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Ooh Macaron-ies!

Have you ever tried baking french macarons? Well, if you haven’t, then this is the time to try it!

But first, we should know what macarons are. A lot of people think that macaroons and macarons are the same but Macaroons are very different from macarons. Macaroons have an extra “O” in the name and those are coconut cookies. Macarons are delicate sandwich cookies. And I'm going to teach you how to make them. If you’ve never tasted french macarons before, you’re missing out. French macarons are delicate meringue-based cookies with a crisp exterior. The cookies have a unique nougat-like, chewy texture. They are not hollow as some people might think. They have a good snap when biting into them yet chewy at the same time. You can flavor macarons in many ways, They taste like sweet almonds– and they’re really tasty! You can always have fun with different flavorful fillings such as Vanilla buttercream, Chocolate Ganache, Cream Cheese, and you can even get creative with it and use fruit fillings or go with a theme like oreo macarons, strawberry, and even milk tea!

But before you start baking them, you need to prepare these important equipment: 1. Glass Bowl 2. Kitchen Scale - You can certainly find French macaron recipes online given in cup measurements, but for true accuracy you should weigh in ingredients by grams) 3. Hand Mixer / Standmixer or if you don’t have one, a whisk. -good luck though ‘cause you’re gonna have an arm workout later. 4. Sifter - To obtain a shiny and smooth macaron shell, you must run the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar through a fine-mesh sieve 5. Piping bag 6. Baking sheet and liner

You’ll also need the following ingredients: (Recipe for 30 Macarons) For the macaron shells:

1 cup almond flour(95 g), finely ground

1 teaspoon salt, divided

3 egg whites, at room temperature

¼ cup granulated sugar(50 g)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ¾ cups powdered sugar(210 g)

A few drops of gel food coloring (you can try any color)

For the filling:

1 cup unsalted butter(230 g), 2 sticks, at room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar(360 g)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons heavy cream

Now let’s get into baking!

Step One: Measure out your ingredients.

Macarons don’t have to be hard, but you do have to be pretty precise in your preparation.

Step Two: Sift together the powdered sugar and almond flour three times to get out any clumps that would cause air bubbles or lumpy macarons.

Step Three: Whisk egg whites and roughly 3 tablespoons of the granulated sugar continuously until sugar melts completely and egg whites become white and frothy.

Step Four: Transfer the egg whites to a stand mixer and slowly add the remaining granulated sugar, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture is glossy. If using food coloring add here as well! Stiff peaks people! Stiff peaks!

You’ll know it’s done when the mixture is no longer grainy when you rub it between your fingers.

Step Five: Add the sifted powdered sugar and almond flour to the egg whites. Turn the mixer to medium speed and whisk for 5 seconds.

Step Six: Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl and gently fold the batter from the outside of the bowl, and gently twisting it into the center in a circle-like manner.

Do this until the batter is a lava-like consistency and you can make a figure 8 with the batter without it breaking.

Step Seven: Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a ½ inch tip. Pipe the macarons out a few inches apart onto two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Step Eight: Bake the macarons at 300°F for 13 to 15 minutes (depending on the size). Step Nine: Allow the macarons to cool completely before transferring to a cooling rack.

Step Ten: While the macarons cool, make the filling. Make the buttercream: In a large bowl, add the butter and beat with a mixer for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat to combine. Add the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat to combine, until desired consistency is reached.

Step Eleven: Once the macarons are completely cool, sandwich them together with the filling.

Step Twelve: Devour!! Or what they say in french “Bouffer!!”

Now go enjoy your macarons, close your eyes maybe? Imagine that Parisian life you’d wanna be in. coffee, tea, and champagne are the three most popular pairings so if you’re feeling a bit fancy. You should try matching the flavor to it’s drink! Nom nom on that macarons.

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Wow at Macau!

There’s much more to Macau than being known as the “Las Vegas of the East”. Read on to find out what Macau has to offer! Arriving at the Macau International Airport at Taipa during the night was an experience in itself. Riding one of the shuttle buses of Macau’s grand hotels, you can see the bustling city from a different point of view with its shining lights and humongous hotels.

Macau, with its mix of Chinese and Portugal heritage, has a feeling to it that reminds you of home. A Portuguese territory until 1999, Macau reverted back to China. But after being under Portuguese rule for 400 years, it has really left a mark in the state, shaping a unique East-meets-West culture. Landing in the midst of the busy Macau Peninsula, with tiredness weighing you down, you’d want to go to your hostel and rest up for your adventure the next day. With buses that has its own system being one of the other (and much cheaper) alternative transportation besides taxis, you might get lost if you don’t know how it works. So, be sure to have a Wi-Fi connection to search up which number of bus would stop at the close bus station near your hostel. (Or you could use the ones at the bus station as references! Although it might get confusing, so be careful to read them properly.)

You’d probably be using the bus way more than taxis to get to and from the islands, so it’s best to get a Macau Pass, which you could be used for not only bus fares, but as well as for shopping and dining! You could get one from the convenience store like 7-Eleven and load them up there!

Staying at hostels in Macau would cost up to 500 Macanese Pataca per night through walk-in. And the rates might go up depending if there’s a lot of tourists. It’s best to book hostels beforehand to get the rooms for a cheaper price. Most of the nice and cheap hostels are found along San Malo.

Now that we’ve covered transportation and hostels, you're ready to explore and see what Macau has in store for you. What is there to see? What can we do?

Walking out the hostel in San Malo, you’ll see streets full of shops and food stalls selling Macanese delicacies (some that even offer free samples, so don’t forget to get some and try!)

This part of Macau is the Portuguese side, where you can see buildings with European architecture. You’ll get lost walking through the historical streets, with the signs written in both Cantonese and Portuguese, their official languages.

Just a few steps, and you’ll see yourself in Senado Square or Largo de Senado. You can see the Ruins of St. Paul and the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt inside. This place is perfect for shopping and eating in restaurants. You can especially find here the infamous Egg Tart, which’s a perfect blend of smooth and creamy to crisp and flakey. You can also find the melt in your mouth, crispy skin of Lechon Macau! definitely, a must-try

Observe at the Fortaleza do Monte, one of UNESCO’S World Heritage Site of the ‘Historic Center of Macau’. Enjoy the magnificent view of the city at the balustrades that are littered with the old canons. You could also check out the Macau Museum right inside of the same building to know more about how Macau came to be.

Riding a bus, you could drop by The Flora Garden to ride the cable car at Guia Hill and walk around the greenery. Make the most of it by taking pictures with the beautiful plants and flowers!

You can visit the ancient temple of A-Ma Temple and go right ahead to the magnificent Macau Tower overlooking the sea. Get to experience the thrilling and spine-chilling chance to bungee jump and skyjump. After that, you could simply look at the view at the observation deck and eat at the Macau Tower 360° Cafe.

Get the chance of seeing a panda up close by going to The Macau Giant Panda Pavilion at the Macau Zoo. You could also see all the other animals such as gorillas, flamingos, and monkeys. The admission to see the animals is free! Best to go together with the family.

Watch the sunset at the Hac Sa Beach, which is the largest beach in Macau. You could also set up to camp here and watch as the waves roll towards the sandbar. It’s perfect to come here when you want to breathe in the fresh air that’s absent from the bustling city, enjoying barbeque. Buy souvenirs for friends and family. You could enjoy doing water activities at the Hac Sa Reservoir Country Park.

And last but not the least, get lost in the bright lights of the grand hotels! Visit the Venetian and enjoy their own version of Venice, complete with gondolas streaming down the canal. And just beside that is the Parisian, where a mock-up of the Eiffel Tower stands. Get a chance to ride the cable car at the Wynn Palace for free! You can even go as many times as you want. It’s best to see go on during the Wynn Music Fountain Show, which starts at 7 pm and would go on every half hour.

Although, this isn’t enough of what Macau is. The best places are sometimes better explored by yourself. There’s always something hidden in the streets, just waiting to be discovered. Like a great quaint restaurant, promising small businesses, and more! So don’t be afraid of exploring, that’s what makes traveling worth it and fun. Go ahead and get a taste of Macau!

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The Pursuit of Happiness: Sam Berns

Who knew that it would be so hard to achieve a dream as simple as being a percussionist in a high school marching band? Something that just about any high school student would be able to do. To be able to lift and carry a snare drum with no issue of worrying if you could carry it or not. But for someone like Sam Berns, it was a hard feat to accomplish.

Sitting on a chair with a spotlight shining down on him in the middle of the stage was Sam, donning a blue button-down shirt with some khaki colored pants and black shoes. Although quite daunting, he sat up straight and looked right at the huge dark crowd at the Ted event at Washington DC. With his shaking hands being the only thing indicating his nervousness, he spoke clearly and with purpose, making the listeners hang on to every word of his story.

Sam Berns was diagnosed at two years old with a condition called Progeria or Hutchinson-Gilford Syndrome. It is an extremely rare genetic disorder that is caused by the mutation of the LMNA gene, with about 350 children affected worldwide.

To add more information about this disease, it causes them to age rapidly, which starts appearing at the age two. Some of the symptoms are tight skin, lack of weight gain, stunted growth, as well as heart disease. This leads to most of them not living past the age of thirteen years old.

At the start of his freshman year of high school, Sam had a dream of being a part of the marching band as a snare drummer at the Foxboro High School in Foxboro, Massachusetts. But since he weighed only about 50 pounds due to his condition, he wouldn’t be able to carry a snare drum and harness that weighed about 40 pounds each. That is why his band director placed him on the pit percussion during the halftime show. He did have a good time playing there, but he knew it in his heart that it wasn’t enough for him. That there has got to be some other way for him to be able to achieve what he really wanted. That his illness would not hinder him from achieving his dream.

So, that leads him and his family to commission an engineer that could somehow be able to build a special harness suitable for him. That was lighter and easier enough for him to be able to carry around. And at the end, after continuous hard work, they were able to develop the snare drum apparatus that was only 6 pounds.

Making his wish finally come true, to be able to be a part of band marching and playing the snare drum during the halftime show. You could see on the video that he has shown that he was happy to be there, and it has grown to be a great and fond memory.

In 2012, his mother and her team of scientists published the first successful Progeria Treatment Study. And because of this study, he was given the opportunity to be interviewed by the NPR by John Hamilton.

During this interview, he was able to share the insights of his own beliefs and views. When asked the question “What is the most important thing that they should know about you?”, Sam simply answered that he has a very happy life. His philosophy of a happy life is what helped him overcome the hardships that were mostly given to him by Progeria. He said it made him learn to be okay with what he can’t ultimately do because there are so many more things that he could. That he should only surround himself with people that he wants to be around with, who will help support him and love him for who he was. And last but not the least, to always keep moving forward no matter what. Of course, he experienced his own fair share of hardships, but that didn’t deter him from believing in himself. That his condition shouldn’t define his life. He carried with him a passion that was brighter than fire, igniting a fire within people to want to learn from him. Lighting up motivation to be able to achieve dreams that were once thought was out of reach. Instead, creating a path that would lead to it

Sam Berns was a seventeen-year-old junior in Foxboro High School when he passed on January 10, 2014. He had the highest honors, percussion leader in the marching band, and was an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.

His story is forever immortalized by the Emmy award-winning documentary, Life According to Sam. So although he has passed, his words have helped inspire people all over the world. And would hopefully continue to do so in the years to come not only to those with Progeria but to everyone that would open up their hearts for the wonderful words and philosophy of the teenage boy.

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Kim Seokjin : At the end of hardship comes happiness 고생 끝에 낙이 온다

Kim Seokjin is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and member of the seven-member Korean boy-band BTS (방탄소년단), one of the biggest bands today. Kim Seokjin also known by his stage name “Jin” is currently 28 years of age, born on December 4, 1992, in Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

BTS worldwide heartthrobs, having 370 wins and 543 nominations for different awards, the cover of multiple magazines such as Rolling stone with “The Nonstop triumphs of the world’s biggest band”, Featured on Time’s international cover as "Next Generation Leaders", Vogue and even being an official ambassador for UNICEF since 2017, raising $2.98 million for UNICEF's work to end violence against children and young people and has helped adolescents all over the world open up about their own experiences. Kim Seokjin comes from a well-off family, his father is assumed to be the CEO of a company and he studied in Australia for quite some time. Growing up, Jin's family kept a very precise daily routine, he has said in a few interviews that his family life was very formal and disciplined but still has always been sweet and fun. He has an older brother that now owns a restaurant near Seokchon Lake in Seoul. At an early age, he developed an interest in acting and decided to attend Konkuk University; Hanyang Cyber University as a Films major (masters/graduate) To become an Idol, people often audition for entertainment companies in the hopes of becoming a star or a kpop idol. Jin was scouted from the streets of Anyang by SM Entertainment but never followed up with the company since he believed it was a scam. When a representative from Big Hit Entertainment noticed Jin exiting a bus and urged him to audition, he was scouted once more. Jin auditioned to be an actor, but despite having no singing or dance expertise Big Hit Entertainment had other plans for him, and he ended up being a trainee for BTS. He is the oldest in BTS yet a maknae (Refers to someone who is the youngest of a group) by heart. He is the visual and sub-vocalist of the group. To be frank, Jin is not really the most gifted in both dancing and singing, but that didn’t stop him from trying. He has improved a lot compared to his early performances, his singing and dancing have truly been more noticeable and polish in their recent albums.

Visual wise, he too, just like any other person, has insecurities. He experienced a lot of criticism and continued to grow self-conscious and unconfident. His visuals were used against him where antis would say that he has the looks but ‘no talent’, He used this to push himself into practicing more and more to improve himself in all aspects. The ‘love yourself’ album, also made into a campaign by BTS in partnership with UNICEF covers these types of issues with self-esteem and confidence. The song “epiphany” performed by Jin can be defined as a moment of sudden or powerful realization, the song goes to tell a story where we sometimes forget to love ourselves, we see ourselves as imperfect, flawed and unworthy of love. Jin’s epiphany is that he is capable of unconditional self-love, a conclusion each album in the Love Yourself series has powerfully, slowly built up to.

As the nicknames“Car Door Guy”, the “Third One from The Left '' and the “Worldwide Handsome” that he called himself to gain confidence, until it became real. Still Jin surely lives up to his nickname for his striking appearance. He’s dubbed as the “Mom of BTS”, although he doesn’t really want to be called that way, because that might be viewed negatively. But as his caring personality truly shows when interacting with his fellow members, the most notable proof is that he is often in charge of cooking for his entire team, he even created his own series called Eat Jin!. This partly explains why he has the nickname “Mom of BTS” in the first place.

Jin is full of dad jokes and is well-loved by his members, though he can be grumpy sometimes since he is surrounded by his younger, more energetic members, He is still one of the more playful ones in the group. Being the hyung (older brother) he looks after his fellow members and is usually the one to lecture them.

His authenticity, humor, talent and overall personality in their shows and interactions introduces a fresh front. Jin is the wattpad character you’d see as somewhat cold and amusing. His easy going and fun persona really makes you want to be his friend. Kpop Idols are also people and they still experience different kinds of anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Songs performed and some even written by Jin himself such as Awake, Moon, Abyss, Tonight, and Stay shows the raw and vulnerable side of people and yet we can look up to him with the idea that we are all trying and we will all eventually get to where we want to be. Determination and self-love is addressed in most of the songs by BTS. Kim Seokjin undoubtedly adds to the group's enormous success; BTS addresses issues that other bands may not, such as bullying, elitism, and mental health. It's unusual to find someone that can be relatable, modest, and entertaining all at the same time. Their chemistry, as well as their teamwork has a different feel. The members have different personalities, roles and responsibilities that are unique, eclectic, and harmonious. Their friendships are built on common values and trust. They're a happy pill for these uncertain times.