Cassidy Gifford

I talk to my mom like any other kid talks to their mom when they live across the country. You call home and check in about what you ate for your breakfast or if I went for a run that day or if I was in a fight with my friend. It's so normal.

I am often asked the question: 'What is your favorite type of food?' Although I always answer Japanese, the real response should be and is pierogi, the delectable Polish dumplings that my mother, Big Martha, made so well in many incarnations: potato, sweet cabbage, blueberry, peach, plum, and apricot.