Throughout their lives, people accumulate experienceswhich shape them. These experiences lead many to hold contrasting views and topractice disparate ideologies. Differences can be healthy; people can learn fromeach other in spite of their differences. A major change in my life blessed mewith the knowledge and understanding of two vastly dissimilar subcultures ofAmerica. It is necessary […]

At 7 years old I had my heart set on becoming a hairdresser. Like many 7-year-old girls, I had experimented on the unfortunate plastic heads of Barbie dolls, streaking their platinum blond locks with food coloring and hacking off clumps with safety scissors. I thought myself quite the stylist. Looking back, I should have taken […]

I raised my hand and it fluttered in the air for a moment. “Yes?” asked the woman, before my fingers could retreat. “What occurrences in your life influenced your writing?” I asked, softly at first, then louder as I was encouraged by her nod and smile. She looked around the room, thinking. The day was […]

“So, Jess, I was just wondering . . . why are you so into horses? I mean, your parents know nothing about them, your brothers pretty much ignore them, and no one in your family has ever owned a horse before.” A typical question. The same answer. My best friend. When I was five years […]

It was October 17, 2010. I had just left all-night bowling with a couple of my friends at about 3AM. We went out to eat at Eat N’ Park, and we were just enjoying ourselves, having a good time. I got home late and went straight to sleep. My phone rang early that same morning […]

Two years ago my friend started talking to me about her favorite band, The Maine, while we were in school. I had never heard of them before, and I was curious. Who are these guys? Is there music any good? What does “The Maine” even mean? Are they from the state of Maine? When I […]

Meet John: Number one in the senior class. National Honor Society president. Perfect scorer on the ACT. If I tie for third in the Poetry Slam, he places second. If I set a personal record in cross-country, he’s team MVP. It’s always the same story: In the world of transcripts and awards ceremonies, I am […]

In order to doom a child, just involve the television. While television can be good in small, educational doses, the amount of time a child spends in front of the TV directly affects the performance in many important fields of a child’s life. Academics, health, physical performance, character, and safety: they are all negatively affected […]

I need to focus on the sounds in this hallway- amongst other noises I can hear the hum of a vending machine, the airstream from the vents, and the ding of the elevator reaching floor 8, none of which is the sound I am listening for. The coast seems clear, so I muster up all […]

“Alyssa? Can I please come in? Please? I’m scared. Please?” I hear my eight-year-old brother whisper under the door as I remove the pillow from over my ears. “Yeah, come in, and close the door quietly.” He scampers in before my parents notice he is out of his bedroom. We sit on my bedroom floor, […]