Quinceañera held same night as neighbors' anniversary party. Cultures beautifully collided.

Both neighbors had live bands competing for attention.

By Jacalyn Wetzel

Quinceañera's are a big milestone in Latin American and Latino cultures. It's the party celebrating a girl's fifteenth birthday, marking her entrance into womanhood. People plan for years for their daughter's big day, often saving up thousands of dollars so their daughter can get the perfect dress and have the party of her dreams. With that being said, celebrating 25 years of marriage is also a huge milestone for people, so putting a lot of money into an event to mark the occasion is common.

While both are exceptionally special, these events taking place on the same night at the same time, only separated by a chain-link fence, could cause frustration for all parties. When a local singer, Irene's Entropy, was invited to sing at her friend's 25th wedding anniversary, she experienced this exact situation.

📵 Mom takes away tween daughter's phone and tablet—and notices "immediate" change

"Not even 24 hours later I have a totally different kid."

By Emily Shiffer

Most kids these days have phones. In a 2025 survey conducted by Florida State University on the digital media use of American tweens aged 11-13 years old, nearly 80% of kids in the age range had a smart phone—with one-third of them reporting they got their first phone by the age of 10.

And while the impacts of phone access for tweens is still being studied, a 2024 study published in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities found that kids under 13 who owned smartphones reported worse mental health outcomes than those who didn't.

Phone use is a common issue many parents navigate with their tweens these days. And a mom with a tween daughter (who she says is currently 12 years old going on 13), shared with fellow parents on the subreddit r/Parenting the major changes she noticed after taking away her daughter's phone and tablet access.

Imagine finding a love like this 🥲

🎙️ A woman perfectly demonstrates 'singing in cursive' and it has people rolling

"Get over it mom. This is just what Gen Alpha sounds like."

By Cecily Knobler

In the last few decades, singers from all across the world began implementing an affect into their voice that was a bit baffling, even to musicologists. It was enticing to some and hilariously annoying to others. But what experts are calling "singing in cursive" doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Comedian and actress Manon Matthews makes videos where, among other things, she does impressions of this style. One, in particular is a clip in which she perfectly encapsulates singing in cursive, after hearing a cover of The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields" in her yoga class.

Don't adjust your screen or glasses. The following is an attempt to translate as she sang it: "Let me take you dowwwwrrrn cuz I'm goirning toooy Strawburrrrry faaailds (reverb). Northing ish reaurrrllll (reverb). Nottting to gert horm aboiiit. Strawberry fails fo ervaww."Article3

🌨️ Reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder sufferers revel in the return of 'gloomy, dreary' days

For folks with summer SAD, cool, cloudy days feel like a balm, not a bummer.

By Annie Reneau

As a child, summer was my least favorite season. I hated being hot, hated the sun in my eyes, hated how it didn't get dark until 10:00pm in my Pacific Northwest town. Fall, on the other hand, was heaven. I looked forward to leaves changing, temperatures dropping, and cloudy, "gloomy" days arriving. While others complained about "dreary" weather, I relished it. Sweaters over sandals was my motto.

I always felt like the odd one out—I mean, what kid doesn't love summer? But since then, I've met more and more people who loathe the summer sun and count the days until the gray skies return. Some of them even find themselves truly getting depressed in the summer—a phenomenon known as Reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder (or sometimes summer SAD).

Winter Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)—what most people think of as seasonal depression—is a major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern that stretches through the winter months. Winter SAD affects around five percent of people. Reverse or summer SAD is the opposite of that. It also follows a seasonal pattern, but it stretches through the summer season instead.