The Waltonian

Cooking is an art that encompasses the world. It requires passion, precision, and most of all, love. The culinary arts are a complex mixture of balancing a variety of tastes and aromas, combined with beautiful plating. Cooking allows the artistic side of anyone to come alive. Cooking is an essential skill that all people should know how to do on a basic level. Whether it is a simple breakfast of cereal or a complex five-course dinner, cooking will always be a relevant skill. Preparing and then sharing meals is also a great way to bond and grow relationships. The dinner table hosts a multitude of conversations. Many bonds are formed over good food. Enjoying food with another person is an amazing way to get to know them as well as a way to find out about their interests.

Some of the benefits of cooking are nutrition, saving money, and learning an essential skill. Quality of cooking is important for nutrition as well as the proper mixture of vegetables, proteins, grains, and fats. Learning how to cook is also not a time-consuming skill to learn. In all honesty, if you know how to read and follow directions, you could likely do a great impression of Gordon Ramsey. Following a few recipes is a great gateway into learning about cooking styles and how to mix flavors together to create a dish. Saving money is essential to life; many people often spend a lot of money by ordering food from restaurants. By grocery shopping and prepping meals, you will be able to save a lot of money that would have gone to restaurants. Meals are going to be more cost-efficient and could also boost morale as a completed task.

Cooking plays a large part in mental health and psychology. Cooking and baking are considered therapeutic because they are “behavioral activations” (Conner et al., 2016). Daily creative activities have been shown to boost happiness in people. Cooking not only boosts mental health, but it plays a part in boosting self-esteem and helps with focusing. The busy work that it takes to cook allows many people peace of mind and is a stress reliever.

Cooking is an art that transcends basic nutrition and becomes an art form. Cooks can dress a plate with vibrant colors and an assortment of flavors and aromas. TV shows like “Iron Chef” and “Chopped” take various chefs from across the country and judge their ability to make quality food, but also judge on their presentation. The presentation of food is another aspect that makes cooking enjoyable. Presentation aids in making the food’s aesthetic more desirable and enjoyable.

Cooking has been a lifelong art that has many beneficial effects. Cooking can be used to bring people together for the sake of enjoying food. Cooking is the mediator for a lot of relationships and is often a setting for people to converse. By learning to cook, you can save money and create quality meals. The art of cooking is the many aspects it has in daily life as well as the joy it brings to those it touches.

The WBNA season has finally concluded, and the season had a lot of great points to cover. For those who may not know, the Chicago Sky are the 2021 WNBA champions after a marvelous 80-74, game four victory over the Phoenix Mercury.

[media-credit id=1 align=”alignleft” width=”260″][/media-credit]

Kahleah Copper was named the Finals MVP, averaging 17 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in the finals series. The Sky had significant contributions from All-stars Candace Parker and Courtney Vandersloot. Parker recently joined the Chicago Sky in the offseason with dreams of winning a championship for her hometown team. In her 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks, won a championship and was a 2x MVP.

The Phoenix Mercury were a particular team in the WNBA due to the heavy firepower on their team. In the offseason, they made an upgrade to their guard position by picking up Skylar Diggins-Smith. This acquisition adds to their team consisting of the recently named “GOAT” Diana Taurasi and the dominant center, Brittany Griner.

The WNBA postseason was filled with shock as the top two teams were eliminated in the playoffs. The Las Vegas Aces and the Seattle Storm had troubles. The Storm have been a tough team as of late due to their superstar Breanna Stewart, alongside the legendary Sue Bird. After the birth of her daughter, Breanna Stewart took time off to support her wife and child.

This impacted the Storm as they lost their best player moving into the postseason. The Aces had a great season, finishing second in the league. The postseason was looking very bright for the Aces after being swept in the finals the previous year. Although they came up short this year, they have a young star in A’ja Wilson alongside an upcoming star in their rookie guard Jackie Young.

The Connecticut Sun was another team that fell short in the postseason. They finished the regular season with the best record in the WNBA. However, the team faced a disappointing first-round exit against Chicago Sky.

Throughout the playoffs, viewership for the WNBA has risen 51%, averaging 306,000 across multiple networks. Game 1 of the WNBA finals was the most viewed finals since 2017, peaking at 547,000 and averaging 476,000 viewers. Game 2 of the WNBA finals reached a peak of 1 million viewers with an average of 789,000 viewers.

In addition, Instagram pages like HighlightHer, WSlam, and WNBA have grown over the year with viral posts of women’s highlights; this boosted social media engagement for the WNBA. The future is bright for the WNBA as popularity is growing.

Sources: WNBA, ESPN, CNBC, The Athletic, WSlam (Instagram), HighlightHer (Instagram)

Coach William Mills has had a long tenure as a track and field coach. He has over 14 years of experience as a head coach with over five years as a coach on the collegiate level. He first began working for his high school as a coach for eight years before becoming the head coach of Thiel College. Now he is the new head coach of Eastern University’s track and field team.

Coach Mills began his track career as a football player. He had impressive speed and was recommended to try track and field to enhance his football speed. After having great success in track, Coach Mills officially switched over from football to track. His love and passion for the sport ultimately led to him becoming a head coach.

When asked “Why Eastern?” Coach Mills explained that it was a great opportunity. He had recently gotten married over the summer and a change of scenery was much needed. Eastern offered a bigger administration role to him and allowed for a better work-life balance. Eastern is close enough to the city of Philadelphia, and the track and field team was seeking success for a new team. Previously, his wife had a long commute from home to work, and a new environment was not only exciting but convenient for them.

I asked him about the state of the team, and he said they are doing great. The team is showing up and getting workouts done. That’s almost everything he can ask for. Coach Mills explained that his main focus is changing the current culture of the team. Having fun with track and field is his biggest priority as of now. “Many coaches come to teams and only worry about winning. For me, I’d rather let my personality shine and help make the sport fun for the team. That is when the winning will come,” Coach Mills said.

I finally asked the hard-hitting question in regards to his position. The final question asked was, “How does it feel to be the fourth track and field head coach in the last four years?” He responded by stating his day-to-day motto. The motto of Coach Mills is A.T.C., which stands for Accept The Challenge. Coach Mills went on to talk about how we as people face life’s challenges is what determines our character. He said he is willing to stand with the team and face any challenge that comes. He is determined to stay and help develop our athletes into better athletes, people and students.