I don't know about the rest of you, but in my town, NOTHING is open on Christmas. Well, of course we have the stereotypical movie theatres, but not even the Chinese food restaurants are open! When there's nothing to do for almost a full day and a half, you have to cover all your bases ahead of time. Some of these tasks are necessary; others are purely enjoyment-related.

I hope everyone had a great Hanukkah!

It's so easy to get lost in the spirit of Hanukkah with the gift giving and the dreidel spinning, but here's another take at the holiday by one of my friends, Ari. Ari and I met this summer when BBYO's Kallah program did an exchange with his Orthodox summer camp, Camp Morasha. Ari has such great insight into the Torah, and I hope his words bring you some inspiration during Hanukkah!

The startling whiz of propeller jets overwhelmed me—I was a stranger in a strange hangar provided by Preferred Jet Carrier of Kennesaw, Ga.

I finally accepted my Kennesaw setting. Kennesaw: the city that requires all of its homeowners to own guns. Kennesaw: part of what Cobb County GOP Chairman Scott Johnson called “the center of the Republican universe.”

And Johnson’s exaltation of Cobb County makes it a perfect host for presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and Southern Baptist pastor.

I always thought my college interviews would be the easiest part of the college application process. After all, why wouldn’t they be? I’m talkative, opinionated and loud (just ask my teachers!) and I’ve never had a problem communicating. A month ago, a college I’ll refer to as “College Z” came for an interview. Somehow, I managed to screw up “the easiest part” of the application.