The Importance of Internet Safety & Security

      I was someone who didn't really care too much about scam emails, or was too careful about revealing personal information when I'm in public. I thought, "well I don't really have anything important for anyone to care about stealing them anyway". But I really should've been more careful. I can tell which emails are scams when they're really obvious, but sometimes not so much.

     After learning about internet safety and security, I began to take more precaution when it comes to my information. This specific chapter has taught me new knowledge of a topic I previously thought I knew all about. There are so many ways these scammers can steal information from you. I can better differentiate which email comes from a trustworthy source, and which doesn't.

    One thing I learned about internet safety and security is how cookies is used to track our activities and make our experience more meaningful. Speaking of cookies, let's talk about ube cookies!

      This is my first time baking any kind of cookies ever! I was a little nervous as I usually bake things from a boxed mix, but I wanted to try to make something new. I planned to give these cookies to my mother's chiropractor as he had been very helpful with her recovery from a shoulder injury. We're very thankful for all the staff's help thus far and wanted to give them something that would show our appreciation.

     I was on YouTube one day, scrolling through my recommended page, when I came across a video that caught my attention, "Best Ube Cookie Recipe | Soft Baked With Coconut and Without Ube Jam!". Usually a soft baked ube cookie requires ube jam in their recipe, but not this one! Ube jams are pricey and have lots of sugar inside. I wanted to make cookies that would suit my mother's and the medical staff's Asian palate, and this YouTube recipe seems to answer my desires.

     I started to make my very first cookies. I was quite skeptical as I followed the recipe. "Why doesn't my cookie batter look like the one in the video?", I thought to myself, but I was hopeful that beginner's luck would save the day. I chilled the cookie batter for the night and let Jesus take the wheel. I woke up the next morning feeling hopeful as I started to bake the cookies. My oven light was broken, so I couldn't see what the cookies looked like while they were baking.

     It was time to finally take out the cookies. They did not look as I had hoped they would, though they smelled delicious. My mother came over to take a look at things, and poked one of my cookies to check if they were cooked. To my surprise, they were cooked! I felt a sense of relief. My mother immediately picked one up and had a taste. She approved.

     I gave the freshly baked cookies to the medical staff and a couple of my friends. They also approved. I have always had a hard time accepting people's compliments, let alone believing them. I have baked them on a couple more occasions, and finally I started to believe that I bake good ube cookies.