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I grew up going to Concord elementary school and then Cass Junior High. After Hinsdale South, I plan to either go to the University of South Carolina or Mizzou, to study exercise science so I can become a pediatric OT in the future.

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My Dad is a fantastic Chef. He cooks for us all the time, and my favorite dishes that he cooks include steak, pork chops, "restaurant quality potatoes," Korean short ribs, ribs, and elote. In my family, on each of our birthdays, my Dad will cook whatever we ask for :) Also, we eat dinner together almost every night, and that is something I really cherish. Through games/practices and out of town trips, obviously we can't get together every night, but I really love eating with everyone because we all get to settle down and be together for the night.

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English is my first language, and the only one that I am fully fluent in. I wish I knew another language, but the closest thing I have to that is how i've taken Spanish through Spanish V Honors. I have really learned to enjoy the language and the culture, and I plan to continue taking it in college. I would love to study abroad in a Spanish speaking country to test my skills.

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I feel like my friends are a big part of my individual culture. Although they have changed throughout my life, my friends have always been the people I can go to to have a good time, or when I need a pick me up. I love spending time with all of them, and making more memories (I am big on taking pictures so that the memories will last...). They never fail to make me smile and have my back, and there isn't enough I can say about them to show how much they really mean.

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My family is Catholic, and growing up we went to Church (class) every single Sunday, and then some. My dad works with Our Lady of Mount Caramel Parish, so all of my siblings and I were baptized, confirmed, and made our first Holy Communion there. Recently, as we have all grown up and our schedules filled, our family has become "Christers" so we only go to mass as a family on Christmas and Easter.

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My Mom is mostly Italian and a little bit English, and my Dad is Polish and Irish, so the three of us are complete mutts. With my Dad's Mom- our Grandma- we eat Polish food and have learned some Polish traditions from her. With my Mom's Mom- Nan- we have kept her tradition of making pasta sauce alive throughout the years. My mom and her sisters learned how to make this sauce, the most delicious meat sauce I've ever had, and hopefully Claire and I will pick up on the recipe soon.

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Nothing says "I love you," at least in my Polish-American family, quite like the sharing of a thin, flat, tasteless wafer called an oplatek at Christmas.

We're not alone. Before sitting down to Christmas Eve dinner, many families with roots in Poland and other Eastern European countries will take part in this tradition, which has roots dating back hundreds of years.

"For us, Polish Americans, the oplatek, that wafer, is Christmas Eve," says Sophie Hodorowicz Knab, author of the book Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore. "It defines people's heritage."

Christmas Eve marks the end of Advent. Traditionally, that meant the last day of fasting, so in mostly Catholic Poland, the dinner was typically meatless. The menu might have included items such as pea soup, boiled potatoes, fried fish and stewed fruits, Knab notes in The Polish Country Kitchen Cookbook.

Before the meal, though, came a small, informal ceremony - one that is still carried out in many homes, including in the U.S.

At the start of dinner, just after grace, the male head of the household takes the wafer and expresses his hopes for his wife in the new year. He might wish her good health, or ask for forgiveness for some fault.

"My father used to say, 'OK, I'm not the best, but I'll try harder,' " Knab says. "My mother would always say, 'You work so hard and I appreciate you for that.' "

The wife breaks off a piece of the oplatek and eats it. She then reciprocates the good wishes and shares the wafer with her husband. And the ceremonial sharing of wafer and good wishes continues with older relatives, guests and children, starting with the oldest.

"The sharing of this unleavened bread with another person is sharing all that is good with life," says Knab. "It's a time to tell each other, 'I love you, I care about you.' And you do it in an open area, where everyone else can see you."

The wafer is typically a rectangle about the size of a hand and embossed with a Christmas scene, such as the Nativity. It is made of flour and water pressed between two engraved pieces of metal and is similar to the bread wafer used in Holy Communion. To be frank, it can be pretty dry and tasteless (my family struggled to finish our wafer last year), but the sentiment is so sweet that it's worth the effort.

The wafers are often sold through churches, but they can also be found online. White wafers are for the human members of the family; Fido and Miss Kitty get the red, gold and green ones. (Got a horse? They get a piece, too.)

Ethnographers believe that the tradition may have gotten its start with the sharing of a ritual flatbread called podplomyk, Knab says. Pieces of the thin bread, usually baked before other loaves of dough were placed in the oven, were shared with members of the household, and with neighbors, as a gesture of goodwill.

"Bread was very hard to come by" in the Middle Ages, Knab says. "Sharing of this bread was a caring kind of exchange."

That bread eventually morphed into the flat wafer, says Knab, and the sharing continued. During World War II, with families scattered all over the world, people would send pieces of oplatek to remind them of each other.

And some continue to include the wafers in their mailings. "I still get letters from Poland with pieces," she says.

The oplatek tradition spread among Lithuanians, Czechs and Slovaks. And even families decades removed from their Eastern European roots share the wafers.

"It has just continued down through the generations," Knab says, "because it's such a beautiful tradition."

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Polish Christmas Wafer: A Flavorless Tradition That's Oh So Sweet

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Nothing says "I love you," at least in my Polish-American family, quite like the sharing of a thin, flat, tasteless wafer called an oplatek at Christmas. We're not alone. Before sitting down to Christmas Eve dinner, many families with roots in Poland and other Eastern European countries will take part in this tradition, which has roots dating back hundreds of years.

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I have been an athlete my entire life, playing everything from gymnastics and cheer, to softball or tennis. The sport that really stuck with me the most, though, was soccer. I have played on a few different travel teams ever since 3rd grade. The girls I play with are my second family, and going to practice, games, and tournaments with them is one of my favorite things. I like to think I am good at soccer, and have accomplished a lot while playing, so it has become my outlet.  Moreover, I play tennis every fall season and basketball every winter season at school. Being a part of so many teams has created so many opportunities, memories, and connections that I am grateful for.
Sports have also helped me create connections with my dad and my brother, from talking about or watching soccer games together. It has been really cool to be able to visit different stadiums, and see so many different games with them.

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I love listening to music, and country is my favorite. I especially like going to concerts, because they're so much fun. I also listen to rap music for pre-game and workouts, or I also like having vibey music in the background.
In the summertime, when we sit outside on the patio, my Dad always has aux and has introduced my siblings to a lot of old music, and rock, which I also really enjoy.

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I am straight and here is a picture of Anthony and I who have been dating for a couple years :)

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I am the middle child between my 19 year old brother, Liam, and 17 year old sister, Claire. Liam goes to the University of Utah, and Claire is at Hinsdale South with me. I am best friends with my sister, and the three of us  get along pretty well now, though I feel like we've always been close. Liam and I bonded when he was home because we played a lot of the same sports, but Claire and I have always been close. She used to be super shy so clung to me often, so we did everything together. We live at home with our Mom and Dad, and 2 dogs Tiny and Patches. Mom and Dad are incredibly hard working, and hold high standards for us, but they are still a ton of fun. As a family, we love to be outside and travel.