The GQ channel is one of my personal favorite entrances into the YouTube rabbit hole. Collaborating with the Gentlemen’s Quarterly magazine, the channel offers a collection of video topics, their most popular ones being My First Million, Iconic Character, and 10 Essentials. The latter presents videos featuring celebrities and the top 10 things they cannot live without, displaying their personalities, hobbies, and personal life, all in a 5-minute video. In this series, I will be modeling articles after GQ’s 10 Essentials, interviewing faculty and staff to present to you, dear readers, the top 10 things that they cannot live without.

The first article of this series features Dr. Cassidy, who is currently teaching three different calculus classes: Honors Calculus, AP Calculus AB, and AP Calculus BC. In the midst of her being cascaded with College Recommendation requests (myself included), I interviewed her about the top 10 things she cannot live without. 

1. Winston and Bernie

Any Calculus student at AMHS should know the names of these dogs as well as they know the Quotient Rule. Winston and Bernie, Dr. Cassidy’s mischievous mini golden doodles, are at the top of the list for obvious reasons. The daily adventures of the dogs told at the beginning of each honors calculus class are always looked forward to, the enthralling stories providing laughter, wonder, or shock at how Bernie could possibly consume an entire packaged Angel Food Cake in the same week that he ate a Flip Flop. Dr. Cassidy’s dogs are a clear-cut, number one thing that she, and her students, cannot live without.

2. A Powerball Winning Ticket

“That’s my retirement plan,” explains Dr. Cassidy. “That’s what I tell my financial advisor.” While Dr. Cassidy clearly does not have a winning Powerball ticket and is alive and well, she will not be able to live without it in the future. The lottery ticket will be something that is essential to provide and care for her life post-Magnet, and therefore is something that comes in at a strong number two. How much will this winning ticket be worth, you might ask? “I would hope at least fifty million dollars.”

3. Pencil

Oh, not just any pencil. It is a 0.7 millimeter Pentel Twist Erase, made in Japan, a luxury writing utensil that is absolutely essential to Dr. Cassidy’s life and teaching career. The image below displays her own personal Pentel Twist Erase, used throughout the school year for all of her personal and academically oriented needs. “The best 4.99 you’ll ever spend,” she states, “and if you steal it I’ll come looking for you.”

4. Camping

For our fourth essential, we explore a favorite hobby of Dr. Cassidy’s. “Who doesn’t love swinging in a hammock and swimming in a lake?” she asks. Everyone loves camping, is the obvious answer, however Dr. Cassidy and her husband take their camping beyond a Labor Day weekend at Francis Marion national park. Traveling across the states, they have visited locations all over the country. She asked that her camper is included in this point, a necessity for anyone with a genuine love for camping. 

5. Flip Flops

“Enough said.”

6. Skittles

Number six. Sponsoring Dr. Cassidy in this article, we have the Skittles brand. A favorite candy of hers, Dr. Cassidy is a Skittles fanatic. Taste the rainbow!

7. Glitter

What makes the world go round? “All things sparkly. Sparkly makes the world happy,” says Dr. Cassidy. Embellishing her classroom with decorations, she makes sure to bring life to her calculus classes with glimmering butterflies and other glitterous attractions. Coming in at number seven, these necessary decorations are certainly something Dr. Cassidy and her classroom couldn’t live without.

8. Subaru Forester

Named “Betty White” before Betty White passed away, Dr. Cassidy’s white Subaru Forester is most definitely a requirement on this list. An all terrain AWD which is sure to be perfect for camping road trips, a Subaru is man’s best friend. After Winston and Bernie, of course.

9. Christmas Decorations

Who doesn’t look forward to the morning after Halloween, where the spider webs and candle lit pumpkins are magically replaced with reindeer and candy canes overnight? In Dr. Cassidy’s room, the festivities never disappoint. Her seasonal front wall is decorated in the theme of Christmas, as is the doorway. Going back to number four on her list, Dr. Cassidy adds, “That’s why I also love camping, because it’s acceptable to have Christmas lights all year round.” At a solid ranking of nine, Christmas decorations are a great festive necessity. The photo below was given to me by Dr. Cassidy, who captions the image as “part of our Christmas Lego village – lights, Legos, and Christmas!!!”

10. Girl Scout Cookies

The final necessity. What is the last point of this list, one remaining thing that Dr. Cassidy cannot live without? Her husband, she contemplated out loud. Alas, after a foolish suggestion by me, there was no more question at what number ten would be. Girl Scout Cookies, exclaimed Dr. Cassidy. Thin mints specifically. These delightful treats are a spectacular cap to the first article of this series, as I am sure that the entirety of The Talon’s audience would at least consider having Girl Scout Cookies (specifically thin mints) on their list.