Maria Kato

By now, it’s likely that the entire world has seen the tiny little monkey clutching tightly onto a stuffed orangutan toy. Punch, a baby monkey at the Ichikawa City Zoo, has captured the hearts of many due to his adorable stature, alongside his bittersweet journey finding monkey friends.

On Thursday, the Bay Area’s Alysa Liu became the youngest female national champion in figure skating. In recent years, I haven’t really kept up with international competitions. In all honesty, I can barely name the athletes competing this winter. Yet, when I was little, each Olympic season brought so much exhilaration within my home.