S&A Magazine
- Oct 1, 2020
- 7 min read

S&A MAGAZINE ISSUE 4

October Issue

Issue 4 - Volume 1

Disclaimer: This issue of S&A Magazine is heavily based off of Halloween. We acknowledge that this holiday might be upsetting to some readers. If you do not want to read any Halloween-based content, you can read our "What's the Issue" section, empowering activity, and craft, or skip this issue altogether. As always, we will post a new issue on the first day of the next month. Thank you for reading!

Written & Illustrated by Shreya and Audrey. TABLE OF CONTENTS

What's the Issue?
Empowering Activity
Color of the Month
Craft
Drawing Prompt
Sustainable Fashion
Main Article
Recipe

WHAT'S THE ISSUE? The Importance of Living a Sustainable and Minimalistic Lifestyle

Pollution and waste have been tremendously damaging to our earth. America is the most wasteful country in the world. On average, each person throws away about 4.51 pounds of garbage per day. These statistics are very alarming, which is why we have written an article on why living a minimalistic lifestyle can be very impactful.

The first thing you can do to help our Earth is to educate yourself and others. One example of this is taking a quiz to determine your carbon footprint. That way you can see how much you are impacting the earth currently. You can click this link to take a quiz to calculate your carbon footprint. https://www.footprintcalculator.org/ We recommend this to you because it’s a great way to acknowledge your habits and recognize what you are doing to the earth.

Food waste is a major contribution to the overall trash people produce in a day. We’ve noticed firsthand how much food is being wasted, especially in places like school cafeterias and restaurants. One way you can help this problem is by starting a compost pile in your yard. We've found a great article that explains how! You can read it read it here, https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-compost-easy-steps-1708698. Another way to help is if you or your child buys lunch from school cafeterias, then bring a reusable lunch box instead of using styrofoam trays. If there is anything that you or your child did not want to/did not have time to eat, then keep the extra food in the lunch box and take it home. It can be composted or eaten later. We have done this to prevent wasting food, and it is a much better alternative than just throwing food away.

Another unfortunate issue is putting things to waste and buying too many unnecessary items. We’ve all bought things that we don’t really need. However, it is important to acknowledge that these random items are seriously contributing to the deteriorating environment. So next time you find a cool item that you know that you won’t use very often, just think about the resources that are being used to make a large quantity of that specific product.

You can also help the earth by recycling as much as you can. We know that you have probably heard this a million times, but that shows how important it actually is. When you don’t recycle, the things you are throwing away go to the landfill and don’t get reused. However, when you recycle, you are cutting down the amount of waste that goes to the landfill. Recycling can also help make new cool new products that are sustainable. Even if it might seem like a hassle, it is definitely worth your time because it allows for new things to be made!

We hope this article inspired you to be more minimalistic and sustainable in your daily life. We all live on the same planet, so we must all play our part to help keep it alive!

EMPOWERING ACTIVITY Understanding Bullying

October is national bullying prevention month! Let's take a look on what bullying is and how to cope if you are bullying someone or being bullied. Bullying by definition, is abuse and mistreatment of someone vulnerable by someone stronger, more powerful, etc. It is important to understand what bullying is to recognize when it is actually happening.

People may bully others because they use it as a way to cope with their own personal problems. If you feel like you may be bullying someone, then follow these steps. First, evaluate your interactions with the person you think you have been bullying. Then, think about why you are bullying them. This might be hard, but remember that bullying is not healthy for either person. Once you have realized what and why, think about who you are bullying. Even if you may not like the person, still remember that they are a person. Put yourself in their perspective. Just like you, the person you are bullying may have their own personal problems. If you are the one being bullied, it could be because the bully is trying to find something different about you to make fun of. This might really harm your emotional health. However, it is important to remember that everyone has something that makes them different, and it's not something to be ashamed of. Tell someone that you trust that you are being bullied so that they can help you with the situation. This may be a teacher, parent, friend, therapist, etc. There are so many people who would be willing to help you if you just ask. If you feel like it would help the situation, you can also try to talk to the bully. Sometimes just telling someone that they've hurt you can help them realize. If they do want to talk to you about the situation, be stern but understanding, as you never know what they might be going through.

COLOR OF THE MONTH The color of the month is dark orange I decided to pair it with black.

Happy Halloween!

CRAFT DIY Painted Clipboards!

What you'll need

1. Blank Clipboard

2. Paint

3. Glitter (Optional)

4. Mod Podge

5. Pencil

Step 1 - Draw a rough sketch of

your design on the blank clipboard.

I sketched out a gem for my design.

Step 2- Choose your paint colors. I chose gold and emerald green.

Step 3- Start Painting your clipboard!

Step 4- Add the finishing touches to your clipboard. I added gold glitter to give the clipboard some extra shimmer.

Step 5- Once the paint is dry, paint over

the clipboard with Mod Podge. The Mod

Podge works as a sealant.

Step 5- Let Mod Podge dry for 20- 30 minutes and you are done! We'd love to see your finished craft! You can send a picture to us at sandazine@gmail.com

DRAWING PROMPT This month's drawing prompt is to draw your Halloween costume!

Even though you can't trick or treat this year, you can still dress up! (See our main article on tips on celebrating Halloween in quarantine.) I used a free app called Ibis Paint X to make this. Want to send in your drawings? You can send them to sandazine@gmail.com!

SUSTAINABLE FASHION

DIY Halloween Costumes

Part of being sustainable is reusing things that you already own. This year instead of buying a new costume that you might only use once, make one out of things you already have in your closet! You can dress up as a character from a show or movie, a food, or something in nature!

I decided to dress up as something in nature. I love to watch clouds in the sky and draw them. So this year, I put together a simple DIY halloween costume. (It also goes along with the other editor's costume because she is dressing up as a rainbow!) I used a white dress, some white leggings, and an old headband that I glued some cotton balls onto. I want the costume to be light and poofy, so when I put the costume on I'll wear a poofy skirt underneath to make the dress look more cloud-like. If you want to make a different DIY costume, then look through your closet and ask yourself what your clothes remind you of.

MAIN ARTICLE How to celebrate Halloween in Quarantine

Dress up, there’s no reason not to

There’s no doubt that dressing up is the most fun part of Halloween! And fortunately, you can still dress up this year. Have fun with making your own costumes with what you have around your house, we’ve even included some costume ideas in our sustainable fashion section.

Social distanced trick or treating

You can trick or treat while still social distancing! Just leave out a bowl of candy on your porch or at the end of your driveway. You can go around the neighborhood and collect candy without having to interact with people and risk getting sick.

Make fun themed treats

You can make cupcakes, cookies, and our recipe for “faceadillas”in the section below! Making treats is a fun way to feel festive in quarantine!

Watch scary movies with your friends on a google meet

You can host a google meet and invite your friends; then all you have to do is present your screen and watch the scary movie! It’s a great way to have a virtual Halloween get together.

Decorate your house with DIY crafts

You can decorate your house with construction paper bats or spooky decorations from the dollar tree! You can also add a little glam to your pumpkins by painting them. You can hang ghosts made of sheets in the trees so that the people who come to your house to trick-or-treat will be in for a spooky surprise!

RECIPE Faceadillas

Ingredients

2 tortillas
3/4 cup of shredded cheese of your choice
any other add-ins of your choice

Directions

Sprinkle on the cheese onto a tortilla.
Take the second tortilla and draw on your design. It is very easy to score your drawing into the tortilla if you use a sharp knife. I drew a jack-o'-lantern and bat design. Don't waste the scraps, you can still eat them!
Place your carved tortilla on top of the cheese and put your quesadilla in the microwave for around 45 seconds. (The timing may vary depending on your microwave.) If you have any tiny details that are part of your design, like my bat's eyes, then put them on the faceadilla after it's been cooked.
Enjoy! This is a very simple recipe, but the effort goes into being creative with your designs!