THE ESSAYIST 2024: The Little Things

This year’s Essayist issue is a meditation on the power of seemingly insignificant items, actions or gestures that have proven consequential in our student writer’s life. 

The Essayist is an annual tradition at The Temple News for students to express themselves by writing about the people and moments that make up their complex mosaic of life. 

Small items can bring back memories of a loved one or resurface emotions once thought to have been repressed. Brief actions or gestures can reaffirm love in the most unexpected of ways.

The transformation of something ordinary into the extraordinary happens to everyone. It’s part of what makes the human experience so fulfilling and we hope readers from all backgrounds can find their experiences and feelings reflected in at least one of the stories presented. 

One student writes about the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House package and how it opens up the floodgates of grief from her grandmother’s passing. Another writes about her makeup routine and how it’s an exercise of self-love, not an act of insecurity. 

One student writes about the expression of love through making coffee as a barista and how it helped her get to know her regulars. Another reflects on a simple meal crafted by his mother and how it served as a glint of hope during his parents’ divorce.  

These minuscule items, moments and actions are seldom cherished to the extent they should be. Oftentimes, relics from childhood tend to be thrown away before being given a second thought, or the broken umbrella sitting on the shelf would be loathed for its ineffectiveness. Instead of being appreciated for the labor of love, the bakery items from a relative may sit on the mantle until they grow stale. 

What seems inconsequential may turn out to be life-changing, but only if you search deep enough to find it. 

Sincerely,

McCaillaigh Rouse and Bradley McEntee

Opinion Editor and Assistant Opinion Editor