How has a recent artistic experience affected your intellectual development? All 12 of us were huddled around a wooden post. I was bent over its hole, stirring concrete and helping to create a work of art. On a mission trip, we were struggling to build a deck for a woman in Ithaca, New York. This […]

“Anthony, come into the hallway for a minute.” My teacher eyed me, melancholy seeping unnaturally from a face used to calm and composure. It wasn’t because I had run in late from recess, either, because even that heinous crime couldn’t ruffle her. “Diego is sick.” “He…isn’t well.” Every word pulled her lips and eyebrows downward, […]

As I ski down the hill, I see the boy lying in the snow, shivering and pale. A first-year patroller is with him, and the concern in his eyes shifts to relief when he spots me. We discuss the boy’s injuries, and I carefully support his head to ensure he doesn’t injure it more. In […]

It always looked so easy when my dad did it. He cutsmoothly, his shoulder leaning so close to the water that his body lookedparallel to the cool glass. I had been itching to be free of my yellow trainingskis and ski on my own. I wanted to learn to fly over the water just like […]

It takes a little effort to get up here. First I have to check to make sure the superintendent isn’t around (since I’m not really supposed to be up here). After the excruciating job of walking up five flights of steep steps, I get to the large metal door. After a nudge and a push, […]

The school was not formal, or exclusive, or neat; it was knowledge’s humble house. We passed under the archway, and the humidity outside gave way to a sea of eyes, observing the foreign visitors. When a voice in the back shouted “Gringo!” the room erupted in laughter. I nervously grinned and crossed the room. Taking […]

Bright lights, high ceilings, gold sculptures, light-up fountains, marble floors, Persian rugs. A plethora of people; women swanning their elegant evening gowns and men sporting their tailored suits – waiting. Waiting for the doors of the theatre in the MGM Grand to open. The performance was going to be a magic show – a night […]

“Sweetie, go grab me my teeth will ya?” Granny yelled. I visited Jean, my great grandmother, every single day when I was staying with my grandmother in Illinois for two weeks. My grandmother urged me to go spend time with her, but to be honest, my idea of a good time in Illinois wasn’t to […]

For years, my dad has implemented three rules: 1) We cannot have a TV. 2) In the winter, the house must be 60°F; in the summer, the AC cannot be turned on unless it’s 100°F, at which point my dad diagnoses the thermometer as broken. 3) I cannot get my driver’s license until I graduate […]

Everyone has his or her own struggles to deal with, which is why I don’t really like to talk about mine. However, the struggles I had did indeed help shape me as an individual. When I was younger, I was very quiet and reserved—exactly the opposite of how I am now. Due to this trait, […]