Past to Present: Food and Its Connection to Celebration
Posted inCreative Hall Educational Food

Past to Present: Food and Its Connection to Celebration

Food has always been an important part of our lives. Not only do we consume food every day (second breakfast, anyone?), it is also featured prominently in festivities and celebrations. Besides filling us up, why do we celebrate with food? The reason is simple. It’s because food brings us closer. It unites us. Sharing a meal over a dinner table can give us a shared point of relevance. It doesn’t even strictly need to be sharing the same food. Food gives us a reason to occupy the same space at the same time, an example being a cafeteria at lunch break. Therefore, food, and the need to eat to survive, has bound us together. We bring different food along wherever we go depending on the occasion, such as in picnics, and we are keen to try out different foods while on vacation. Food is highly appreciated and integrated into our lifestyles, and all it takes is a simple search on YouTube to pull up numerous recipes and tutorials. It is not uncommon nowadays to see social media feeds peppered with restaurant or café  recommendations, and there have been many blogs dedicated to reviewing good food. And it isn’t only while we’re living that food is important. The importance of food has been prevalent in our lives since childhood, and it remains relevant throughout our lives. Even in death, the importance of food carries into our afterlife. As National Geographic puts it, “Consider the cultures that leave delicacies graveside to let the departed know they are not forgotten.”

Real Talk: Slut-Shaming
Posted inCreative Hall Educational Lifestyle

Real Talk: Slut-Shaming

Disclaimer: 

The following article discusses topics of a sensitive nature which may be disturbing and/or controversial to some readers. Hence, reader discretion is advised. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the article belong solely to the authors and do not reflect Sunway University and Sunway College’s values.

Yay or Nay: Hot vs. Cold Showers
Posted inCreative Hall Lifestyle Student Opinions

Yay or Nay: Hot vs. Cold Showers

Hot or cold? Yes or no? In or out? Up or down? No, this isn’t a play on Katy Perry’s hit pop single, but it most definitely does involve the argument of hot versus cold, specifically in the context of showers. Yes, the menial, clockwork task of cleansing one’s body. Go ahead, read on to amuse yourselves as we, the writers of Echo Media, attempt to sell you the idea of washing yourself in hot or cold water as if you would change the kind of temperature your body is suited for at the drop of a hat. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t, but you should still read on anyway, because why not?

What Is the Female Gaze in Media?
Posted inCreative Hall Educational Lifestyle

What Is the Female Gaze in Media?

Imagine this – a camera shot panning up a woman’s slender legs, lingering on her pert buttocks before following the curve of her body up to her bountiful bosom, lingering there some more before finally reaching the seductive fullness of her lips and her well-framed face. Well, you don’t need to imagine this. After all, there are plentiful examples in movies and TV shows. Laura Mulvey, a feminist film theorist, coined the phrase the “male gaze”, which seeks to explain why women are depicted as passive sex objects in mainstream film narratives. 

Echo-pella: Songs To Feel Yourself To
Posted inCreative Hall Echo-pella Music

Echo-pella: Songs To Feel Yourself To

Because sometimes you just need to feel sexy and beautiful.

Welcome to another edition of Echo-pella, readers! It’s now the middle of the year, July 1st. As you reflect on what you’ve done for the past 6 months, how do you feel? Do you feel accomplished? Happy? Or maybe it’s disappointment that you haven’t been yourself as of late? Maybe tough exams or social life has made you feel a bit down. In any case, what you need is a confidence boost. Something that recharges your brain and makes it say “I’m going to succeed”. In other words, you need something that’ll make you feel confident and even sexy.

Describing something as “sexy” doesn’t always refer to sexual appeal, by the way. It can also refer to something very exciting or appealing. And if that’s something that you feel the need to embody at the moment, we’ve got a playlist of songs for you to feel yourself to, whether you need a boost to your self-confidence, and yes, a boost in sexual confidence as well. It’s time to love yourself, people!

What I Am: The Multiracial Experience
Posted inCreative Hall Lifestyle Self-help

What I Am: The Multiracial Experience

Source

“What are you?”

This question is far from being unknown to many; an echo that has undulated across one’s recollection of memories and will most likely follow them into their next steps of life. It may seem like an odd query to direct toward another person, but in truth, it is hardly unfamiliar to multiracial or “mixed” people. In itself, the query is dehumanising but puts forth a paradox that may dominate the mixed person’s thoughts and settle down amongst various other doubts as they hesitantly tread the lines between their different cultural identities. Although frequently perceived in a positive light, the multiracial identity comes with its own unique psychological stressors, many of which lead to existential isolation—the feeling that your perspective or experiences are not comprehensible to others.

Mental Health: Don’t Fight Alone
Posted inCreative Hall Lifestyle Self-help

Mental Health: Don’t Fight Alone

Disclaimer:

The following article discusses topics of a sensitive nature which may be disturbing and/or controversial to some readers. Hence, reader discretion is advised. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the article belong solely to the author and do not reflect Sunway University and Sunway College’s values.

Content warning: Mentions of self-harm and suicide.

May Sarton Said That It Was Okay: Turning My Isolation Into Content Solitude
Posted inBooks Creative Hall Educational

May Sarton Said That It Was Okay: Turning My Isolation Into Content Solitude

About a year ago now I discovered the writer May Sarton and read her most famous piece of work titled ‘Journal of A Solitude’. It is a collection of her journal entries during her time spent alone in a small town in New Hampshire. Sarton was surrounded by nature and the tranquillity that her isolation has provided her, but there also came inner challenges as they do in whatever situation we humans find ourselves in.

It could not have been a better time for me to have discovered that book, I was at the point in my life where I have fully come to terms with the conditions in which I can grow and blossom. By finding the comfort and peace hidden in the crevices of solitude, it felt like Sarton was dedicating the journal to me, or rather in lesser vain, to people like me. It was a burst of quiet energy- solidifying my love and appreciation for solitude.