Senior Annika Brelsford knows what they like. Now you do too:

What’s one book you wish you wish everyone would read and why?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; even though the book starts off slow, I find it to be such an inspiring book that reminds me of when I first read it in fifth grade. As happens with The Little Prince, it puts me in a kind of spiritual coma after finishing the last page.

What’s your favorite comfort food?

Sometimes, when my family doesn’t want to cook or when we’re feeling down, we get tofu pad thai and red curry from a place near my house called Karta Thai. I love how they prepare their tofu, but I can never recreate it. It’s comforting that I always know what we’re going to get because it’s the same order every time; we even know the restaurant’s staff at this point! They know who’s calling, especially when we always say that we want the order under my dad’s name (no matter who’s speaking), and they know the spice levels we’re going to ask for. It’s usually what I’m craving: filling and salty and a little sweet.

If you could pick any language and learn it instantly, which one would you pick?

Although I want to speak many more languages than I do, I don’t think I’d want to speak any given language instantly because when I think to the years I’ve spent learning French, I love that I can look back on 4th grade me who was struggling with counting to 100 and see how far I’ve gotten. Weirdly, I want to struggle through it and learn languages that I’ll be able to see through a foreign lens, instead of just speaking it without knowing how the language and culture work together.

What’s your favorite word and why?

When I was little, my favorite word was “graham cracker” because I loved how it sounded. There’s a kind of soft click that gets made in the top-back of the mouth when you say it that I always liked the sound of. Before I stopped drinking cow’s milk, I used to like the way that dairy coated my throat and made my words sound more “creamy,” for lack of a better word. “Graham cracker” allows for that same creamy feeling, but without the milk.

What’s your favorite thing to do?

Making art in any form – theater, knitting, drawing, sculpture, painting, embroidery, etc. The picture is of me embroidering a cloth from camp this summer.

Tell The Rubicon what you like at YOU & A. Your answers may show up in a future print issue or online.