Full disclosure — my school received a D+ for Diversity on the California Niche high school rankings. Our entire student body is Jewish. While at first I chuckled at that score, I do actually take issue with it. Even at a modern Orthodox all girls day school, diversity exists beyond just being Ashkenazi or Sephardic, […]
Author Archives: candicekelsey1
The Ostrich in the Mirror, and Other Epiphanies from the Quarantine
One of the most talented people I know just posted a video of himself singing a classic song from my childhood — “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” A standard in my own father’s repertoire (second only to “On Top of Old Smokey” if I’m being honest), these sudden lyrics caused me a […]
We are All Just Waiting: In Line at Walgreens
This Christmas Eve I found myself bereft of those famous tidings of comfort and joy and instead found myself fit to be tied. I was waiting in line at the Walgreens Photo Counter on the corner of Pico and Robertson. To make matters worse, I was picking up three Brockhampton posters I had ordered for […]
A Tale of Two Microwaves
Full disclosure: I’ve always had food issues. As a toddler I was often caught gnawing on a stick of butter or hiding green beans in the recesses of my high chair; as a child in Hong Kong, I refused to eat the fragrant Cantonese dishes and opted only for sticky rice. My sophisticated palate however, […]
Say Yes to the Righteous[dr]ess
This summer my very SoCal teenage daughter had quite the “what do I wear?” dilemma — only it wasn’t the typical which-shorts-go-best-with-my-halter-top. She was hired to babysit for several my orthodox Jewish colleagues, and she didn’t own any appropriately modest clothing. (Side note: I cannot say I did not enjoy, even perhaps relish, her conundrum.) […]
L’Chaim, Sir Isaac Newton!
My father’s favorite refrain during my childhood was “Action and reaction!” Typically this wisdom would come after my brothers broke another household fixture while wrestling each other from room to room, or my screaming in the rear-facing seat of the family station wagon because someone took my Hubba Bubba chewing gum. “Caaaandice,” his voice unfolding […]
Sivan is the New June
It’s finally summer, and I could pretend I want to party like it’s… well, like it’s 5779. But I’ve decided the only chagiga fit for the ending of this beautiful school year is starting a blog. I’ve now celebrated twenty-one Junes — seven in a secular private school, thirteen in a Christian school, and one […]
May these blogs be to you as savory bourekas.
“For to miss the joy is to miss all.” — Robert Louis Stevenson Welcome to my blog. I hope to offer engaging observations, challenging questions, meaningful introspection, and endless Nachas as I explore faith, learning, and life as a Christian English teacher at an Orthodox Jewish Girls School. I invite you to subscribe and, of […]
