The Trader Joe’s Crispy Crunchy Mochi Rice Nuggets are one of the best items found in the snack aisle of the store. The name of the snack is a perfect description of the product—it’s a crunchy, cube-shaped nugget primarily made of rice. Each lightly salted morsel makes you crave more. The Mochi Rice Nuggets can be identified at the store by the packaging’s drawing of the nuggets playing in a band. This unique snack can be found at any time of year and serves as a great savory snack.

Mac ‘N’ Cheese Bites

Trader Joe’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese bites are a delicious and easy frozen meal for any occasion. They consist of small portions of the famous Trader Joe’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese surrounded by a breading. The fried panko breading creates a nice contrast between the crispy exterior and creamy, chewy interior. The bites can be eaten as an appetizer, meal or snack, and are a great comfort food. These addictive cheesy balls come in frozen packages and come ready out of the oven in just 10 to 15 minutes of baking.

Ube Ice Cream

The seasonal summertime Ube Ice Cream is one of the most unique items to have hit the Trader Joe’s shelves. Ube is a purple yam hailing from Southeast Asia, but don’t let the strange combination of yam and ice cream fool you—the unique bright purple ice cream is absolutely worth a try. The quality of the ice cream itself is also spectacular. It’s paired with a soft, creamy texture, perfectly melting in your mouth. Next time you’re on a summer trip to Trader Joe’s, be sure to look out for the Ube Ice Cream.

Everything but the Bagel Seasoning

Everything but the Bagel Seasoning has become a staple in American households, and it would be impossible to not mention it. It consists of sesame seeds, sea salt flakes, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, black sesame seeds and poppy seeds. This condiment is perhaps the most versatile one since salt and pepper. It can be used to season anything—my personal favorite is to sprinkle it on my sunny side up eggs. However, it can be used to make anything taste instantly better, and add a hint of the everything bagel taste to whatever you choose to add it to.

This organization was inspired by the group witnessing the Black Lives Matter movement gaining momentum following several instances of police brutality. “I saw the passion that the people had in helping a cause,” Yamamoto said. “But I recognized that the momentum would die off without any real change.” 

The team thought of another way to make an impact on the future of the country: voting. “One way to create real change was to redirect the momentum of [Black Lives Matter] into impacting the upcoming election and a few other local elections,” Yamamoto said.

So far, the group has worked tirelessly to make progress in the community. “We are currently working to get around 3500 postcards sent and have made almost 2000 calls,” Yamamoto said. 

Despite the impact the organization has already made, they are nowhere near done. “We plan to continue our project until at least Nov. 3,” Yamamoto said. “Until then, we will continue to send postcards, gather volunteers and make phone calls. Past that, we plan to regather and potentially make an effort to partner with other organizations. Additionally, we may redirect our focus to voter registration.”

As of now, Youth to Save Democracy is working to expand their group in order to allow for further outreach. “We have reached out to youth from neighboring high schools and other organizations throughout the nation to gather volunteers,” Yamamoto said, “We have gotten parent volunteers and donations from numerous applications, including Instagram and Nextdoor.”

Fong has been sheltering with his parents and older brother. However, life without a public environment, such as school, has taken a toll on his well-being. “I miss seeing people I’m not close with but still interact with at school,” he said. Fong misses the day-to-day contact with dozens of other students he’d receive during school. However, he still maintains contact with his closest friends. “I still manage to talk to my friends pretty often on calls and Messenger,” Fong said.

So far, there have been many positive aspects of quarantine for Fong. “I have more free time now and have been sleeping more, so I think I have been growing,” he said. “Also, I have more time to just do what I want so I can get a lot done in a day.”

Social distancing is a sacrifice that most people have made for the sake of the community. To adhere to these guidelines, Fong has been able to replace in-person hangouts with group video calls instead. “I feel like social distancing is effective, but it’s hard being isolated for such a long time,” he said. “Though Google Hangouts is making it easier.” Staying at home all day can be tough, but finding the right schedule and taking advantage of the free time, as Fong has, can help with the boredom.

       The rise of this drink’s popularity can be attributed to its simplicity and aesthetics. To make the drink, all you need is instant coffee, hot water, sugar and milk. By beating equal portions of instant coffee, hot water and sugar with a whisk or mixer, the “whipped” part of the drink is made. The whipped mixture is then topped over a glass of milk to create a beautiful drink, with the milk on the bottom and cream floating above the milk. After snapping some “artsy” photos and posting on social media, the cold, delicious beverage can be mixed into a single substance and becomes ready to drink.

The headphones are the “on-ear” model, which allows for smaller cushions and takes up less space while still providing great sound quality. Moreover, these headphones have approximately 40 hours of battery life, as opposed to AirPods’ five. The Solo3s also have the Beats “Fast Fuel” feature, which gives it three hours worth of battery from a five-minute charge. Additionally, the added Apple W1 chip allows for easy pairing with Apple devices and the ability to automatically connect to devices on the same iCloud account. 

The appearance is also superior to all competition. With a simple design and an iconic logo on the outside, they look stylish for any occasion. The headphones also come in dozens of colors and styles—some designs even come from collaborations with companies such as Disney.

Their most important feature, though, is their audio quality. Unlike AirPods and most other brands, these have Beats’s trademark powerful bass and sound, an addition that suits many popular genres of music. 

Compared to other devices, Beats Solo3s are by far the best option, with its convenience, appearance and top-notch audio.