Juliana Jordão

4/20/23
Feature Writing

“Senior fall” was like saying “Voldemort”. That semester carried the same intimidation and fear-causing
power that that the Harry Potter villain did. At least it did at my Greenwich, Connecticut all girls prep
school, where the college you attend is a more important element of your identity than your own first
name. Senior fall is the culmination of the past three and a half years, when you scramble to get all your
applications in, all while maintaining an impressive GPA, knowing that colleges admissions look out for
GPA drops caused by senioritis. Luckily for me though, this treacherous period was finally over. All my
applications were in, I even had acceptances from some of my safeties in my back pocket. I could finally
relax. The only problem was, I wasn’t sure I knew how to.

I spent the past three and a half years, and especially the last year, measuring every decision, hobby, or
commitment in terms of how it would make me a better college applicant. Freshman year, when it came
time to choosing a sport, as we have to each semester at Greenwich Academy, I chose Track and Field. I
hated running. However, Track and Field was the only one-team sport, so by signing up, I was atomically
a Varsity athlete and that four-year varsity status on my future college applications was enough
motivation. I needed to be a well-rounded applicant though, so in the fall, I did yoga to leave time for
volunteering and coding club.

My last season of track and field, beginning in March of 2020, was cut short. We were let off for spring
break two days early, which of course at the time was such a win, until it became clear that this silly little
virus that no one will shut up about wasn’t so silly. Soon, it became clear that we were not going back to
school to finish off our senior year. Instead, I was stuck at home, going on weekly family walks, and
doing YouTube workout classes in the living room with my brother and sister.

What was I supposed to do, though? I had nothing to stress about, I actually had enough hours in the day
because I had nothing to accomplish. No research papers to spend two more hours than necessary on, no
more color-coded study guides to make for an AP Biology test, and no more volunteering at three places
at once. I needed to find a quarantine-friendly hobby before for the sake my sanity and family’s.

It all started with the banana bread. For some reason, I was trying out veganism at the time, and so
embarked on the quest to find the best vegan banana bread recipe. But obviously, nothing met my
standards, I had to do it myself, create my own recipe. It also happened to be the exciting early days of
TikTok when people were going viral left and right. So, sitting there in “my” corner of the comfiest
sectional to ever exist, scrolling on TikTok, doing my banana bread research, I had my lightbulb moment:
I should totally become a TikTok food blogger.

I told my sister, Nina about my idea. She obviously found it genius, because the thing about Nina is that
she has an out-of-the-ordinary confidence in me, it truly surpasses any sort of logic or reason. So right
then and there, I had my number one supporter, “you have to actually do it, you will totally go viral, don’t
be a chicken!”

Even if I was just throwing the idea out there, I had no choice now, Nina wouldn’t let it go. I already had
a crystal-clear vision for my first video, so I got to it. I stood up from the couch and announced to the
family, “I’m going to need reserve the kitchen tomorrow from 3pm to 5pm, thank you for understanding.
Oh and Dad I’m going to need you to go to Whole Foods”

I pre-measured my ingredients into the matching glass bowls, one for each ingredient. Two cups of flour
in the biggest bowl, a half cup of brown sugar in the next biggest bowl, three mashed bananas in the next,
half a stick of melted vegan butter in the next, until we reach the tiny little bowl containing a teaspoon of
baking powder. This method may double the number of dishes I will leave in the sink until my mom yells
at me to clean up, but it's going to look way better in the recipe video. Matching glass bowls are way cuter
than the random mis-matched measuring cups we’ve collected over the years. 

I propped up my phone in the iPhone tripod I order for $10.99 on amazon, a business expense, of course,
and pressed play. One by one, I dumped the ingredients from the bowls into the big mixing bowl. One
take per ingredient for cinematic flare. I mixed the batter first then added two-thirds of the chocolate
chips, saving the last third to add once the batter is in the pan to achieve an aesthetically pleasing loaf. I
had to re-film myself putting it into the oven, because my dog kept getting in the frame.  “Please hold
Zebi for five seconds while I get this shot? He’s getting in the way.” I asked my assistant (my sister). 

Next comes the editing. My assistant suggests Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles. She should know
better. Watermelon Sugar is way too upbeat, and this is supposed to be a calming baking video. I’m
making banana bread, not a birthday cake.  I settled for July by Noah Cyrus. My first masterpiece was
complete and ready to be posted.

The next day, I got started on my next recipe video: eggplant rollatinis with almond ricotta. I allowed my
siblings to enter the kitchen this time, because to be fair, 7pm was prime dinner making time and I’m not
a completely unreasonable person.

This time around, I employed a more efficient filming method that would facilitate the editing process
later. I filmed the videos on the iPhone camera app, each step separately, instead of filming directly
through the TikTok app. Once again, I prepped the ingredients, put together the recipe, and threw it in the
oven, well actually, I gracefully placed it in the oven. I placed the four rollatinis in the exact center of a
blue and white anthropology plate that I selected. I garnished with fresh basil and wiped off any smears of
marinara for a clean presentation.