway and Chipotle and pick one of these!

28 Droolworthy Junk Food Treats To Eat In L.A.

23 Delicious Los Angeles Eats That Are Worth Every Penny
(Everything is under $10)

Too Fast For Our Own Good

We're all frequent multitaskers. Currently, I'm writing this blog post, jamming out to Snarky Puppy, and making banana bread. One of the biggest complaints people often have is that they don't have enough time to do everything like hanging out with friends, finishing assignments, exercising, etc. We have to prioritize our tasks and sacrifice some for others. Or better yet, if you're like me and  think you're a superhero, we try to do everything all at once. I can't remember the last time I ate dinner at home without my laptop beside me (I'm trying to cut back). We've gotten into the habit of eating on the go. On the rare occasions we find ourselves sitting at an actual dinner table, and not at a desk or in the car, it's often because we have company. 

In Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan describes two different eating scenarios that vary in both food preparation and food consumption. The first is a typical fast food meal that his family eats on the road. The second is a home-cooked meal served at a dinner party. This is the quote that stood out to me the most:

It's impossible to prepare and eat a meal quite so physically, intellectually and emotionally costly without thinking about the incalculably larger debts we incur when we eat industrially—which is to say, when we eat without a thought to what we're doing. To compare my transcendently slow meal tot eh fast-food meal I "served" my family at that McDonald's in Marin, the one that set me back fourteen bucks for the three of us and was consumed in ten minutes at sixty-five miles per hour, is to marvel at the multiplicity of a world that could produce two such different methods of accomplishing the same thing: feeding ourselves, I mean.

We have the choice to eat quickly or slowly. Unfortunately, most of us fall into the habit of eating out instead of eating in. "Eating out" does not necessarily have to mean going through a drive-thru. Whenever you heat up a TV dinner or order a pizza, you're still technically eating processed foods. Studies have shown that fast eating is a cause for overeating. The foods people tend to choose when they don't have time to cook can have more calories, fat, and sugar than most people think. We shouldn't be using the excuse "I don't have time" to overlook the fact that our fast eating is actually hurting us in the long run. Admit it, we're eating too fast for our own good.

Step one is admitting we have a problem. So what's next? Here's some additional resources on the topic of fast vs. slow eating:

9 Expert Tips For More Mindful Eating

5 Powerful Reasons to Eat Slower

Why Speed Eating is Bad for Your Health

New Study: Eating Speed Does Not Determine Satiety

Craving Chocolate Chip Cookies?

WARNING: These chocolate chip cookies may cause addiction.

It's taken me about 5 years to finally master the art of baking chocolate chip cookies. Now, whenever I get the chance to bake, or when I just need to relieve some stress, my go-to recipe is the classic chcolate chip. I had to go through a lot of trial and error to get to this point. I am fortunate enough to have supportive parents who never turned down a taste test (even when there were times that they should've said no). I personally am not quite fond of eating chocolate, so it was an especially difficult process to perfect this recipe. Without trying them myself, I've had to depend on my friends and family for honest feedback. 

The top two problems that many people have with chocolate chip cookies are:

1. They're too crunchy (i.e., burnt and overcooked).

2. They don't rise.

These issues stem from baking time and one crucial step that many recipes leave out. After reading many different food blogs, I finally found one that solved both problems. Once I applied the tricks to my recipe and played around with it with a few batches, I eventually created the ultimate soft-baked chocolate chip cookie. 

There are three secrets for getting a nice soft, golden cookie:

1. Add 1-2 teaspoons of corn starch to the dry ingredients.

2. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 3 hours prior to when you want to bake them in the oven.

3. Don't trust the cooking time that recipes give you. 

Corn starch

A little goes a long way. You'd be surprised to see the difference corn starch makes in the fluffiness of your chocolate chip cookies. It will not detriment the flavor of the cookies, nor will it change the color. It will add texture, giving the cookies more height when they bake, and it will also keep them soft even after being stored in Tupperware. You can also substitute vanilla dry pudding mix if you don't have cornstarch.

Refrigerate the Dough

Waiting can be difficult, but if you're paitient, you won't be disappointed. Letting the cookie dough sit in the fridge for a few hours will allow them to cook more evenly. They won't spread out too fast in the oven. You won't end up with flat cookies that tend to be overcooked and burnt. 

Cooking Time

A lot of recipes will give you an approximate time frame of 7-9 minutes. When it comes to cookies, an extra minute can make or break your cookie (literally). It all depends on your oven. When you first preheat the oven, it will take about 15-20 minutes for it to reach the temperature you set it to. Now, some of you might not be able to wait that long, so my advice is to bake only three cookies on the first tray. Watch the clock carefully. Take the tray out once the sides of the cookies have become lightly brown. Don't worry if the centers are still a little underbaked. The cookies will continue to cook while they cool. 

So without further ado. Here's my recipe for THE chocolate chip cookies!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch (aka cornflour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar (or dark brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter  until completely smooth and creamy. 

2. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix until fluffy and light in color. 

3. Mix in egg and vanilla. Take the egg out and place it on the counter for 5 minutes prior to adding it.

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. 

5. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick. 

6. Add the chocolate chips and fold in for about 5 seconds until evenly disbursed. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours (3+ hours preferred for thicker cookies) and up to 2 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take out the cookie dough and allow to sit for 10 minutes at room temperature.

8. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Roll balls of dough, about 1-2 tablespoons (I tend to make them into the size of ping pong balls), and flatten slightly using the palm of your hand. 

9. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remember that the first batch will take the longest and the later ones will take less time. Adjust time accordingly. Your cookies are done when the sides are slightly golden and the middle is still a little undercooked. They will look extremely soft, but that's okay! 

10. Remove cookies from the cookie sheet and allow to cool for 5-7 minutes. 

11. ENJOY!!! :)

Turning Corn Into Gold

Before you continue reading, take a minute to think about what you ate yesterday. Unless you ate only fruits and vegetables (Props to you for your self-discipline), everything you had can, in one way or another, be broken down to one ingredient: corn. You might be asking yourself, "How is a Pepsi or steak made from corn?" I didn't believe it myself until I read Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.    Using "food science" we have been able to take apart this small, fragile kernel and transform it into the various macronutrients that everyday foods we know and love are built on. The most ironic part about corn being the center of processed foods is the fact that people are willing to pay tenfold for it. One of my favorite quotes in the first part of Pollan's book is one where he compares the price of commodity corn with cereal. He writes:

In many ways breakfast cereal is the prototypical processed food: four cents' worth of commodity corn (or some other equally cheap grain) transformed into four dollars' worth of processed food. What an alchemy! 

Isn't that a wake-up call? All the branding and packaging add value and thus drive up the price of the end product. They're also what draws consumers out from buying the generic brands, which are made from exactly the same ingredients. (I'm guilty of choosing General Mills' Honey Nut Cheerios over Market Pantry's Honey & Nut Toasted Oats.) The food empires of the world can be traced back to the farm, but the majority of profits never reach the corn harvester. Yet somehow, once upon a time, the food world took this morsel of a plant and turned it into gold.

Let's Go to the Movies

How many times have you dropped popcorn in a theater, picked it up, and thrown it away? When was the last time you thanked the usher holding the door for you as you left a movie? After working part-time in a movie theater last summer, I have a new respect for the people who work in movie theaters. Many people overlook these jobs and have no idea how much work is actually involved. I’d like to put a spotlight on these forgotten heroes and give a behind-the-scenes look at what movie theater attendants do.

A Move Theater Attendant is a person who performs a variety of duties involving customer service, maintenance, and sales to enhance the movie-going experience. Imagine going to the movies for a date and seeing trash and popcorn on the ground everywhere, or picture accidentally sitting down on someone’s spilled ICEE. Romantic isn’t it? Most people get caught up in watching the movies themselves that they often forget the people who are making it all happen. I’m not talking about Robert Downey Jr. or Scarlett Johansson. I’m talking about the people selling tickets, greeting you and pointing you in the right direction at the door, selling and preparing your popcorn and soda, and cleaning all the restrooms, concession stands, and auditoriums. The quality of your movie night has a lot to do with the work of theater attendants. Their main goal is to create an enjoyable environment where you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

There are three positions that movie theater attendants regularly rotate through:

• Cashier
• Concessionist
• Usher

Cashier

A cashier’s tasks include the following:

• Selling and refunding movie tickets and gift cards
• Answering outside phone calls
• Setting up assistive listening equipment for people with hearing and vision impairments
• Informing patrons about featured films, release dates and times, and new theater policies

Working as a cashier may sound easy, but this isn’t true. The job requires excellent customer service skills and the ability to work under pressure. Cashiers must handle a lot of money transactions, sometimes involving large sums of cash. They must give the correct change and make refunds as needed. At the end of their shift, cashiers must balance the cash register. This means checking to see that the amount of tickets sold and refunded add up to the amount of money collected. One of the most difficult parts of being a cashier is dealing with angry customers. For example, some people will get frustrated when asked to show their ID for an R-rated film. Cashiers must always keep a positive attitude and explain the theater’s policies in a calm and relaxed way. Since they’re the first employees that most customers come in contact with, cashiers give the first impression of the movie theater.

 

Concessionist

What’s a movie without popcorn? The concession stand is like the supporting actor in a movie. Without it, the movies just wouldn’t be the same. Working in concessions is probably the most demanding out of the three positions. Besides being on their feet the entire time, concessionists are responsible for doing the following:

• Taking food and drink orders and handling money transactions
• Popping popcorn, pouring drinks, and preparing other specialty food items (i.e., hotdogs, pretzel bites, nachos, candy, etc.)
• Recording and moving inventory from the storage room to the concessions area
• Maintaining an overall clean environment, including the cooking equipment, condiments station, counters, and display cases

Much like a cashier, a concessionist must be able to multitask, taking orders and handing off orders all at once. Working in concessions is like working in an assembly line. There are normally six people working behind the counter (This number changes depending on the amount of customers.) – Three at the cash registers and three preparing and making the orders. When there’s a long line of increasingly impatient customers, it can get very hectic, so it’s crucial for concessionists to stay organized and work together. Even among the chaos of flying popcorn, the main thing for concessionists to remember is that they’re there to serve the moviegoers and improve the whole movie-going experience.   

 

Usher

Although this position is sometimes referred to as the low man on the totem pole, ushers have the most important task of creating a fun, distraction-free environment for you to actually watch movies. To do this, ushers are in charge of the following:

• Cleaning auditoriums at the end of every movie and lobbies and bathrooms in between
• Greeting and thanking patrons as they enter and leave
• Helping people find the correct seats they purchased
• Making sure that there are no distractions or disturbances during the movie   

People see ushers all the time in movie theaters, but they surprisingly spend the least amount of time talking to them. Ushers are like the assistant directors in movies. They have the most tasks to do out of everyone and barely have any time to take a break. They make sure that everything runs smoothly, from getting people to the right theater to cleaning up after them once they leave. Ushers have a tight schedule to work on, especially when there’s three movies ending around the same time and three more starting fifteen minutes later. It is important for ushers to work quickly and efficiently to keep the entire theater safe and clean.