“Anya* is not good… But she wants it.” A pretty harsh line for a twelve-year-old to hear, but this moment helped in my development of how I deal with life’s persistent challenges. Some people see sports as an outlet, a tactic to release energy that has been bundled up for too long, a way to […]

Humans are born saplings. Vulnerable at first, we begin to grow and branch out. Each person is different; they could be a vibrant spruce or a steadfast sequoia. Together we grow up in communities and with institutions or, in other words, forests. Other trees that influence our growth surround us. I fancy myself as an […]

As the plane lands, I look out the window to see a poor excuse of a runway; it was a deserted wasteland. I had been to Jamaica before but only the tourist section of Ocho Rios, my only experience was getting off a cruise ship onto a bus and then climbing up a waterfall followed […]

Of all the things I inherited from my father (a passion for the eighties, a deep appreciation of garlic, the knowledge to pop perfect stovetop popcorn), his most influential gift came as a shock. I never imagined that my large, Hispanic father with scars on each eyebrow and a scrutinizing intense stare would share with […]

What do you do when you are at the supermarket doing your weekly shopping and you encounter someone with special needs? Do you stare at them uncomfortably, turn around and walk the other way, or talk to them? I used to do everything in my power to avoid eye contact, afraid that I might upset […]

Masisi. The short, three syllable word has always provided me with a deep-rooted sense of discomfort and self-hate. It is a word I’ve heard roll off the tongues of so many family members time and time again, one that I learned to associate with shame. When I think of this word I see my grandmother […]

I remember a day in eighth grade when our science teacher, hoping to kill some time at the end of the school year, showed the class a video attempting to explain String Theory. As one might expect, the vast majority of the 14-year-old class found the experience thoroughly confusing and was quite bored within the […]

Sisters have a bond that lasts their entire lives.They share every moment, from the most trivial to the most defining, of alifetime. My sister Tessa will always hold a special place in my heart, andnothing that may come our way can change that. My first memory of hersitting in a corner and drawing intently will […]

What significance does the number 26.2 have? Why would this number be important to a 17-year-old high school senior? To many, this may be just a number having little or no significance, but to less than 1% of the United States population, this number means a whole lot more. To this tiny sector of the […]

The elevator doors open and an eighty-year-old woman wearing crocodile boots, and a full face of make-up steps out into a five-star restaurant. Ignoring the shocked eyes of her onlookers, she confidently maneuvers her way through the busy tables to the hostess station. Trailing behind her are my mortified parents, who are surprisingly overshadowed by […]